Don Shuler shares perspective on son Adon's growth, Notre Dame's 2026 National Championship expectations and outlook
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Notre Dame football heads into the 2026 season with some high expectations. That confidence extends to the program’s parents.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Adon Shuler has grown into one of college football’s premier defensive backs over the last two seasons, and his father Don Shuler recently joined A to Z Sports to discuss the family’s journey, Adon’s development, and why the 2026 Notre Dame football team has a legitimate shot at winning it all.
From Adon’s graduation in May to the second annual youth football camp in Irvington, New Jersey, the Shuler family has had plenty to celebrate heading into what will be the most important season of Adon’s college career under head coach Marcus Freeman.
This will be a quick recap for an awesome 20-minute conversation.
A Notre Dame graduate and community leader
Don Shuler called watching his son walk across the graduation stage “surreal” this offseason. Adon, the first player from Irvington High School to graduate high school early, completed his degree in sociology (minor in real estate) roughly three and a half years after enrolling in January of 2023 and taking summer classes each year.
“You know that it’s coming. You just don’t know that it’s going to come that fast,” Don said. “My family and I were very excited, very happy to go to the graduation and just officially say we have a Notre Dame graduate in the household.”
Shuler also spoke about Adon’s second annual youth football camp, which the family begins planning as early as February or March each year. The camp brings together young athletes and high school players from the Irvington community, with Adon’s former coaches and college teammates returning to volunteer. Don also credited 3 Strand Sports, the group representing Adon, for helping execute the event.
“It’s all about the kids in the community,” Shuler explained. “Just seeing the kids and everyone having fun, that’s just the greatest part of it.”
A father’s critical coaching eye
Don, who has a coaching background himself, admitted he is his sons’ toughest critic. He gives “just enough praise, but not too much” to all of his kids. Still, certain moments have broken through that filter.
“The one that actually stuck out to me was the Texas A&M game, the first game when he caught the interception,” Don said. “And I’m like, yeah, he really belongs. He belongs on this stage.”
Adon’s forced fumble during the Georgia playoff win in 2024 was another career-defining play. Georgia had momentum and appeared ready to score before Adon put his helmet on the football and changed the game’s trajectory. Those moments have validated what the Notre Dame coaching staff saw in him during his recruitment.
The 2023 class staying together
One of the more remarkable aspects of Notre Dame’s rise has been the retention of its 2023 recruiting class. Shuler reflected on watching players like Boubacar Traore, Jordan Faison, Jeremiyah Love, and Jaden Greathouse develop alongside his son. He noted that many of them were late additions to the class, including Love, who initially “slipped right through the cracks.”
“I’m just so happy for all those guys,” Don explained.
He still reaches out to Adon’s teammates on social media to congratulate them on their accomplishments.
Don also pointed out that Freeman is the only remaining staff member from when Adon was originally recruited. Despite the coaching turnover, Freeman has surrounded himself with “really good family-oriented people” to ease the transitions. Don specifically mentioned missing former defensive coordinator Al Golden and assistant Mike Mickens, but said the family has adjusted well to defensive coordinator Chris Ash’s scheme.
The exposure to both Golden’s aggressive, man-heavy style and Ash’s zone-oriented approach has been valuable for Adon’s development. “You definitely need both to kind of balance everything out as a player to be kind of elite,” he said.
Why 2026 could be the year
With Adon’s academic workload now behind him, Don believes his son and several other 2023 graduates can fully lock in on football. He emphasized that Notre Dame holds its players to genuine academic standards, even during playoff runs.
“When we were making the playoff run a few years ago, these guys still had papers to write,” Don said. “Notre Dame is not that type of place. You have to be responsible for your schoolwork and academics, and then your extracurricular activities come into play.”
Looking at the 2026 roster, Shuler sees the depth that previous Notre Dame teams lacked. He pointed to the defensive line, the wide receiver room, the running back group led by Aneyas Williams and Nolan James Jr., and quarterback CJ Carr entering his second year as a starter alongside offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock.
“I believe we gonna have a chance to make a very, very strong run at the national championship,” Don said, adding that the sting of missing the College Football Playoff last season will serve as a powerful motivator. “Each game they’re going to look at it basically as a playoff game.”
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Don Shuler shares perspective on son Adon’s growth, Notre Dame’s 2026 National Championship expectations and outlook
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