While Notre Dame is basking in the glow of a win and looking like the Fighting Irish in the second half on Sunday night, one central question remains: what happened to Brauntae Johnson and Jason Onye?
Head coach Marcus Freeman did not answer the question, “What happened to the starting safety and the starting defensive lineman?” after the 41-13 victory. The question remains as the sun rises on Monday morning, and that doesn’t sound like a great development.
Both Johnson and Onye left late in the first half, heading into the locker room before the second-quarter final whistle. At halftime, Notre Dame announced that neither player would return, and with the score at 13-10, it was a much bigger deal that two defensive starters were done for the night.
With no official statement, the only thing to go off of is that both players were spotted wearing walking boots. That’s never a good thing and strongly suggests both defensive stars will miss the Fighting Irish’s Week 2 game. The good news is that their Week 2 opponent is Rice. If Notre Dame could handle Wisconsin in the second half, to the tune of 28-3 without Johnson and Onye, they should be able to handle the Owls for an entire game.
Notre Dame football faces uncertainty after Brauntae Johnson and Jason Onye leave in boots
The bigger issue is how many weeks, and how many games after Rice, two of the best defensive players on the roster will miss. Johnson entered the 2026 season with plenty of NFL Draft analysts predicting he could be a first-round pick in the 2027 draft. Onye, a veteran lineman, is also expected to be a game-wrecker at the next level.
It’s less about Notre Dame needing to get along without them for the first five weeks of the season and more about not wanting to have to knock off the rust when the schedule gets tougher. The Miami Hurricanes coming to town, where Johnson and Onye haven’t played much, or can’t play at all, would be very, very bad news.
In 2025, Johnson had a breakout season, recording 48 tackles, 3 pass breakups, and 4 interceptions, including a 73-yard INT return for a touchdown. Onye had his best season as a member of Notre Dame, tallying 26 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a pass breakup.
Add us as a preferred source on Google