Jason Onye Is Working On The Little Things This Spring

Notre Dame defensive tackle Jason Onye is working on building his game this spring

Notre Dame defensive tackle Jason Onye (47) and defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio (97) signal during / Greg Swiercz / USA TODAY NETWORK

There’s a speed and style of play that finds Jason Onye at his best. The Notre Dame defensive lineman is at his most disruptive when he is able to go full throttle.

“Fast and furious,” Onye said recently when asked when his game is at its peak. “I’m going straight through you. I feel like I’m a strong, fast guy. I use my speed and my power to go straight through you. Drive you. Power rush. Speed rush. No matter what it is, I just feel like when I’m at my best I’m fast and physical.”

The rising senior had a breakthrough spring a year ago by playing his frenetic style. He played in just one game in his first two years at Notre Dame in 2021 and 2022, but he became a regular last season by playing in all 13 games as a reserve on the defensive line and on the Irish field goal and extra point block units.

After two years of waiting to crack the two-deep depth chart, Onye is using this spring to improve upon what he started last year.

“I’m trying to think less,” Onye explained. “Just being able to believe in myself. Now I can go on the field and make those plays and do all those things. The plays that I missed last season, I feel like, ‘OK, why did I miss them?’ I was probably in my head too much. Now I have the full confidence and full desire to go out there and do it. I’m excited for this season. I’ve been working in all the practices before that to get there.”

The 6-5, 287-pound defensive tackle is not shy to ask for critiques from Irish defensive line coach Al Washington. They crunch film together, looking closely at foot placement and hand placement to try to find the little things that can ultimately push Onye’s game to another level.

“He looks the part (and) he is the part,” Washington said of Onye. “He’s got to continue to work on the details of his technique, his leverage. He’s a different body type, man. He is tall, high hipped, I mean, you look at him physically. Inside the game is about leverage. So, it’s always going to be a little more of an investment for him. But he’s improved in that, and just getting comfortable with all the things we asked them to do.

“He’s pushing himself,” Washington continued. “(I am) on him every day about being uncomfortable. So big things, I think, the fundamentals, technique and just the overall confidence. Trust what you see, go get it.”

Onye finished last season with 17 total tackles (11 solo) along with a half a sack and a pair of quarterback hurries. His primary job is behind Rylie Mills, who opted to use his fifth year of eligibility in 2024, as a three-technique defensive tackle.

“It comes back down to me,” Onye said of playing behind Mills. “I don’t want to think of it as, ‘Oh, Rylie came back so this affects me.’ It’s about me and coming into practice every single day, going into film sessions and proving my game and seeing me get closer to the gap and closing the gap between me and Rylie — that supposed gap. That’s my job and that’s what I want to do. Just keep working, keep getting with Coach Wash and keep asking him those deep, hard questions about where do you see Rylie, where do you see me? (I am) doing my job to close that gap.

“I just think too much,” Onye continued. “Rylie has a lot of game experience. That’s fair. He’s been playing since freshman year. He’s been able to see — he knows how to play faster, I guess. I saw a lot from last season. So, I’m happy this season I have the confidence to be able to play that fast and be as dominant as I want to be.”

In addition to playing the three-technique on early downs, Onye will also slide over to nose guard on passing downs this season. He will also continue to anchor the defensive line on the field goal and extra point block units. He blocked a field goal in his third career game against Tennessee State last season and blocked another against Stanford that Javontae Jean-Baptiste returned for a 60-yard touchdown.

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