Notre Dame Impact Players For 2025: No. 17 Defensive Tackle Jason Onye originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Notre Dame is now 17 days away from kicking off the 2025 season against the Miami Hurricanes down in Hard Rock Stadium. The Irish will be relying on some impact players to get them through the home opener as well as getting them back to another run at the National Championship. I broke down who I believe will be the top 50 impactful players for Notre Dame this season. Let’s continue this countdown to kickoff with my No. 17 most impactful player, defensive tackle Jason Onye.
Onye has had an interesting career path and has yet to fully breakout as a key player along the defensive line. He came to South Bend as the former No. 1 player in the state of Rhode Island in the 2021 class and had tremendous upside. Last season, it was looking like Onye was headed towards that breakout year but was unable to finish the season due to personal reasons off the field. Now, the North Providence native returns for his final year of eligibility and is looking to put it all together for one last go around.
What He Brings To The Table
The 6-5, 302-pound interior defensive lineman gives Notre Dame it’s best opportunity to replace Rylie Mill’s production from a numbers perspective. Onye has the potential to be an all around interior player. He is a long, strong and athletic interior player with an extremely quick first step. His size projects him to be solid against the run this year as well. This offseason has been extremely beneficial for Onye and he’s looking like one of their most dominant and consistent interior player from what we’ve seen at practice.
He’s put on some good weight and is now consistently over 300-pounds; last season, he hovered anywhere from 290-pounds to 294-pounds. Al Washington’s entire defensive line unit has gotten significantly bigger compared to last season, and Onye is at the forefront of that conversation. He is poised for a breakout season but has to put it all together for an entire 15 to 16 game year.
What Is His Impact?
The defensive line rotation isn’t solidified yet; Notre Dame is only halfway through fall camp. However, it’s a relatively safe bet that, barring injury, Onye will be one of the lead candidates in the rotation and will potentially start this fall. Redshirt senior Gabriel Rubio, redshirt senior transfer Jared Dawson and redshirt junior Donovan Hinish are also members of the interior rotation. Onye has shown he can be an extremely efficient player as well. Last season, he racked up 10 total pressures including four hits plus sacks on the quarterback in only 54 pass rushing snaps.
His potential is through the roof, the only question is his ability to complete a full season as a key piece of the rotation. Injuries plagued this unit down the stretch last year and Onye would have been a valuable member of the rotation, especially in the post season when Mills went down against Indiana. If he has the type of final season he’s capable of having, the absence of Mills won’t be as detrimental as some may think. Onye’s size, athletic ability and experience is what makes him my No. 17 most impactful player for Notre Dame’s 2025 season.
PAST TOP 50 BREAKDOWNS
No. 18 – Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
No. 19 – Jordan Faison
No. 20 – Ashton Craig
No. 21 – Boubacar Traore
No. 22 – Aneyas Williams
No. 24 – DeVonta Smith
No. 25 – Jaiden Ausberry
No. 26 – Donovan Hinish
No. 27 – Junior Tuihalamaka
No. 28 – Jared Dawson
No. 29 – Armel Mukam
No. 30 – Will Pauling
No. 31 – Jaylen Sneed
No. 32 – Luke Talich
No. 33 – Jalen Stroman
No. 34 – Micah Gilbert
No. 35 – Loghan Thomas
No. 36 – Cam Williams
No. 37 – Tae Johnson
No. 38 – JaDon Blair
No. 39 – Karson Hobbs
No. 40 – Kevin Bauman
No. 41 – Ty Washington
No. 42 – Jack Larsen
No. 43 – Cole Mullins
No. 44 – Preston Zinter
No. 45 – James Flanigan
No. 46 – Noah Burnette
No. 47 – Guerby Lambert
No. 48 – Sullivan Absher
No. 49 – Jordan Botelho
No. 50 – Charles Jagusah
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
