Latest news with #AlWashington
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Athlon Sports ranks Notre Dame defensive line as one of the best nationally
If Notre Dame has to rely a little more on its defense this season as it tries to get back to the College Football Playoff national championship game, that might not be such a bad thing. The defensive line for the Fighting Irish should be stout, and it has been ranked as one of the best units in college football ahead of the 2025 season. Advertisement After lauding ND's secondary, Athlon Sports ranked the ND defensive line as sixth-best in the country. This is a unit that dealt with several significant injuries throughout last season but still managed to play solid football all year, so it is expected to take the next step this fall under the tutelage of line coach Al Washington. While Jordan Botelho will be sidelined to start the season due to a pectoral injury, this is still a talented and deep unit. Both Gabriel Rubio and Jason Onye are healthy again at tackle, and the Irish brought in Jared Dawson from Louisville to rotate in as well. Meanwhile, Bryce Young leads a deep group on the outside. Once Boubacar Traore gets completely healthy, he should be a pass-rushing force off the edge. There may not be a returning player that has off the chart stats, but there is proven depth with a lot of high upside for several players. Washington has a deep rotation, which should serve the ND defense well in 2025 as Marcus Freeman and Co. look to pick up right where they left off from last season starting with the opener at Miami. Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions. Advertisement Follow Dave on X: Miller_Dave This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Athlon Sports ranks Notre Dame's defensive line No. 6 in the country
USA Today
18-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Athlon Sports ranks Notre Dame defensive line as one of the best nationally
Athlon Sports ranks Notre Dame defensive line as one of the best nationally If Notre Dame has to rely a little more on its defense this season as it tries to get back to the College Football Playoff national championship game, that might not be such a bad thing. The defensive line for the Fighting Irish should be stout, and it has been ranked as one of the best units in college football ahead of the 2025 season. After lauding ND's secondary, Athlon Sports ranked the ND defensive line as sixth-best in the country. This is a unit that dealt with several significant injuries throughout last season but still managed to play solid football all year, so it is expected to take the next step this fall under the tutelage of line coach Al Washington. While Jordan Botelho will be sidelined to start the season due to a pectoral injury, this is still a talented and deep unit. Both Gabriel Rubio and Jason Onye are healthy again at tackle, and the Irish brought in Jared Dawson from Louisville to rotate in as well. Meanwhile, Bryce Young leads a deep group on the outside. Once Boubacar Traore gets completely healthy, he should be a pass-rushing force off the edge. There may not be a returning player that has off the chart stats, but there is proven depth with a lot of high upside for several players. Washington has a deep rotation, which should serve the ND defense well in 2025 as Marcus Freeman and Co. look to pick up right where they left off from last season starting with the opener at Miami. Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions. Follow Dave on X: Miller_Dave
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Defensive Tackle Tiki Hola Commits To Notre Dame
Notre Dame has landed yet another big time football player with Bastrop (Texas) High School standout Tiki Hola announcing his commitment to the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame beat out USC and SMU to land the talented defensive tackle. Notre Dame has been recruiting Hola for about two years, with his first visit to campus coming in 2023 when he watched the Fighting Irish beat Wake Forest (45-7). In March of 2024, Hola was officially offered a scholarship by Notre Dame during its Pot of Gold push. A week later he made his second visit to campus, and since then Hola has made two more trips to campus as the Irish. Defensive line coach Al Washington established a strong rapport with Hola, selling his vision for how the Bastrop star fits in the Irish defense, and that played a major role in this decision. Advertisement The Texas defensive lineman is listed at 6-3 and between 270-285 pounds, but he checked in recently at 6-3 and 300 pounds. As a junior, Hola racked up 102 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, two sacks, forced three fumbles and recovered two fumbles. He earned Defensive MVP honors after putting together that dominant season. Hola also earned first-team All-State honors at the 5A level. Landing Hola gives Notre Dame the kind of physical, stout, disruptive big man that could help improve the Irish run defense. Hola is ranked as a Top 150 caliber prospect on the Irish Breakdown board, but he has a 4.5-star upside grade, which is that of a Top 50-75 prospect. ESPN and Rivals both rank Hola as a four-star recruit, with ESPN ranking him as the nation's No. 150 overall player and No. 12 defensive tackle. Hola also had offers from Georgia, Texas, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M, Miami (Fla.), Tennessee, Nebraska, TCU, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Texas Tech, Baylor, Boston College, Arizona and Houston. Hola is the 15th player to commit to Notre Dame. He joins Florida quarterback Noah Grubbs, Texas running back Javian Osborne, Florida wide receiver Dylan Faison, Georgia wide receiver Bubba Frazier, Pennsylvania offensive lineman Tyler Merrill, Michigan offensive linemen Ben Nichols, Gregory Patrick and Sullivan Garvin, North Carolina ends Ebenezer Ewetade and Rodney Dunham, North Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis Jr., Ohio linebacker Jakobe Clapper, Florida cornerback Ayden Pouncey and Tennessee cornerback Chaston Smith. Advertisement Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge Irish Breakdown Content 2025 Scholarship Chart 2025 Football Schedule Notre Dame 2026 Scholarship Offers 2025 Commit Rankings - Offense 2025 Commit Rankings - Defense 2024 Recruiting Class 2023 Recruiting Class 2022 Recruiting Class ——————— Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more. BECOME A MEMBER Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time! Join the Irish Breakdown community! Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178 Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Notre Dame lands a commitment four-star DL Tiki Hola
Notre Dame's run of blue-chip commitments continued on Saturday. Four-star defensive lineman Tiki Hola committed to the Irish over SMU -- a colossal victory for Marcus Freeman and Al Washington on the recruiting trail scooping up another big-time piece to their star-studded 2026 recruiting class. Advertisement "Up to these last two visits, I had no idea. Both teams had been talking to me for a while and I knew was valuable to them," Hola started. "Notre Dame has done a great job recruiting me. Coach Freeman and what they're doing with the program ... they're doing a really good job." The Irish have been chopping away the touted 2026 defensive lineman from Central Texas for years. Washington and assistant DL coach Nick Sebastian have been paramount in Notre Dame's surge. "Coach Sebastian and Coach Washington have been recruiting me for the last few years," the four-star DL said. "They've always made me feel like it's home. I'm really comfortable there and in that environment. The fan base and the teammates over there made me feel welcomed and they made me feel valuable." Advertisement The Mustangs were "neck and neck" with the Irish leading into Saturday's reveal. Hola officially visited the Hilltop last weekend. He will return to South Bend for a third time this year on June 13 for his official visit -- after soaking up the Irish's star-studded junior day in February and the spring game last month. In that span, Hola happened upon his decision. "Outside of football, Coach Freeman and Coach Washington are two great people," he detailed. "Being coached by them would be a great opportunity -- to expend my opportunities in football and the doors that God has opened for me outside of football."
