Notre Dame's Transfer Portal work might be done, but the Fighting Irish added another stud defender to the roster for 2026 through Jason Onye's official return on Tuesday.
Onye's eligibility was officially up after the 2025 season, though he made it clear he was petitioning the NCAA for a sixth year due to injury hardships. The defender and the rest of the team had been waiting for official word for several weeks, and now the wait is over.
The NCAA informed the 6-foot-5, 302-pound North Providence, R.I., product that his petition was successful, according to On3's Eric Hansen. Onye coming back means that they didn't need to go into the portal in order to fill the Irish's biggest lingering offseason need.
Notre Dame secures the return of Jason Onye with NCAA waiver
In addition, Notre Dame now has a player coming back to the roster with proven production, and someone who has a complete understanding of the culture head coach Marcus Freeman has put in place in South Bend.
His return also means that the Irish are getting a defensive lineman who showed big growth over his previous time with ND. Onye finished 2025 with a career-best 26 tackles, as well as 1.5 sacks. He added 4 QB hurries. Most of his production came in the second half of the season. According to Pro Football Focus he also had a career high 77.8 grade. His 354 game snaps in 2025 were more than his previous four seasons combined.
Notre Dame entered the offseason knowing its defensive line would be a massive questionmark. Jason Onye will almost certainly offer a strong answer.