Brian Jean-Mary Getting Acclimated With Notre Dame Linebackers Despite Limited Spring Depth

As we look forward to the 2026 college football season, Notre Dame will have arguably the deepest and most talented linebacking corps in the country. They return all five players who were in the rotation last season including Drayk Bowen their middle linebacker and defensive captain from the 2025 roster. The Irish also return Jaiden Ausberry who started the majority of the season at Will linebacker along with Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa , Jaylen Sneed and Madden Faraimo .

Today, however, the depth in the linebacking room is looking very thin as Bowen, Faraimo and Kahanu Kia are limited this spring while Viliamu-Asa is still working his way back from a knee injury. Despite the limited depth, new linebacker coach Brian Jean-Mary is getting acclimated to his new unit, which is exceptionally deep and talented. Ausberry and Sneed have been relied on to take the first team reps this spring, and their experience is playing a big factor.

"The number on thing they bring is experience and that’s as valuable in college football as anything right now," Jean-Mary said about Ausberry and Sneed. "Obviously they bring a lot of playmaking ability and athleticism to the linebacker position. Both of them mainly play the weakside linebacker, so you have two very athletic guys that are used to playing in space.

" Ausberry has taken the lion's share of reps at the middle linebacker position while Bowen, Viliamu-Asa, Faraimo and Kia are out or limited with injuries. The Louisiana native has quietly been one of the best players Notre Dame has on the defensive side of the football over the last couple of seasons. But in Jean-Mary's eyes, there's been nothing surprising about Ausberry's game.