Notre Dame’s pass rush has a centerpiece, and Boubacar Traore is stepping into the spotlight with plenty of momentum behind him.
The Irish defensive end was supposed to be unleashed in 2024 after preserving a year of eligibility by playing in four regular-season games and the Sun Bowl. Instead, his second season in the program was interrupted before it could really take off.
Traore opened with a quiet one-tackle performance at Texas A&M, then started stacking production: 10 stops near the line of scrimmage over the next three games, a sack and a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown at Purdue, and then five tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble against Miami (Ohio). Through five games, he looked like a breakout waiting to happen.
Then came the left knee injury against Louisville, and the rest of the season was gone. Notre Dame kept rolling without him, winning its final 11 games, including playoff wins over Indiana, Georgia and Penn State. The question lingers: could Traore have changed anything in the national championship game against Ohio State?
He answered with a strong return in 2025. In the season opener at Miami, he posted a personal-best six tackles and added a sack.
Over the course of the year, he finished with team highs in sacks with six-and-a-half, tackles for loss with 10 and quarterback hurries with eight. He also piled up 37 tackles, good for sixth on the team.
Even after the injury setback, the production was there.
This spring brought another change: Charlie Partridge took over as defensive line coach, replacing Al Washington, who had coached Traore for his first three years. Traore said the transition has helped sharpen his game.
"Meeting with both (Washington and Partridge) helped me elevate my game to another level," said Traore this spring. "I'm meeting with my coaches more and always staying in the playbook (has helped).
Like, every day, I try to get at least two hours of film in. Just setting aside time to actually study football."
Partridge sees a player who is still climbing, but already gives Notre Dame a real anchor on the edge.
"Make intelligent choices around the quarterback, understand where the weak spots are in lanes based on protection and/or call…I think he's taken big strides that way and I'm proud of him for that," Partridge said.
"The other part is he's a strong guy, so he's done a good job setting edges. Now he's condensing and setting the edge more than I've seen (on film) in the past. He's taking strides in both of those areas for sure."
Asked whether Traore can grow into one of the nation’s top defensive ends alongside names like Anthony Smith, Colin Simmons, Dylan Stewart, John Henry Daley, Matayo Uiagalelei and Melkart Abou Jaoude, Partridge didn’t flinch.
"I do think he has that capability in him. Obviously, everyone in the room is a work in progress, but he has that capability for sure."
Traore sounds like a player who knows the window is open now. He called this his "money year" and made it clear he wants more than what he showed a season ago.
"I'm trying to show way more than what I did last year," Traore said. "I feel like last year wasn't enough, but that was last year.
It's a new year. I feel like the best is yet to come.
I'm looking to do really good things this year."
Notre Dame is expecting exactly that in 2026.
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Books next chapter is starting to look bigger than any one comeback attempt, even if he has left the door open to playing again. He is balancing that uncertainty with fatherhood and other career opportunities, a familiar crossroads for players whose bodies and timing do not always line up with the leagues next call. For Notre Dame fans who watched him lead the Irish, the appeal is easy to understand: he is still connected to the game, but the shape of his future may be changing in real time. [Read more 🡒]