With a sixth year of eligibility, Jason Onye aims for a career-defining breakout, transforming potential into consistent dominance on Notre Dame's defensive line.
Earlier this offseason, defensive tackle Jason Onye was granted a sixth year of eligibility giving him a chance to return to South Bend for one last dance. Onye has flashed throughout his career at Notre Dame but has yet to put it all together and break out into the player he's had the potential of being. In 2026, the 6-5, 302-pound defensive tackle has one last opportunity to breakout under the tutelage of new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge.
There's three different levels to a player breaking out. The first level of a breakout season is a player going from not playing a ton to being an integral part of the rotation. The second level of a breakout is a player going from a key rotation guy to a starter. The final level of a breakout is going from a starter to a certified dude on their respective side of the ball. Onye has the chance to become a force on the interior of Notre Dame's defensive line.
Onye has been making plays sporadically for the Fighting Irish defense since his redshirt sophomore season in 2023 where he played 155 snaps, recorded eight total pressures and two hits plus sacks on the quarterback. The Rhode Island native started to come on the scene in 2024 and was playing at an extremely high level. Some considered him to be their best interior defensive lineman above Rylie Mills and Howard Cross III. Unfortunately, Onye wasn't able to finish the season due to some off the field issues.
He was granted the opportunity to return in 2025 by his teammates and the Notre Dame coaching staff and took advantage of the opportunity. He started nine of the 12 regular season games and played in all 12. Over the course of the season, Onye racked up 26 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 17 total pressures and 13 total run stops. It was clear that he was shaking off the rust throughout the first half of the regular season, but from USC to the end of the year, Onye took it to a whole different level.
Out of his 17 total pressures, 15 of them came in the last six games of the regular season. Out of his 13 total run stops on the year, Onye totaled nine of them in the final six regular season games. We were finally starting to see the player we thought he would be earlier in his career. Now, Onye has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA and will look to have one final breakout in the blue and gold in 2026.
BREAKOUT PREDICTION
This will be the final season we see Onye in a Notre Dame uniform and it's his final opportunity for a breakout season. The former three-star recruit has always had an extremely high ceiling, and that's flashed throughout times during his career, but he's never been able to put it all together for more than six games at a time due to various circumstances. He's now one of the leaders in this highly talented interior defensive line group and is the most experience returner Notre Dame has along the defensive trenches.
Onye's journey to a breakout year starts during spring training which kicks off later this week on Friday, but it won't be easy. The room is filled with talented guys like Armel Mukam, Francis Brewu, Tionne Gray, Elijah Hughes and Christopher Burgess. Onye has played the most snaps in a Notre Dame uniform than all of those players combined; that will have to translate into high-level production this season.
Will he have a 2024 Mills-type of breakout in 2026, that remains to be seen, but the potential is there. Mills finished the year with 34 total pressures and 13 hits plus sacks on the quarterback to go along with his 21 run stops and he only played in 12.5 games after getting injured in the second half against Indiana during a home playoff game. It's unlikely Onye can match the production numbers Mills racked up in 2024, but he can certainly have the same level of impact that Mills had.
Since Mills' departure, there's been a lack of an interior pass rush from the Notre Dame defensive line. We saw this down the stretch in the playoffs and routinely throughout the 2025 season. The edge rushers from Notre Dame are poised for a big season. If Onye, along with a host of others, can have the season we think he's capable of, this Fighting Irish defensive line will be one of the best units in the country.
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