Justin Ademilola Declares For The NFL Draft

Notre Dame defensive end Justin Ademilola decided to head to the NFL instead of playing a final season in South Bend

Notre Dame's defensive line suffered another blow today as veteran defensive end Justin Ademilola declared for the NFL Draft. He joins his brother Jayson Ademilola, defensive end Isaiah Foskey, defensive tackle Chris Smith and defensive tackle Jacob Lacey as departures from the line since the season began.

Notre Dame will change you if you let it ☘️ pic.twitter.com/CpDW2ky6Dm

— JUSTIN ADEMILOLA (@JustinAdemilola) January 6, 2023

Jayson and Smith were out of eligibility, and Foskey was expected to leave. The loss of Lacey during the season was certainly a blow, and Justin had another season of eligibility remaining. Bringing him back would have given Notre Dame an experienced and versatile player up front, but now the Irish will have to field a line that looks dramatically different next season.

Ademilola finished his Notre Dame career with 108 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He was a key part of the Fighting Irish defensive line rotation for each of the last three seasons. He racked up 9.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks in the last two seasons alone.

The New Jersey native played all over the line for the Irish and was a key part of the third down package each of the last two seasons. With him gone, Notre Dame loses its top two edge players from this past season, and much of the leadership from the defensive line.

Ademilola had previously expressed an interest in returning for a sixth season, but ultimately decided to go to the NFL instead of seeing a transfer to another program for a final season.

Notre Dame is currently pursuing several transfer portal options along the defensive line, but so far the Irish have come up short on its top targets on the edge.

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