Notre Dame's defense is stacked. Discover the rising stars poised for breakout seasons and why the hype surrounding the Fighting Irish is truly warranted.
Notre Dame is poised for a big season in 2026, but it's not just us here at Irish Breakdown who believe this to be true. We're starting to see more and more major outlets identifying the Irish as one of the premier teams to beat ahead of this football season. Is the hype warranted? Definitely, but there are some other factors to consider when talking about the Fighting Irish. All of the attention they're receiving isn't just about the make up of their roster, but that's the nature of the beast.
Their defensive roster is a major reason for a lot of the hype. On today's show, we broke down who we believe will breakout during the 2026 season. Obviously, there's different levels of a breakout performance over the course of a season, and Notre Dame's defense is loaded with potential candidates. Some names, many Irish fans are familiar with while others will be new to the rotational this fall. We discuss all of that and more on today's episode of the Irish Breakdown Podcast.
You can watch the entire episode here:
Here are some of the main topics we discussed on today's show:
On The Hype Around Notre Dame Heading Into 2026...
"When you look at Notre Dame as a team, there's a level of undeniability surrounding what they did. In 2025, they went on a 10-game win streak to finish the regular season with a redshirt freshman quarterback leading the offense. There's large contingent of college football fans who will separate Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame into two different conversations. Now, I think we're starting to see a blend of the two where people aren't just looking at what Freeman has done individually, but what he's done with Notre Dame as a program."
On Tae Johnson's Breakout This Fall...
"I'm going Tae Johnson. What we saw from Tae last year was really impressive; he was No. 2 on the team in interceptions and he only played in nine games. He only played nine snaps against Miami and then he missed the last two games of the year and still had the production he had last season. That was his first year playing meaningful downs and he finished third on the team in total tackles. When you look at his ability to make impact plays on the ball, he's going to go into this season with a lot more attention. If he's the player I think he can be, he's going to end this season with a lot of national recognition."
On Jason Onye's Final Breakout Opportunity...
"Up to this point in his career, and it's been a tumultuous road to get to this point, but Jason Onye has been granted this sixth year of eligibility. What are you going to go out and do with this opportunity? Up to this point in his career, he's been a good football player for Notre Dame. But can he have that consistent week in and week out impact that we've seen from other defensive tackles that have come through Notre Dame? I think they're going to have one of the best edge-rushing duos in the country this season, and if you add an Onye breakout into the mix, this is going to be one of the best defensive lines in the country."
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