Notre Dame football has several defensive concerns they need to answer as the 2024 season begins

Notre Dame football is poised for a huge 2024 season, which could potentially bring a long playoff run. A huge reason for the optimism is the defense, entering year three under defensive coordinator Al Golden . The system is outstanding, as is the overall talent on that side of the football.

As is the case with everything, there are some potential concerns that the defense has to navigate. Here are the three issues that could hurt the defense early, which Golden and his squad will have to navigate effectively.

Proven interior depth

There’s no questioning how good the duo of Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills are. As a tandem, those two combined for 113 total tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks in 2023. Notre Dame suffered a loss behind them with the injury to Gabriel Rubio, which will sideline him for the season. He has been a solid contributor the last two seasons for the Irish.

Now the depth has become a slight concern for Notre Dame inside, with names like Jason Onye and Donovan Hinish left to make up for the loss. That duo is talented, especially Onye. From a talent perspective, he could start for a lot of other teams around college football. The talent is there, but the experience level is not. Those two combined for just 27 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks last season.

In an ideal world, someone will break out for the Irish inside. Redshirt freshman Armel Mukam is a name to watch closely. By all accounts, he has had a good fall camp. If the Canadian is able to provide quality depth, it would be huge for the interior defensive line this fall.

Experience on the second level

It’s very easy for Notre Dame fans to get very excited for the talent at linebacker this fall. Everyone knows Jack Kiser , who heads into his final season with 185 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, four sacks, four interceptions, four forced fumbles and six pass breakups. He is the elder statesman of the group.

What Notre Dame fans are most excited about is seeing some of the young talent at linebacker. Names like Drayk Bowen, Jaylen Sneed, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Jaiden Ausberry are very familiar with fans, and bring a lot of optimism with their recruiting backgrounds. Excitement is through the roof.

The issue when playing so many younger players at linebacker, are the potential misreads and lack of eye discipline. Speed, explosiveness, and length are wanted on the second level, but if they don’t know where they’re going, it doesn’t actually matter. There is some potential for spotty play early. This talented group will have to grow up quickly.

Depth at cornerback

Benjamin Morrison is an All-American cornerback in the boundary for the Irish. He’s excellent, having recorded nine interceptions and 14 pass breakups in his first two seasons. Morrison will be joined by sophomore Christian Gray as starters, and Notre Dame is also very high on Gray. In fact, there’s a legitimate argument that Gray could be the more physically gifted of the two, which says a lot.

Behind Gray, junior Jaden Mickey should play a lot. He’s played a nice amount over his first two seasons, and has steadily improved since a tough first season. Add in graduate student Jordan Clark at nickel, and there’s a lot of reason to feel optimistic at cornerback for the Irish.

There are, however, some depth concerns at outside cornerback. If there are any injuries, freshmen Leonard Moore and Karson Hobbs could be forced into playing time. Both are very talented, so it could work out, but you never want to force a freshman into a role if they aren’t ready. It’s especially unsettling since Morrison is already coming off of a preseason shoulder injury.