SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s defensive end depth was challenged last season when vypers Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore were both lost for the season before the start of October.
That opened up the door for Joshua Burnham, Junior Tuihalamaka and Bryce Young to take on even bigger roles last season. They each played more than 350 defensive snaps by the time the season ended in January.
That trio, the expected healthy returns from Botelho (ruptured patellar tendon) and Traore (torn ACL/LCL) and sophomore-to-be Loghan Thomas will give the Irish a lot of options to play later this year.
“We’re gonna be able to play multiple guys with experience,” said Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. “I love it. They’re all back. They’re all getting better.”
SUBSCRIBE TO INSIDE ND SPORTS TO STAY IN THE KNOW ON NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS
More Content
► Notre Dame LB commit Thomas Davis Jr. to make official visit to Georgia
► Why Notre Dame football's top receivers can be more productive in 2025
► Freeman evolves from flattening the learning curve to getting ahead of it
► Marcus Freeman wants USC-Notre Dame football rivalry played every season
► The Heat Index: Notre Dame's lining up strong finish to 2026 cycle on defense
Botelho has the most experience with 50 games in five seasons. He’s totaled 77 tackles, 11.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss in that time. Both Tuihalamaka and Burnham have tallied 49 tackles in three seasons in 42 and 28 career games, respectively. Traore, who has played in only 10 games in two seasons, has more sacks (4) than either Burnham (3) or Tuihalamaka (3). Young and Thomas each recorded 1.5 sacks as freshmen last season, though Young played a much more regular role.
RJ Oben, who totaled 19 tackles and one sack in 401 defensive snaps last season, is the only significant defensive end loss from last season. He’s chasing a career in the NFL while Notre Dame’s coaching staff is figuring out a plan to utilize all of its personnel.
“That’s gonna be a position that we’re gonna have a lot of depth,” Freeman said. “We gotta find ways to get them on the field, roll them.
“There’s another lesson last year told us. The season’s long. You’re gonna have to roll guys. Stop making permanent decisions based off week one. Let the normal football season play out. You’re gonna need depth. That’s what they all understand.”
Notre Dame’s defensive end options led Freeman, defensive coordinator Chris Ash and defensive line coach Al Washington to care less about differentiating between the defensive ends as vypers and field ends. The plan is for them to be more oriented as left and right ends with the ability to handle the responsibilities of both ends positions.
The primary difference between a vyper and field end is the ability of a vyper to drop into coverage.
“To be able to say we can play left and right, your end to the field can drop,” Freeman said. “Your end to boundary can drop. It helps you become a little bit more balanced and unpredictable, because usually we only drop the guy to the boundary. That’s why we called them the vyper. We can drop anybody now, because they’re playing left and right.”
An NFL comp for Charles Jagusah
Notre Dame has penciled Charles Jagusah in as a guard heading into his junior season, but there’s no doubt he could return to tackle if needed. The Irish just feel he’s needed at guard, which could result in a starting lineup of left tackle Anthonie Knapp, left guard Billy Schrauth, center Ashton Craig, right guard Jagusah and right tackle Aamil Wagner if everyone is healthy.
“I think Charles Jagusah could be a center, guard or tackle,” Freeman said. “I mean, he’s a freak. He’s really freaking good.”
Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has even compared Jagusah to former LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell, who the New England Patriots selected with the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
“When I hear Mike Denbrock compare him to the guy at LSU — the guy who got drafted to the Patriots, that’s high praise now. But that’s what went into the decision for him to play guard. It’s what’s best for the five.”
Waiting game on House vs. NCAA settlement
As the resolution to settle the House vs. NCAA lawsuit lingers longer than expected, Notre Dame football is forging ahead without too much concern. It has a plan in place for the proposed revenue sharing with players, and it’s just a matter of being given the green light to enact it.
The biggest concern for Freeman was the status of walk-ons with the previously proposed roster limits. But now that Notre Dame should be able to take care of anyone who already had a spot on the roster, the outlook became a lot less messy.
“When they made the decision on grandfathering in the walk-ons,” Freeman said, “that kind of was a major decision that we needed to know — do we have to make cuts or not? And assuming they’re going to approve it — but no matter if they approve it or not, we don’t have to make roster cuts. Which was a huge decision we had to make.
“As far as the other things in the settlement, again, we’re moving forward as if it’s probably going to be approved here in the next week, days.”
Judge Claudia Wilken declined to finalize approval of the proposed settlement agreement on April 23. She gave the parties until May 7 to attempt to modify the settlement agreement to better address her concerns, but final approval is still up in the air.
---------------------------------------------------------------
• Talk with Notre Dame fans on The Insider Lounge.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, Podbean or Pocket Casts.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports channel on YouTube.
• Follow us on Twitter: @insideNDsports, @EHansenND and @TJamesND.
• Like us on Facebook: Inside ND Sports
• Follow us on Instagram: @insideNDsports
