Notre Dame freshman fully deserves a chance to start after Week 3 breakout game

The Class of 2024 brought in many top players to Notre Dame, including safety Brauntae "Tae" Johnson. Johnson chose to redshirt his freshman season, and now on the field for the Fighting Irish, he is certainly making a difference.

Against No. 16 Texas A&M, Johnson had a stellar stat line that all started with a blocked punt touchdown. After that, he was second on the team in tackles with six, had a pass breakup, one run stuff, and did all of that on 56 defensive snaps without starting the game.

With the Notre Dame secondary struggling after two games, it might be time for a little mix and even time to give Johnson a shot at a starting role on the defense. Yes, he is a freshman, but he is certainly showing he can take on the load of a lot of defensive snaps, while also making a difference on special teams, and might as well mix and match right now to see what is going to work for this secondary.

Johnson came to Notre Dame as a four-star recruit out of Fort Wayne, Indiana, from North Side High School. Johnson was ranked the No. 198 player in the Class of 2024, the No. 15 safety in his class, and the No. 5 player in the state of Indiana, according to 247Sports.

Notre Dame has to figure something out with its secondary, as it is the weakest part of the defense for the Fighting Irish. When Leonard Moore went out for the rest of a defensive series with an ankle injury, Texas A&M was able to score within 30 seconds, hitting their star wide receiver, KC Concepcion, on a long ball, who was being covered by Moore's backup.

Mixing it up in the secondary may be the only way for Notre Dame to figure out how to get more stops in the passing game. Johnson could be an answer to that, but it won't be known until it is tried.