Notre Dame didn’t have to wonder whether Adon Shuler would be on the field for Sunday night’s season opener against Wisconsin. The safety made that clear from the start, even as he grieves the death of his father, Don Shuler.
“Playing in this game wasn’t ever in question,” Irish coach Marcus Freeman said Friday on his weekly video news conference. “He made that known from the moment his father passed away. … There’s no question in my mind that he’ll play well on (Sunday) and continue as we move forward.”
Shuler, now a third-year starter at safety, has been one of the most dependable pieces in the Irish secondary. He has started 27 of 28 games over the last two seasons. The only miss came in 2025, when he sat out the first half against Purdue after a targeting ejection against Texas A&M.
For Shuler, the decision to keep playing was tied directly to his father’s wishes. Don Shuler died at 47 after an illness, and the elder Shuler had spent years teaching football to his three sons in Irvington, N.J. Adon, the oldest, said Wednesday that he knew what his father would have wanted.
“He would be mad if I didn’t,” Shuler said of his father. “That’s what he wanted. That’s what he expected.”
Freeman, meanwhile, made clear how much Don Shuler meant to him and to the program. The coach described him as a steady, uplifting figure who became part of the Notre Dame orbit during the recruiting process for Adon in the 2023 signing class.
“Big Don was a terrific man, father, husband,” Freeman said. “I really got to know him through recruiting. We developed a really good relationship.”
As Don Shuler’s health worsened, Freeman said the program tried to be there for the family in the ways that mattered most.
“When we found out the news that his health was declining, I had to be what Adon needed me to be,” Freeman said. “I’ve always said that. My job as the head coach is you have to be what your players need you to be, and that could be different at each moment.
“There were parts of it that were emotional early, and then when (Adon) was home, what could I be for him? What did he need from me? And now that he’s back, it could change every single day.”
Shuler’s role in the program has only grown as he has dealt with the loss of the man he called “My everything.” Already a two-time captain chosen by his teammates, he has earned that standing through his presence as much as his play.
Freeman pointed to the way Shuler has carried himself through the ordeal, saying the safety’s focus has stayed on the people around him.
“He is such a strong young man. His focus wasn’t on himself.
It was on making sure that he’s there for his mom (Fran) and his brothers (Donte and Donovan). That tells you who Adon Shuler is.
He doesn’t think about himself. He thinks about others.”
Freeman also drew a line to a similar moment from his first season at Notre Dame in 2021, when defensive lineman and captain Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa returned to Hawaii in mid-August to bury his father. Tuli Amosa, a pastor and coach, died unexpectedly at 53 on Aug. 8.
Tagovailoa-Amosa now works in Shields Family Hall as director of player development for the Irish football program.
“I think each human goes through different stages of mourning,” Freeman said. “We’ll see the stages that Adon goes through, but it’s our job to be here to support him in whatever stage that is.”
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Marcus Freeman has pointed to Shulers strength in the face of all of it, noting the way the safety has stayed focused on both family and team through a difficult stretch. For Notre Dame, Shulers presence is about more than one game in August - it is a reminder of the leadership role he carries and the emotional weight behind it. [Read more 🡒]
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