Notre Dame's safety depth could become a wildcard for Chris Ash's potentially elite defense heading into the 2026 CFB season

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Notre Dame has recruited the safety position as much as anyone in the country. That could be a huge wildcard heading into 2026.

Notre Dame football enters the 2026 college football season with one of the most talented secondaries in the country, and defensive coordinator Chris Ash has the pieces to get creative with his safety room.

The Fighting Irish could have as many as six defensive backs drafted in the 2027 NFL Draft class, a staggering number that speaks to the depth head coach Marcus Freeman and his staff have built on the back end. Leonard Moore, Christian Gray, Adon Shuler, Tae Johnson, DJ McKinney, and Luke Talich all carry draftable grades from evaluators around the NFL.

That kind of talent concentration raises a fascinating question: how does Ash take advantage of all of it?

The domino effect of DJ McKinney’s arrival

With the acquisition of McKinney, who was a star for Colorado the last couple of seasons, it is expected that Gray will move inside to nickel. Given how much teams throw the football nowadays on both the college and NFL level, the nickel position has become a de facto starter. Most teams play more sub-package than base, especially at the college level.

Gray’s move inside doesn’t create a void so much as it opens a door for Notre Dame to explore different personnel groupings, particularly at safety.

The depth Notre Dame has accumulated at the position is remarkable. Johnson, Shuler, Talich, Ethan Long, and true freshman Joey O’Brien give Ash a loaded room with a wide range of skill sets. That depth could become a real weapon if the coaching staff is willing to think beyond traditional two-safety alignments.

Luke Tallich as a movable chess piece

Tallich becomes one of the more intriguing options for Ash to deploy in unique ways. Standing at 6-4 and about 210 pounds, Tallich almost has the body type of a true SAM linebacker, which gives him upside to work on both the third and second levels of a defense. Long is reportedly having a huge offseason as well, which only adds to the depth of talent available.

It wasn’t too long ago that Notre Dame utilized a ton of three-safety sets when Kyle Hamilton was a true freshman, and the Irish still had Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott. That wasn’t this coaching staff, but the concept translates. If there is a desire to get Talich on the field more, there is a world where Notre Dame could sneak him into the slot or onto the second level within a two-high safety shell.

The key there ties back to what Gary Patterson created at TCU in the early 2000s. In certain umbrella coverages, the ability to have three safeties on the field allows for a ton of pre-snap and post-snap rotations.

Those rotations create headaches for opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators. Tallich has enough athleticism to play on the roof but also brings explosiveness coming downhill. The same can be said about Shuler, who is another player capable of doing a lot of things for a defense.

Tae Johnson’s growth unlocks versatility

Johnson is the most intriguing player of the group from a schematic standpoint. He can play as a true free safety, a middle-of-the-field presence capable of handling single-high responsibilities. That element of Johnson’s game allows for potential versatility across the entire secondary.

Last season, Ash played a lot more two-high than Notre Dame had previously, back when Xavier Watts was the star middle-of-the-field safety. With Johnson now entering his second year as a starter, I believe this gives Ash more leeway to trust him in single-high alignments. That trust could open the door for more creative personnel packages around him.

Why 3-safety sets could be the next adaptation

If it were up to me and I were Ash, I would toy with different alignments to get three safeties on the field at times.

The nickel is always there to fall back on, but in a world where the next offensive adaptation likely involves throwing out of heavier personnel groupings, players like Talich, Long, or even O’Brien as a third safety could provide Notre Dame some serious mismatch negation. The ability to play over tight ends with length and athleticism rather than relying solely on traditional nickel defenders would be a significant advantage.

Tallich and the depth of this safety room could become a huge wild card for the Fighting Irish, even if he doesn’t necessarily have a starting label next to his name.

This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Notre Dame’s safety depth could become a wildcard for Chris Ash’s potentially elite defense heading into the 2026 CFB season

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