As Notre Dame football prepares for fall camp, there are all kinds of questions the team must answer before the season kicks off. There's even one new question that started taking shape this spring. In the immortal words of new defensive coordinator Chris Ash, "who the hell is this guy?" The answer to that question was Tae Johnson, and it seems likely that he'll become a household name once the season starts.
Every year, there are breakout players that seemingly come out of nowhere. That's no different in South Bend, where Johnson set out to impress his new defensive coordinator during spring practice. Now he's looking to keep it going in fall camp and become a breakout player of 2025 the way defensive back Leonard Moore did it in 2024.
Notre Dame football breakout watch: Tae Johnson turning heads in Chris Ash’s defense
There's still a way to go for Johnson to get that breakout chance. Grad transfer Jalen Stroman will likely start at free safety. He offers a veteran presence thanks to 36 games of experience. He also has 111 career tackles. But when Stroman missed a chunk of spring practice with an injury, Johnson stood out to Notre Dame football coaches.
"I didn't know much about him, to be honest with you," explained Ash. "Then we get out there and this safety starts showing up and flashing and making a lot of plays."
"He's got good size," stated Ash. "He can run. He's getting his hands on balls and you can see him breaking out of the middle. Like, ‘Man, who the hell is this?’ That's when I really started to figure out who he was. He just flashed and made plays all spring. Now he's not perfect. He gave up some as well, like people do, but he definitely showed some big play potential here this spring."
Johnson has been called a "freak athlete" before. So this isn't the first time he's shown what he can do. It's all about convincing Ash and defensive backs coach Mike Mickens he deserves playing time this year.
The redshirt freshman made strides for the Notre Dame football team this spring. Now Tae Johnson will get the chance to do it even more when fall camp kicks off at the end of the month.