Bryce Young Eyes Bigger Role on Notre Dame’s Defensive Line After Strong Offseason

Notre Dame junior defensive lineman Bryce Young said during today’s fall camp media availability that the biggest jumps in his offseason came mentally and schematically, paired with strength work in the weight room. Asked where he grew his game, he pointed first to what happens before the snap.

“Definitely, I would say mentally and, I would say also scheme-wise – being a smart football player,” Young said. “And also I think I had a great offseason with Coach Landow in the strength training room and getting my body right, and I’ve definitely been able to feel that on the field. So I’m excited to see how this year goes.”

Flashes Have to Turn Into Production

Young was a rotational piece on the 2024 team that reached the national title game, and the flashes were real enough to get noticed outside the building, including by Kirby Smart. He finished that season with 23 tackles, three tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks, with a sack in the playoff win over Indiana and four tackles against Penn State in the semifinal. Notre Dame fans hopped for a bigger return on those flashes in 2025 as Young moved into a regular role in the rotation and looked to make his presence felt.

The production, though, landed in roughly the same range: 20 tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks, and three pass breakups while playing in all 12 games. His career line sits at 43 tackles, five tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks, and he enters this season with a potential NFL decision waiting if the production finally matches the tools.

The Offseason Work Shows Up

Young’s offseason in the weight room shows up in how he looks and how he moves, and his teammates have noticed.

“I’ll start off with Bryce,” Notre Dame junior offensive lineman Guerby Lambert said. “I feel like ever since he’s got here, all he’s done is he’s got stronger and stronger and faster and faster. You can see the work he’s put in the offseason just by looking at him and then you see him on the field. It’s a whole different animal than you’ve seen from the past two years.”

What Partridge Has Added

New Notre Dame defensive line coach Charlie Partridge arrived from the Colts and has only been in the building roughly six months. Young still credited him for the technical and philosophical side of his offseason jump.

“Just teaching me the wisdom he’s brought from his long career and long successful career,” Young said. “The stuff he’s learned, and everybody has their own philosophy, but he’s had a lot of success with his philosophies that he’s used, and being able to learn from him, I’ve seen my game improve a lot in just this short time.”

Partridge said the room has absorbed the install quickly enough that the coaching has already moved past the mental phase.

“I think they’re really getting a grasp of the playbook. We got a lot of volume in right now. I would venture to guess about 90% of our playbook is in, and they’re handling it well,” Partridge said. “So when you have a good grasp of the playbook, you’re able to now focus and improve on your technique and play faster.”

Young’s snaps have come in defined situations to this point, and knowing the full install is what allows him to play at full speed on a wider range of downs rather than a handful of packages.

From Freshman to Veteran Voice

Young was a freshman on the playoff run, learning from Rylie Mills and Riley Leonard, a pair of veterans on that squad he credited today. Asked what it would mean to get back there as one of the older players rather than a young piece of the rotation, he framed it around what he took from that group.

“Oh, it would mean so much to me. I mean, just the opportunity I know that we have in front of us with the talent we have on this roster. Being able to be a leader too with my teammates and being there as a freshman, like you said, I learned from Ryllie Mills, Riley Leonard, all those guys, what it takes and all it takes to get there,” Young said. “So knowing that and being able to bring that to the table means a lot to me to be in this position.”

The standard he described inside the defensive line room runs through senior defensive lineman Boubacar Traore, who led the group with 37 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks a year ago.

“It’s really all about consistency, going out there and doing what you say you’re going to do,” Young said. “But yeah, I really feel like with the group we have, it makes it easy ’cause everybody’s holding each other accountable. Like I know I got Boubacar Traore holding me accountable every day and I’m holding him accountable every day ’cause we’re going to go out there and bust our behind.”

How much of Young’s offseason gains show up in production remains to be seen. With the opener three and a half weeks out, Irish fans won’t wait long to find out whether he’s ready for the breakout most expected last year. The answer decides what Notre Dame’s defensive front looks like this fall, and what Young does with the NFL decision waiting at the end of it.