Heading into the 2025 season defensive end was looking awfully enticing for Notre Dame. Big things were expected and the unit had a really nice mix of veterans and a couple young players who looked ready to blossom even further. Dare we say this was a disappointing year? Let’s dig into things.
Coming Back
Notre Dame had the health gods bless them in a way that allowed the edge rushers to be ready for fall camp, although in hindsight perhaps a couple of front line players coming off major injuries from 2024 didn’t put this group on the front foot.
Jordan Botelho felt like a huge addition to return for a 6th year following a patellar tendon tear, and while he remained a solid player for the Irish, he wasn’t able to take the next step athletically. For someone who seemed to be at Notre Dame forever, he leaves with 62 games played, 97 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 12.5 sacks. Nice numbers for sure, but he felt like he was destined for better in 2022 and was in a backup role for 2025.
A major blast off season for Boubacar Traore was hoped for, maybe even expected, but he too was coming off a torn knee suffered in mid-2024. We saw glimpses of his ceiling this past fall though.
Snaps
As expected, Traore led the way in snaps for this unit in 2025. Heading into his redshirt junior season he has reasonably high NFL stock but everyone will be looking for him to be a much more consistent presence and team leader for 2026.
No doubt, this was a downer of a season for Bryce Young. He showed signs of being a capable breakout star after his freshman season and largely seemed to stall or worse in 2025. Perhaps he’s still trying to come to terms with adding more weight to his large frame?
| PLAYER | SNAPS |
|---|---|
| Boubacar Traore | 470 |
| Bryce Young | 314 |
| Jordan Botelho | 292 |
| Junior Tuihalamaka | 286 |
| Josh Burnham | 235 |
| Loghan Thomas | 39 |
| Kobi Onyiuke | 38 |
| Preston Zinter | 18 |
| Chris Burgess | 9 |
| Joe Reiff | 9 |
The great news from 2025 is that both Junior Tuihalamaka and Josh Burnham were impact players with the meager snaps they were given. The bad news is neither is back this year with Junior out of eligibility and Burnham chasing greener pastures down south in Bloomington.
I’m sure the coaching staff would’ve liked to get one or two additional players involved more. Despite being undersized, Loghan Thomas was the sixth man called upon to see the field and will be a player to watch going into 2026. As of the spring roster he was listed at 207 pounds which HAS to be an error.
Grade: B
I struggled with this grade. So much of this defensive front was not flashy in 2025 and that includes the edge rushers. Still, they were part of an excellent defense so they were doing plenty of good things particularly in the run game.
Botelho’s college career wrapped up in 2025.
To be fair, there were times when the pass rushing and general havoc was very good coming off the edge. Plus, a combined 13.5 sacks and 23 tackles for loss from everyone at defensive end isn’t really that bad.
For me, this grade is more about not being able to take over a game and feel like 2025 didn’t leave us with this unit firing on all cylinders. It was a weird season for Young, Traore didn’t enter All-American hype, Botelho remained a backup, and maybe Burnham should’ve seen the field more?
I think this is a fair analysis, although I might dip it down to a B-. But some of that might be due to the group not meeting the high expectations that we put on it. I think I am going into 2026 with tempered expectations for this group and hoping that I will be pleasantly surprised with some great play
For as bad as the DBs were against A&M, I think the DEs were just as much to blame for that game. I know Reed is tough to get to the ground, especially when you have to worry about him scrambling for huge gains. But they simply weren’t good enough in that one.
That was my general feeling for the year. I didn’t necessarily understand where they hype was coming from for this group, as there was 0 proven production available to start the season. Lots of athletic guys with upside; but 0 production.
And they still didn’t live up to my low expectations. I think B is extremely generous for this group. Bryce Young is just way too big now. He’s lost all fluidity and looks two steps slower than he was before. If he’s going to be a DT, fine. But if he’s going to be a DE, he has to cut some weight or find a way to get his explosiveness back. This team has the makings of an all-time elite unit next year if they can generate some pass rush from the edges. I hope they take that next step!