SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Apparently, Al Washington’s six-year-old daughter wasn’t too interested in her father becoming the head football coach at his alma mater.
When Boston College chose Bill O’Brien as its next head coach in early February after interviewing Washington as a candidate, she didn’t hold back her opinion.
“When we found out, she said, ‘Good.’” Washington, Notre Dame’s defensive line coach, shared with a laugh following Wednesday’s spring practice.
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Washington, a three-year starting defensive tackle and 2006 graduate of Boston College, previously coached for the Eagles as an assistant coach from 2012-16. Some former Boston College players voiced support for Washington as a candidate during the process, but athletic director Blake James picked O’Brien, a former head coach at Penn State (2012-13) and with the NFL’s Houston Texans (2014-20).
“Things happened fast,” Washington said. “I can tell you it was a great experience. It was great to think about the big picture, and it was great to be connected with my old school. Obviously, the way I looked at it, I'm in a no-lose situation. My family's happy here, and so it wasn't something where you go for broke. But the reality is, yeah, that would've been a great opportunity, too.”
Washington, 39, has been coaching since 2007. The last five head coaches he’s worked under are Steve Addazio, Luke Fickell, Jim Harbaugh, Ryan Day and Marcus Freeman. He’s tried to take lessons from each of them to form his vision as a potential head coach.
But actually sitting down and being prepared to present his vision required some serious reflection.
“We got great resources here and things like that, but who you are as a coach is largely due to the people you've been around,” Washington said. “I've been fortunate to be around some really good ones. Marcus being one of them. So, that's a lot of it that went into my culture, my philosophy, the things that would be important to me.
“So, there were some things, some late nights organizing and preparing, but it was great. It was a phenomenal experience, and I'm happy to be here and keep it moving.”
Strengthening the defensive line depth
Washington, who also serves as Notre Dame’s defensive run game coordinator, described heading into his third season with the Irish as teaching a 300-level course. Defensive coordinator Al Golden will be leading the Notre Dame defense for a third consecutive season, and he has coaching continuity from Washington and defensive backs coach Mike Mickens to complement the scheme continuity.
Notre Dame’s defensive line should be able to handle plenty of complexities due to all the playing experience it possesses. The four projected starters are all graduate seniors — nose tackle Howard Cross III, defensive tackle Rylie Mills, vyper end Jordan Botelho and defensive end RJ Oben — and have been playing college football since at least 2020.
While all four of those players have room for improvement and Oben needs to learn a new role as a transfer from Duke, the bigger emphasis this spring will be continuing to develop the rotation behind them.
“I feel confident,” Washington said. “The goal this spring is if you’re a guy who didn’t play much last year to become a guy that is dependable. So, you’re going to get the chance this spring. We have a great opportunity we have to take advantage of.”
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There were plenty of reps to go around for interior defensive linemen in Wednesday’s practice. Mills and Cross weren’t dressed for practice and backup nose tackle Gabriel Rubio isn’t on the team this spring, though he attended practice Wednesday and is expected to return to the roster this summer.
But in an odd way, Mills and Cross having the day off actually turned out to be helpful.
“It really is,” Washington said. “And we'll do stuff with those guys to fill in those gaps, but we know what they are. We know what they can do. Not to say they can’t — they got to get better.
“It's actually harder for them to stay as engaged. They come into the meetings, and they got to do some academic requirements. So, you got to be the man, and you don't have the platform that everybody else has all the time, so you got to maximize it.
“It does help. It does clear the way to really take a good look at what you need to look at and give guys those repetitions to help them improve.”
This could be the deepest defensive line group that Washington’s coached at Notre Dame, but it’s also a deeply connected one.
“I don’t think anybody has an attitude of they’ve arrived,” Washington said. “They’re constantly working on improving. They really have a deep love for each other. I really believe that.”
Who’s next on the defensive line?
The depth Washington is working to develop extends beyond the names he highlighted when asked about defensive linemen ready to take the next step in their games, but it’s always a good sign for a player if the name jumps into his coach’s head.
Washington rattled them off: senior Jason Onye, juniors Donovan Hinish, Joshua Burnham and Junior Tuihalamaka and sophomore Boubacar Traore. All five of them saw playing time last season and will be fighting for increased roles, even if the starting lineup appears to be set.
“Pressure's on them, and they've been phenomenal,” Washington said. “Other guys in the room, they got the same mentality as well. But based on last year, those guys who played, I think they're the ones that they got to make that bump, graduate to it, and they are well on their way.”
Burnham and Tuihalamaka won’t be fighting each other for playing time as much this season with Burnham moving over from vyper to play the field end role more often. Burnham tallied 18 tackles, four tackles for loss and one sack last season. Tuihalamaka recorded 10 tackles.
Onye, a defensive tackle, saw a surge in playing time after appearing in just one game his first two seasons at Notre Dame. He totaled 17 tackles and one shared sack while playing in all 13 games. And the 6-foot-5, 287-pound Onye is one of the more physically impressive defensive linemen on the roster.
“He looks the part; he is the part,” Washington said. “He's got to continue to work on the details of his technique, his leverage. He's a different body type. He is a tall, high-hipped — if you look at him physically. So inside, the game is about leverage, so it's always going to be a little more of an investment for him. But he's improving that, and just getting comfortable with all the things we ask him to do.
“I got high expectations for Jason and his leadership. He's a leader, really is. He's naturally extroverted, and so he can reach a lot of people. He's pushing himself. He's on them every day about being uncomfortable. Those big things — the fundamentals, the technique and just the overall confidence, trust what you see, go get it.”
The 6-2, 279-pound Hinish, who had 10 tackles and one sack in nine games last season, may be in line for a jump in production on the interior as well. Washington described him as special.
“He's explosive,” Washington said. “He's quick, very coachable, and I credit his family. Obviously, we know Kurt (Hinish). Kurt's a staple of Notre Dame, and I've been fortunate to know that family for some time. But he's a coach's dream. That's the kind of dude you want.”
Notre Dame redshirted Traore last season, but he still recorded his first career sack against former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams at the end of the first half in Notre Dame’s 48-20 rout of USC. The 6-4, 240-pound Traore has length and explosiveness that could be really dangerous at the vyper positon.
“Boubacar is physically gifted,” Washington said. “He's filling out. Last year he was a lot lighter. Now he's starting to fill out, starting to eat, and all that stuff and just naturally grow. But I think he's improved, just his understanding of, and again, you're a freshman coming in the summertime in our system, it's not easy.
“Now he's had the chance to digest it, and what you see is his play speed. So, I can't say enough good things. He's incredibly talented, extremely high character, and high expectations for him.”
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