Notre Dame made it all the way to the national title bout last year, thanks in large part to its fantastic defense. While Al Golden has gone on to allegedly greener pastures over in the NFL with Cincinnati, Chris Ash's unit could be just as formidable as the Fighting Irish's defense was a season ago. This is head coach Marcus Freeman's side of the ball after all. Plus, they are getting a big boost for Week 1.
One player of note along the defensive line for Notre Dame is sixth-year senior defensive lineman Jordan Botelho. The Honolulu native has been with the team since 2020.