Notre Dame Post-Spring Depth Chart - Defense

A first glance look at the post-spring depth chart for the Notre Dame defense

Notre Dame is now entered phase three of the offseason, which means the spring game is behind them and the program prepares next for summer workouts. The Notre Dame defense ended the spring with a quality performance, and it is poised to once again be a strength of the team.

As we transition into the next phase of the offseason let's take a first glance projection at the depth chart on the defensive side of the ball.

VYPER

Senior Isaiah Foskey is clearly the main man at Vyper, but Justin Ademilola will play all over the defensive line even though he's listed as a Vyper. Senior Osita Ekwonu flashed a bit this spring after missing last season with an injury.

The freshman class is interesting, and that group could have some movement between now and the fall. Right now I project both Aiden Gobaira and Josh Burnham to Vyper, with Burnham moving over from linebacker during the spring.

BIG END

Right now there is only one Big End that I expect to only play Big End, and that would be NaNa Osafo-Mensah. I also think we'll see Justin Ademilola here at times as well. 

Rylie Mills projects as the No. 1 after a strong spring, but he'll play inside at times as well. We saw Alexander Ehrensberger play inside in the spring game, and he had some really impressive pressures up the middle. I'm curious to see if that continues in the fall or if that was due to the makeup of the spring game rosters.

Freshman Tyson Ford didn't play in the spring game due to injuries, but he also played Big End and Defensive Tackle during the spring.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

I'm putting these two positions together because I expect there to be some interchangeableness (I'm not sure if that's a real world) at the positions. I could see Howard Cross III playing both Nose Guard and Defensive Tackle, which is also true of Gabriel Rubio.

Sophomore Jason Onye showed some flashes this spring, but even though I have him listed at three-technique I don't think right now he would be the second guy off the bunch unless he takes another step forward in the fall.

I think we'll see some of the Big Ends get action inside behind Jayson Ademilola and some of the players listed at Nose Guard will also get time there.

I'm also curious to see where Harvard Chris Smith gets the majority of his reps. His listed weight fits at nose guard and he played it mostly at Harvard, but if they leave Mills outside I could see him getting action at three-technique as well, if not more.

MIKE LINEBACKER

This position is very fluid, and an argument could be made that Bo Bauer should be listed at No. 1 following the spring due to JD Bertrand being out this spring with an injury. Of course, both of those veterans need to have good performances in fall camp and to start the season if they want to hold off Niuafe Tuihalamaka, who had an outstanding spring.

WILL LINEBACKER

The return of Marist Liufau should allow Notre Dame to move Bertrand to Mike once he returns from the injury that kept him out this spring. Liuafu is poised for a major breakout this season. Sophomore Prince Kollie looked good in the spring game and has a chance to force his way into a rotation spot behind Liufau. If Kollie doesn't keep building we could see Bertrand stay at Will and rotate with Liufau. Sophomore Will Schweitzer played both Vyper and linebacker during the spring, and I'm not sure where he'll play in the fall, but I'm placing him where he ended the spring. He was a rangy linebacker in high school and provides depth, as does freshman Nolan Ziegler.

ROVER

The battle at Rover should be very, very interesting. Jack Kiser had a good Blue-Gold Game performance but I didn't hear much about how he performed during the rest of spring. Junior Jordan Botelho is a player that sources told Irish Breakdown was a difference maker throughout the spring at both Rover and at times as an edge rusher. Both will play, but who starts and who gets the starter snaps? That's a bigger question.

I'm also curious to see what kind of jump freshman Jaylen Sneed makes now that he got some experience this spring.

SAFETIES

I'm putting these two positions together because this spring we saw this group be more interchangeable than it has ever been. All six of these players could play field or boundary, so there will be plenty of. changes at the position.

FIELD CORNERBACK

With Cam Hart out this spring we got a chance to see even more of the younger corners, and both Jaden Mickey and Chance Tucker had their moments. Mickey was a standout late in the spring and he'll be hard to keep off the field, but Tucker is also continuing to develop.

Veteran TaRiq Bracy will get a shot to continue being a part of the field cornerback rotation, but he'll also be a key figure in the nickel this fall.

BOUNDARY CORNERBACK

This will hopefully be a battle in the fall. Clarence Lewis is a player the staff speaks very highly of, but he'll need to play a lot better in 2022 than he did in 2021. If not, Notre Dame will need someone like Ryan Barnes (as the boundary corner) or Mickey to push Lewis.

There is some talent at cornerback but there are also plenty of question marks at this point behind Hart.

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