Joey O’Brien Made the Most of His First Notre Dame Football Start

Notre Dame went to Purdue without either of its top two safeties. Brauntae Johnson, who made 48 tackles a year ago, has not been on the field since he got hurt in the season opener, and Saturday made three consecutive games without him. Luke Talich, a week removed from the best performance of his career against Michigan State and up to 11 tackles in 2026, was out with an injured wrist. Behind them was a true freshman who had lost part of his own spring to injury and had played in each of Notre Dame’s first three games without starting any of them.

Joey O’Brien found out on Tuesday, four days before kickoff.

“Yeah. So, I met in a bunch of meetings extra with Coach Jeyvaughn (Codin), Coach Ash,” O’Brien said. “They told me I was starting on Saturday, I mean on Tuesday. So, it was kind of a bunch of preparation, just making sure I’m good with everything because it was a lot on my plate, but they helped me. The guys, Luke Talich and Tae helped me a lot. They were always meeting with me, too. So, they kind of made it easy.”

Settling Into the Start

O’Brien had two tackles against Rice and one against Michigan State before Saturday, mostly in situational packages.

“Yeah, definitely. Coach Jeyvaughn (Codin) was telling me just get my feet wet. Play by play. It doesn’t matter the play. Just go out there, do your job, and then that’ll be it,” O’Brien said.

“I kind of told Luke, I wasn’t too nervous going out there. I feel like playing a little bit in those first couple games, that kind of helped me. But of course, you’re starting on the number three team in the country,” O’Brien said. “It’s a great feeling, and the nerves definitely were high, but all the guys were very supportive of me. They calmed me down, made sure I knew what I was doing.”

He finished with five tackles, half a tackle for loss, and half a sack in the 49-10 win, the most productive game of his freshman season.

The Support Behind Him

Johnson and Talich, the two players whose snaps he was taking, spent the week in the meeting room with him.

“They kind of just told me have fun out there,” O’Brien said. “They told me they know what I could do. Just have fun. Don’t stress about it too much because, I mean, all the preparation I did was a great help. So just have fun. That’s what they told me.”

Adon Shuler, the captain lined up next to him, took it further.

“I mean, he’s a captain. He’s the best player on the team. Like, he’s a dog. He literally leads me every time. Like I said, being extra with him, just going over little things. He’s calling me at night, going over film. Like, he’s just a great leader, great teammate,” O’Brien said.

The pass rush helped too. Notre Dame had six sacks and nine tackles for loss at Purdue and held the Boilermakers to 40 rushing yards on 31 carries.

“Yeah, definitely. I mean, they’re all four dogs down there, like Boubacar (Traore), Bryce (Young), Armel (Mukam), the list goes on and on. Drayk (Bowen) too, Kyngstonn (Viliamu-Asa). Like, they just make it easy. I mean, if the quarterback has three seconds to throw, I mean, and they’re getting hit every time too, that’s going to be easier for us,” O’Brien said.

From Spring Setback to First Start

Saturday looked a long way off in late April, when O’Brien walked off the field at the Blue-Gold game on crutches.

“Yeah. I mean, that was a scary moment. That was my first injury ever, so obviously it was like a setback. But like I said, everyone’s so supportive in there. Like, it’s really like a family, so there wasn’t really any stressing,” O’Brien said.

The extra meeting time is a habit, not a one-week cram.

“Yeah, it’s kind of like it’s a job now, to be honest. So you got to get your stuff done. I mean, where I want to be, I want to be an All-American. I want to help this team go to a national championship. I want to help them do whatever they can. So that means, you know, coming in early mornings, late nights. That’s what I’m going to be able to do,” O’Brien said.

During the game, the Peacock broadcast compared O’Brien to Kyle Hamilton.

“I mean, it’s a great feeling to be compared to him, but, you know, I’m Joey O’Brien. Got to do what I got to do. Of course, we have the same traits, stuff like that, but I’m just trying to be the best me and just be the best player to help this team,” O’Brien said.

Whether or not O’Brien lives up to the lofty expectations of Hamilton comparisons won’t be decided for a while. What was very clear in O’Brien’s first career start, however, was that the moment wasn’t too big for him and his talent is abundantly clear. Notre Dame has built a recent reputation for producing elite safeties and after the first start of his career, it seems pretty clear that O’Brien will have every opportunity to continue that tradition.