Armel Mukam’s offseason could have gone a very different direction. Instead, the 6-3, 300-pound senior is back at Notre Dame, and the move has already reshaped the look of the Irish defensive tackle room.
That wasn’t a given in January. The group was dealing with a position-coach vacancy, a career-ending injury, Jason Onye appeared to be out of eligibility, and Mukam had entered the transfer portal. Then the picture flipped quickly: Notre Dame added two impact portal players from Oregon and Pitt, Onye was granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA, Charlie Partridge was hired, and Mukam pulled his name out of the portal.
Mukam says the decision came down to the place and the people around him.
"All I know is that I love this place," Mukam shared. "I love the locker room.
I just got fortunate that they hired someone like Charlie Partridge, who is an excellent coach and brings out the best of us every single day. You can't pass on a coach with that kind of expertise coming to Notre Dame to coach you.
That was a big factor in my decision coming back to Notre Dame.”
Partridge has been a major part of Mukam’s jump this offseason. Notre Dame has seen the same thing up close: the new defensive line coach has brought a sharp eye and a heavy dose of detail to the job, and Mukam has responded to it.
"I think the biggest thing is he individualized his coaching," Mukam explained. "He's not going to coach every single player the same way.
It's different things in my game. For example, I didn't even know I was false twitching off the ball.
That's something he pointed out as soon as he got here in the spring. That's something I was able to work on and something that has made a huge difference.”
The portal detour also changed how Mukam views Notre Dame itself. After spending time looking elsewhere, the Canada native came back with a much clearer appreciation for what he had already been part of.
"The biggest thing is is just how special this university is, how special the coaching staff is and how special the locker room is," Mukam raved. "You go on all these visits and you realize, ‘Whoa, Notre Dame truly is special.’
I spent three years here, and I didn't really have an understanding of how special it is. I took it for granted.
You come back here and then you visit other places then you realize just how special Notre Dame truly is.”
Notre Dame enters the season with big expectations, and Mukam is one of the players who could decide how high this defense can go. He’s been one of the offseason standouts, and with the season only 10 days away, the senior looks ready to be a key factor all fall.
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Armel Mukam Is Becoming A Bigger Factor For Notre Dame Up Front
Notre Dames defensive front has plenty of experienced pieces to lean on, but the most encouraging development in camp may be the way Armel Mukam has pushed himself into the conversation. The sophomore defensive tackle has added size and strength, and the coaching staff has noticed cleaner technique and more confidence as he works through the offseason and into fall camp. In a room already known for its depth, that kind of growth only strengthens a group coach Chris Ash has described as one of the better parts of the roster.
For the Irish, Mukams rise matters because the interior of the line is where games can be controlled, and every added reliable body gives Notre Dame more flexibility up front. Ash has pointed to Mukams work as a sign of how far he has come, and the staffs willingness to give him more opportunities suggests this is more than a camp note. If the progress keeps trending the same way, Mukam could become one of the more useful pieces in a defensive tackle rotation that already has the look of a real strength. [Read more 🡒]