Bryce Young Is Turning Into the Defensive Lineman Notre Dame Football Needed

Bryce Young is two games into a season that is already closing in on his production from all of last season. The junior defensive lineman has seven tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss, which puts him within a half tackle for loss of the four he recorded across all of 2025, a season in which he finished with 20 tackles and two sacks. Marcus Freeman said during fall camp that Young looked the best he ever had, and Young is backing that up on the field so far this season.

When asked what has changed for him earlier this week, Young didn’t point to technique.

“Yeah. I would say preparation, very important. You know, having a routine, I think,” Young said. “I was asked like what does maturity mean to you, and I think for me just being consistent in my routine has been big for me. And I think I’ve seen a lot of success with staying true to that.”

Production Coming in Bursts

Young’s early season production isn’t a byproduct of playing a ton of snaps, either. Young was credited with four tackles in the 41-13 win over Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Against Rice, he had his first sack of the season while playing just 16 snaps in a rotation Chris Ash keeps deep on purpose. Rice had rushed 70 times for 465 yards and four touchdowns the week before it came to Notre Dame Stadium. It ran 34 times against the Irish and got 64 yards, 1.9 a carry, in a 52-0 shutout. Notre Dame finished with eight tackles for loss, and Young had 2.5 of them.

A year ago, Young might not even have played much against a team running the option. He barely did last year against Navy. Freeman talked last week, however, about how both Young and Traore earned the opportunity to play more against an option offense because of their development.

The Standard He Is Growing Into

Notre Dame’s defensive line has been winning a lot of downs so far this season, Young included. Asked ahead of Saturday night’s Michigan State game what winning a down looks like for the defensive line, Young laid out a sequence and this time he did get into technique.

“Yeah. Like I said, we talked about violence. We talked about violence over here. You know, that starts elite get-off, elite strike, elite pursuit to the ball, all those things,” Young said. “That’s what it means to me. If you get a good strike, you can manage anything really. So, once we do that, just finding the ball, keeping our gap integrity, all those things.”

He had been asking for that in summer camp. Two games in, he was pressed on whether the line was delivering it.

“Oh, I love it. I mean, there’s always room for improvement, but it’s a great start. Like what I’ve seen on film, guys running to the ball every play. It’s been really cool to see,” Young said. “If we don’t do one thing, we’re always going to give effort every play. And then the violence, like you talked about, on our finishes, it’s been awesome to see.”

The Work That Does Not Show Up on the Stat Sheet

The Rice game’s first scoring play belonged to somebody else. On the second snap from scrimmage, Adon Shuler came downhill on Davis Lane Jr. and knocked the ball loose. Boubacar Traore picked it up at the Rice 24 and returned it untouched. Fourteen seconds in, it was 7-0 before the Notre Dame offense had taken the field. Young was out there blocking for the return, and he was asked whether he wished the ball had bounced his way instead.

“Not at all. I’m just glad I got my block for him to get in the end zone,” Young said. “You know, we were celebrating in the end zone, got the crowd hyped. So that was a very cool moment.”

The same thinking shows up in how he describes his edge work. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa tore the ACL in his left knee against Syracuse last November, missed the Wisconsin opener while the staff took its time with his return, and made his 2026 debut against Rice, where he led the Irish with five tackles and added 1.5 for loss. Young frames his own job in terms of what it frees Viliamu-Asa to do.

“It’s so fun out there playing with him, knowing if I set the edge, he’s going to come downhill and make a play,” Young said.

The First Real Measurement

Michigan State running back Cam Edwards could be the first real test for the Notre Dame defensive line. The UConn transfer ran for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Huskies last year and has 250 through two games in East Lansing, including 152 and two scores against Eastern Michigan. Toledo and Eastern Michigan don’t exactly have elite defenses, but Edwards proved last year he could run the ball.

“Yeah, it’s a great challenge. We watch the film, he’s very explosive back. Kudos to him. But I’m excited to go out there and see what our defense can do,” Young said. “I mean we’ve been working at it. Just tell their scout team like y’all got to give us good looks. So yeah, we’re excited.”

If Young continues to play the way he has through two games, the results on Saturday night should be similar to what we’ve seen the last two weeks and Young’s tackle for loss total should continue to rise. As Notre Dame gets deeper into the season, so too should his sack total. The Irish have faced two teams that rely more on the run than the pass and face another one this weekend. That’ll change as the season progresses and Young will get to show his progression in the pass department. He already has one sack on the season in limited pass rush opportunities. If he continues to be as disruptive as he’s been, Young will have an NFL decision to make in January, hopefully after Notre Dame is celebrating a long run in the playoffs that ends with a national championship.