Notre Dame’s defense has no shortage of veterans, but the group’s ceiling in 2026 may come down to a few players turning promising stretches into full-blown breakouts.
That’s the real difference between the Irish defense and the offense right now. The offense has its talent, but the defense has more players sitting right on the edge of a national breakout.
In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the whole starting unit, plus some key rotational pieces, could take a step this fall. Still, a few names stand out because their jump would reshape what this defense can be.
Bryce Young is one of them.
Notre Dame has one proven returning pass rusher, Boubacar Traore, who starts opposite Young. In 2025, Traore led the team in sacks, tackles for loss and pressures.
Young showed flashes last season, but he didn’t finish enough plays at the line of scrimmage, which left him with just two sacks and 2.0 tackles for loss. Even so, he finished No. 2 on the team with 29 total pressures, only two behind Traore, while doing it in 92 fewer pass-rushing snaps.
The next step for Young has to come against the run, too. He was credited with 10 total run stops last season, and at 6-6, 260 pounds, he’s built like a bigger edge defender who should be able to hold up better there.
If he makes that leap, Notre Dame’s defensive line starts looking like one of the best in the country. The Irish have had fronts before that relied on just one legitimate edge threat, and those units were easy to scheme against.
A real breakout from Young would give South Bend a true edge duo.
Christian Gray is another player who could change the picture.
This offseason, Notre Dame’s defensive staff chose not to dip into the transfer portal for a nickel corner and instead moved Gray inside to the slot. He’s one of the most experienced players on the defense, right there with middle linebacker and captain Drayk Bowen and safety and captain Adon Shuler.
Gray, a St. Louis native, is heading into his third year as a starter, and his career has already shown both sides of the coin.
At times, he’s been a difference-maker and one of the best corners on the roster. At other times, inconsistency on the outside has led to big plays allowed.
The nickel spot has mattered a lot for Notre Dame’s defense, and Chris Ash and Aaron Henry are putting that job in the hands of their most seasoned corner. If Gray breaks out there, it could push Notre Dame toward having the No. 1 secondary in the country. His frame and skill set fit the slot naturally, and if he stays healthy while tightening up the fundamentals, he has a chance to be the best slot corner of the Marcus Freeman era.
Then there’s Bowen, the middle linebacker who gives this defense its tone.
For the first time in Freeman’s career, he has two returning defensive captains, and Bowen is one of them. The Indiana native is the heart and soul of the unit, and with a third year in the starting lineup plus a second season in Ash’s system, he’s set up for a big final year in South Bend. He’s a candidate for a level three breakout, the kind that takes a player from impact starter to All-American level.
Bowen’s 2025 season got off to a rough start, along with much of the linebacker group, as the defense adjusted to a system that was new compared with what they had run in 2023 and 2024. But as the season wore on, Bowen and the rest of the linebackers found their footing and were playing some of their best football late in the year. The expectation is that this group can pick up where it left off, and if Bowen becomes the player Notre Dame believes he can be, he could end up as the emotional center of a team trying to end a championship drought that has lasted nearly 40 years.
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