Newcomers and veterans alike showcased an explosive, athletic defense. See which transfer linemen impressed and where the unit is already showing major gains.
Notre Dame held its first spring practice for the 2026 season on Friday morning, and the defense had an impressive first day. The Irish Breakdown team was in attendance and got to see firsthand the new-look Notre Dame defense.
Here is the IB practice report for the Notre Dame defense.
DEFENSIVE LINE
The focus today was on younger players and newcomers, but keep in mind you can only evaluate so much from linemen when they don't have pads on. Having said that, one couldn't help but notice how much bigger, more athletic and explosive the DL is to kick off spring ball.
When they went to the first team period the starting DE were Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young, while the first team DT were Armel Mukam at nose and Elijah Hughes at DT. We also saw Francis Brewu and Jason Onye get some work there. Onye didn't get a ton of work today. Tionne Gray was the second team NT and Christopher Burgess was the second team DT, with Loghan Thomas and Keon Keeley working with the second team DE unit. We also saw Rodney Dunham and Ebenezer Ewetade working with the second team.
Transfer Francis Brewu is short but very, very stout. He was quite impressive with his movement going through drills. He's quick off the ball, changes direction well and he closes well. Brewu was stout at the point of attack during inside run periods but he will need to enhance his pass rushing repertoire (hands) against the first team OL. Fellow transfer Tionne Gray is really impressive physically. He's massive, but also not fat. He's just big and it's clear he's working to continue reshaping his body. Movement wise I really liked what I saw from Gray. His pad level was a tad inconsistent, but he comes off the ball well during team periods and showed good foot quickness during drills. Having to go against Anthonie Knapp and Sullivan Absher every day will be good for this pair. Solid first day for the transfers, who are obviously still learning the finer points of what Notre Dame wants them to do.
The only defensive tackle to beat Anthonie Knapp today was Jason Onye. I didn't see a lot from Onye today from a reps standpoint, but when he was out there he looked quick and physical.
Christopher Burgess Jr. had an interesting day. There was a lot of good, especially when just evaluating how he moves. He is really big (300 pounds), but Burgess still moves very well. He is handling that weight well and he was quite impressive during drills. When he just came off the line and could drive he looked good during team periods, but it's clear that Burgess is still a bit of a work in progress from a technical standpoint. This isn't a surprise, but it is worth noting. This was especially true during 1-on-1s, where he showed he'll need to improve his hand play to win against the better OL. But when he went against the second team OL he was quite good and dominated during 1-on-1. Later in practice Burgess was more consistently disruptive. Loads of talent here, can't wait to see what he looks like by the end of the spring.
The guy who impressed us the most inside was Armel Mukam. He's down a few pounds (296), and it showed because he was even quicker than before. Mukam moved really, really well and he had some of the best 1-on-1 reps that I saw. He hit Joe Otting with a ridiculous spin move to quickly get into the backfield. He also quickly shot past Cam Herron with ease for another 1-on-1 win. Really good first day for Mukam. Obviously he'll need a lot of work, but it was a good first day for Elijah Golden as well. He's filled out really well (listed at 292) but still looked athletic and moved well. Really bright future and solid first day for the rookie.
Loghan Thomas impressed me today. He's noticably thicker, but man his first step is really, really impressive. He blew past Will Black for a 1-on-1 win and he held up well against the run during team periods. Freshmen DE Rodney Dunham and Ebenezer Ewetade are both put together very well and their athleticism is different, it's really, really impressive. Dunham got beat on a wheel route, so obviously learning the defense is key, but he's extremely athletic and shows some pop. Same with Ewetade, who was a lot thicker than we thought he would be, but his first step explosiveness is outstanding. This trip (Thomas, Dunham, Ewetade) is incredibly explosive and athletic.
Transfer Keon Keeley had a solid first day. He got beat by Guerby Lambert in 1-on-1s, but then he whipped Styles Prescod in those matchups. Keeley is clearly still in the adjustment period where he has to learn a new defense and also improve his technique, but he's already done good work to reshape his body and his first-step quickness was really impressive today.
LINEBACKER
We didn't get to see much from the linebackers today, but here are just a few observations.
They had Jaiden Ausberry as the first team Mike LB and Jaylen Sneed was the first team Will LB. The second team Mike was Teddy Rezac and the Will was Ko'o Kia. Thomas Davis was the third team group at Mike and Tommy Powlus was at Will.
Jaylen Sneed was extremely active in the pass game today. He was getting great depth with his drops and helped force an interception by CJ Carr when he got underneath a seam route, forcing the ball high and into the arms of Tae Johnson. Thomas Davis Jr. was clearly swimming a bit mentally, but he really moves well. He's a smooth athlete and his change of direction and agility impressed.
We did get to see Ja'Koke Clapper going through some drills and he flashed. His first step is really, really impressive.
SECONDARY
Redshirt sophomore Tae Johnson had an outstanding practice for the Notre Dame. Not only did he have a pair of interceptions of Carr, it was how and why he made the picks that stood out. On his first interception, Sneed did a good job getting underneath the backside seam and Johnson flew over top to take the vertical away. Sneed's coverage forced a higher throw and Johnson was there to pick it off. On his second pick, Johnson was playing on the hash when Carr throw an outside Go route. Johnson exploded off the hash, high pointed the ball and got both feet down for the interception. He also had a great close on another seam route where he would have lit the receiver up if they were in pads. Johnson was extremely vocal and in command, much more than we saw a season ago.
Both Luke Talich and Ethan Long had solid first days. Talich is noticeably slimmed down and he was moving quite well. He did a good job getting over top in coverage and his man skills were on point during 7-on-7 period. Long had a really physical re-route of Kaydon Finley that knocked him to the ground during 1-on-1. He showed good range on the back end and overall had a solid day.
Freshman safety Joey O'Brien is already starting to fill out. He was listed over 200 pounds and he is noticeably thicker than he was when he was on campus last spring and during his senior season of high school. That's important, because that was really my only question about him in regard to earning playing time as a rookie. We will need to see how he does when the pads come on, but he lived up to his reputation today. O'Brien showed exceptional range today in both man and zone coverage. He locked down Mylan Graham on a burst corner route in one of the more impressive reps of the day. Graham tried to beat O'Brien with a hard inside move and then he broke outside, but O'Brien didn't bite on the inside move and showed a clean roll outside to stay underneath Graham. Later he had another really impressive rep during a team period. Notre Dame blitzed the nickel and O'Brien - the field safety - flew downhill to replace, but the offense was running a speed out to replace the blitz. O'Brien was able to get underneath the quick out and disrupt the pass. It's hard to really describe in a way that makes it seem as impressive as it was.
Sophomore Dallas Golden played both nickel and field cornerback today, and he was outstanding at both positions. Golden has filled out well in the upper body and his functional strength is clearly better than it was last season. He looked comfortable in the slot but I also really liked how he looked outside, which is key because it gives him a better chance of forcing his way into the lineup. Golden was much better with his transitions at both spots, which was an area where he would get in trouble at times last season. Not only was he clean and smooth opening up, but he was able to immediately locate and get in phase on the receiver, which again was an issue for him last season. Huge improvement. Golden broke up a pass while playing in tight phase against Graham early in 1-on-1s. Later, he locked down Graham again on a slot fade and he broke up a slant route during 7-on-7. He also had a really impressive physical play during team. Notre Dame ran a swing pass in his direction and Golden was the force player, so he flew upfield, rocked the receiver and forced Aneyas Williams to cut inside much sooner than expected, which allowed Jaiden Ausberry to clean up the play for a very short gain.
Transfer sophomore Jayden Sanders literally played all three cornerback positions today and he looked comfortable at all three spots. He was even better outside, but I was a bit surprised to see how comfortable he was inside. During the early team period, Sanders came up in press against Micah Gilbert and locked him down on a go route. His transition was clean, he looked fast and he was physical against Gilbert. That was important to see because Sanders only really played off coverage last season at Michigan. Really solid first day for Sanders.
Freshman nickel Nick Reddish had a pick six in the practice and it was an impressive play. He jumped into the flats and stepped in front of a far hash out cut intended for Cam Williams. It was an easy pick and he showed good speed taking it back. Reddish looked very comfortable playing in the slot, to the point where if you didn't know who he was you would assume he was a veteran. Really good first day for Reddish.
Christian Gray played both nickel and field corner and had a good day. He wasn't tested at all downfield from what I saw and he didn't appear to be favoriting his shoulder at all, which is a good sign. It was a rough day for sophomore Mark Zackery IV. He got beat over top for a touchdown by Gilbert and got torched by Cam Williams for a long play as well. Zackery had some good moments, but he was the one corner that got beat with some consistency today. He'll really need to improve his play strength over the next few months.
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!