After a freshman year that offered glimpses of real playmaking ability, Ethan Long heads into 2026 with a clear mission: turn those flashes into a steady role in Notre Dame’s secondary.
The Connecticut native has the kind of frame and movement skills that keep him in the conversation. At 6-2 and 204 pounds, Long brings length, range and enough fluidity to work in the middle of the field. Notre Dame’s evaluation of him when he signed painted the same picture - a long, smooth athlete with toughness, smarts and a knack for finding the football.
"Long is a long and smooth athlete that has been very productive throughout his career. There are the intangibles that Long brings to the table, like toughness, smarts and he’s a sound technical player.
Those traits alone allowed him to be a ball-hawking safety early in his career, to the point that opponents now simply do all they can to avoid him. But Long is more than just a heady player, he’s also a quality athlete that shows solid range on the back end of the defense.
"As a senior he showed improved strength, which allowed him to be an even bigger force against the run. He’s a rangy athlete but right now he lacks the top-level speed needed to really project to the next level as a starter, and that’s why his grade dropped.
He’s a smooth and fluid athlete that changes direction with ease, traits that allow him to thrive as a middle of the field safety, and he drills downhill quite well in the run game. But I need to see Long add more explosiveness and speed at the next level."
Long’s spring ended on a strong note, and that mattered. Midway through spring practice, he had slipped a bit on the depth chart and was still mixing in with the second-team defense at times. Then true freshman Joey O'Brien got hurt, Long moved back into the spot he had held earlier in the spring, and he took advantage when the Blue-Gold game arrived.
That spring finish gives him a real chance to make noise in fall camp, especially with the safety room getting healthier. Notre Dame needs him to keep building on what he showed as a freshman, when he flashed the kind of ball skills that can change a game.
Against Syracuse on Senior Day, he intercepted two passes on the same drive. The first one, which he returned for a pick six, was wiped out by a penalty.
The challenge now is consistency. Long has the tools to make plays, but he has to do it snap after snap if he wants to carve out a bigger job.
The path to a role is there, even if it isn’t wide open. Adon Shuler, Brauntae Johnson and Luke Talich are all back, which keeps the pressure on everyone in the room.
Notre Dame also played four safeties last season under defensive coordinator Chris Ash, so the opportunity isn’t impossible. Long just has to earn it.
For this season, the expectation is pretty straightforward: help on special teams and work into the defensive rotation when the chance comes. He played on defense in only two games last season, so the sample size is small, but the upside is obvious. Notre Dame will keep asking for growth from him, and this feels like the year where that growth starts to show more often.
A good season for Long would mean forcing his way into the safety mix and becoming a real factor on special teams. Talich is already one of those special teams pieces, and Long has the chance to join him.
If things break right, he could be playing in every game in the second half, from the opener through Stanford. And if his game keeps trending up, seeing him against BYU, Miami or SMU would not be a surprise.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Freshmen Are Already Creating A New Defensive Debate
Notre Dames latest recruiting haul is already giving the defense something to talk about before the season even gets going. The 2026 class sits at No. 1 nationally in the On3/Rivals rankings, and a few of the freshmen have turned heads in spring work, especially on the defensive line and in the secondary. Rodney Dunham and Joey OBrien were among the names drawing the most attention, while the staff has also liked the early promise from other highly rated newcomers as it starts to picture what this group could become.
The interesting part is how quickly the conversation has shifted from long-term upside to possible near-term roles. Injuries have kept some of those freshmen from getting a full spring showcase, but Notre Dame still sounds confident that this class can help shape the depth chart sooner rather than later. If the early flashes carry into fall camp, the real debate may not be whether the Irish have enough talent in this group, but which first-year defenders are ready to force their way into the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
National Analyst Just Made A Bold Notre Dame Defense Claim
College football analyst David Pollack has Notre Dames linebacker group drawing real national attention heading into the 2026 season, and it is not hard to see why. The Fighting Irish bring back a unit built around Jaiden Ausberry, Drayk Bowen and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, three players who were central to the teams tackling production last season and helped make linebackers one of the defining strengths of the defense.
That kind of continuity matters for a Notre Dame defense that already finished last season ranked among the nations better units and should get another boost from the return of cornerback Leonard Moore. Pollacks take puts the spotlight on a room that has experience, production and plenty of upside, and it leaves the bigger question hanging over South Bend: just how far can that group carry the Irish if it plays up to the billing? [Read more 🡒]
Former Walk-On Luke Talich Has Become A Notre Dame Difference Maker
Luke Talichs rise has been one of the quieter success stories in South Bend, the kind that usually starts on special teams and slowly works its way into the defensive conversation. The senior safety came in as a walk-on, earned a scholarship, and kept building trust with the staff by showing up in the right spots and doing the little things that keep a defense steady.
Now Talich looks like more than a depth piece. He has added muscle, broadened his game and given Notre Dame a versatile defender who can handle responsibilities at safety and in different package looks for coordinator Chris Ash, including work as a strong-side outside linebacker option. For a defense looking for reliable pieces it can move around, Talich has become the sort of player coaches lean on when the game plan gets specific. [Read more 🡒]