Notre Dame made great strides defensively in 2023, to the point where the Irish had one of the best units in the country by the end of the season.
The Irish defense was a big part of the success that led to a 10-3 record last season.
Notre Dame is working to establish itself as an elite defensive football program, but to do so, the unit must start accumulating elite seasons together.
The good news is that the 2024 defense can do just that.
There are personnel losses and the team will look different next season, but it has a chance of being excellent.
Notre Dame is losing several key players from its defense in 2023, and replacing them will be difficult.
As with the offense, the defense has used a variety of players this season, with 16 different players starting this season.
For this article, starting players are those who have started at least four games this season (1/3 of the regular season).
Hardest hit by the departures was linebacker, who lost 120 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and seven TDs, with Bertrand and Liufau headed to the NFL.
Notre Dame loses 310 tackles, 39.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks from its 2023 defense, about half the production in the latter two categories.
Despite losing some key starters, the Irish are also returning a lot of talent from their 2023 unit, and it was incredibly important that Xavier Watts, Rylie Mills and Howard Cross III returned for another season.
