Notre Dame's defense is stacking up to be something special in 2026, and it's not just the big names you already know. Sure, unanimous All-American cornerback Leonard Moore is back to lock down receivers as the best returning corner in the country for the second straight year. And yes, safety Tae Johnson is ranked No. 1 among returning safeties by PFF. But the real buzz is building around a rising star who's ready to turn heads: defensive end Bryce Young.

Standing 6-foot-6 and weighing in at 260 pounds, Young came to South Bend as one of the highest-rated defensive recruits in the 2024 class. The North Carolina native arrived with serious hype, but he was raw out of high school and needed time to develop. That patience is about to pay off in a big way.

In his freshman season (2024), Young played 374 snaps across 16 games. He got his first real taste of action when Jordan Botelho went down with a season-ending injury against Purdue. Then, when Boubacar Traore's season was cut short during the Louisville game, Young's snap count shot up. By the end of that year, he had racked up 17 total pressures and seven hits-plus-sacks on the quarterback—with 15 of those pressures and six of those QB hits coming from Louisville onward. That's the kind of late-season surge that gets scouts talking.

This past season, Young played 314 snaps (60 fewer than his freshman year, but the Irish played four fewer games). Of those, 202 were pass-rushing snaps, and he made them count: 29 pressures and 11 hits-plus-sacks on the quarterback. He also had 10 run stops in 104 run snaps. Solid numbers, but Young knows there's another gear he can hit.

Here's the exciting part: Young and Boubacar Traore are shaping up to be one of the most lethal edge-rushing duos in college football. Traore is the more proven commodity right now, and there's a strong chance he breaks out nationally this season, drawing comparisons to elite pass rushers like Dylan Stewart. But Young has the NFL measurables—first-round size and length—that make him a nightmare for offensive tackles. If he can turn his raw potential into consistent production, this tandem could be unstoppable.

For Notre Dame fans, 2026 is the year the defense goes from loaded to legendary. And Bryce Young is ready to be a major reason why.