Led by captain Drayk Bowen, South Bend’s elite defensive unit returns nearly 4,000 career snaps and every key starter to anchor a legitimate national championship pursuit.
Notre Dame returns the most experienced, deepest and one of the most talented linebacker rooms in the entire country and I don't think that's debatable. They're the only program in the country that returns all five players that started or were in the rotation in 2025. Middle linebacker and captain Drayk Bowen, Will linebacker Jaiden Ausberry, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Jaylen Sneed and Madden Faraimo all return to South Bend for the 2026 season.
Let's put some numbers behind what that means. Last season, Bowen was fourth on the team in total snaps with 585 in 12 games and led the team in tackles with 67. Ausberry was second in the linebacker room and seventh on the team in snaps with 437. Viliamu-Asa was two snaps behind Ausberry with 435 and would have played more if it were for the injury he sustained against Syracuse. Sneed played 313 snaps last season and Faraimo played 144 as a true freshman.
The Fighting Irish linebacking corps returns 1,914 snaps, 217 tackles, 24.0 tackles for a loss and 13.5 sacks of production from just the 2025 season. In total, they return 3,964 snaps, 477 tackles, 45.0 tackles for a loss and 19.5 sacks of career production. There's no other linebacking corps in the country that returns that much from just their linebacking unit in 2026.
Let's start up the middle with Bowen. The Indiana native has 28 career starts and has played 1,274 snaps in a Fighting Irish uniform. He's the heart and soul of this defense and has been that since he entered the starting lineup as a true sophomore in 2024. He's played on the biggest stages in college football and looks to do his part to take the Irish back to the national championship game this fall.
Ausberry is the most underrated member of this group. He started the final 10 games this season and finished third on the team in tackles. In 2024, he finished tied for 2nd on the team in tackles for a loss with 6.5 despite only starting two games all season. He's quietly been one of Notre Dame's most consistent and reliable defenders. This spring, he played middle linebacker with Bowen out due to injury and he looked very natural at the position.
Sneed elected to come back to South Bend for his 5th year of eligibility and he put together his most consistent spring since his arrival back in 2022. He's always had the physical abilities to be a game changer at the linebacker position, but he's not be able to put it all together. That started to change this spring, and Sneed is poised for a big season in 2026. He has 1,016 career snaps and nine career starts as his foundation heading into the fall.
Viliamu-Asa is the most all-round linebacker on the entire roster, and when he's healthy, is one of the most physically gifted players on the team. The 6-3, 230-pound California native suffered an ACL injury in the second to last game of the regular season, but is trending in the right direction to be back early in the fall. He's a proven pass rusher and off-ball linebacker and this past season, he grew in coverage. The Irish don't need him at 100% to beat Wisconsin, Rice or Purdue, but they'll need him back for their trip out to Provo and when they host the Hurricanes.
Finally, let's talk about the present and future with Faraimo. Last spring, we talked about how when the lightbulb finally goes on for him, he would be an extremely difficult player to keep off the field. Well, that took until the 3rd game of the regular season against Purdue. Now, he returns with 144 snaps of experience under his belt. He's the future at the position, but that might not be as far away as some might think.
There's no linebacking unit in the country that can match this group's experience, career production and continuity. The Notre Dame linebackers will be the heart and soul of this year's defense and if they're as good, or better, than what we think they can be in 2026, this will be a championship-caliber defense.
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