Notre Dame has received an early-season setback on the defensive side of the football, with starting safety Brauntae Johnson and defensive lineman Jason Onye expected to miss several weeks because of injuries suffered in the Fighting Irish’s season-opening victory over Wisconsin.

The injuries came during Notre Dame’s impressive 41-13 win over the Badgers at Lambeau Field on Sunday, but the news was not considered season-ending. Head coach Marcus Freeman confirmed Tuesday that both Johnson and Onye are expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks before returning later in the season.

For a Notre Dame team with major ambitions in 2026, the timing is far from ideal. The Irish entered the season with expectations of competing at the highest level of college football, and losing two defensive starters so early in the campaign creates an immediate challenge for Freeman and his coaching staff.

Still, the nature of the injuries provides some relief. Rather than preparing for life without two important contributors for the remainder of the year, Notre Dame can approach the situation with the expectation that both players will eventually return.

Johnson has developed into an important piece of the Notre Dame secondary. Entering his third season, the safety was expected to play a significant role in a defensive unit that is counting on experience and playmaking ability in the back end.

He made an impact during the 2025 season, finishing with 48 tackles and four interceptions while starting eight of the 10 games in which he appeared. Those four interceptions ranked among the team’s best defensive production and demonstrated why his presence in the secondary is so valuable.

Against Wisconsin, however, Johnson’s afternoon ended early. He suffered a left-foot injury and was ruled out during the third quarter. Johnson was seen on the Notre Dame sideline wearing a protective boot on his left foot, an early indication that the injury would require some recovery time.

He finished the game with one tackle before leaving.

The Irish will now have to find a way to maintain consistency in the secondary while Johnson recovers. Senior Luke Talich is expected to step into the starting safety role in his absence, giving Notre Dame an experienced option as it prepares for its next stretch of games.

The change could be significant because Johnson’s value goes beyond his statistics. A safety must communicate with teammates, recognize offensive formations and help organize the defense before and after the snap. Replacing that type of player is not simply a matter of filling one position on the depth chart.

Notre Dame’s coaching staff will therefore be looking for Talich and the rest of the secondary to maintain the same level of communication and discipline that helped the Irish control Wisconsin.

The loss of Onye presents a different challenge.

The sixth-year defensive tackle entered the season as an experienced presence in Notre Dame’s defensive front. In 2025, he recorded 26 tackles and 1.5 sacks while starting nine games. His ability to contribute against the run and provide pressure from the interior made him an important part of the Irish rotation.

Onye suffered a left-ankle injury during the Wisconsin game and, like Johnson, was ruled out in the third quarter. He was also seen wearing a protective boot on the sideline.

The good news for Notre Dame is that the defensive line has depth.

Freeman is expected to turn to transfer defensive tackles Tionne Gray and Francis Brewu to help compensate for Onye’s absence. Both players performed well against Wisconsin, giving the coaching staff reason to believe the position can withstand the temporary loss.

Francis Brewu is also expected to receive an expanded role in the defensive tackle rotation. That could give Notre Dame an opportunity to develop additional depth while Onye works his way back to full health.

Although the injuries are not expected to keep either player out for the season, the timing still matters.

Notre Dame’s schedule will become increasingly demanding as the year progresses. The Irish have challenging opponents waiting later in the season, including BYU, Miami and SMU, according to the team’s current outlook.

That makes Freeman’s decision to avoid rushing Johnson and Onye particularly important.

College football seasons are long, and early-season injuries can become more problematic if players return before they are fully ready. Notre Dame has the opportunity to prioritize recovery now, potentially allowing both defenders to return when the games become even more important.

The immediate priority is getting through the next few weeks without allowing the injuries to create a larger defensive problem.

Notre Dame’s first game without Johnson and Onye will come against Rice.

The Fighting Irish are scheduled to host the Owls in their home opener, giving Notre Dame an opportunity to begin adjusting to its new defensive personnel in front of its home crowd.

On paper, the matchup gives the coaching staff some room to experiment with its defensive rotations. But the goal will remain the same: avoid allowing temporary injuries to turn into long-term instability.

Talich’s performance at safety will receive plenty of attention, particularly because Johnson’s absence removes one of Notre Dame’s most accomplished defensive playmakers from the lineup.

The defensive line will also be watched closely. Gray, Brewu and the rest of the rotation will need to provide enough physicality in the middle to ensure that the absence of Onye does not create an obvious weakness.

One of the most important consequences of injuries to established starters is the opportunity they create for younger or less experienced players.

Notre Dame’s coaching staff has spent the offseason building depth for precisely these situations. Injuries are unavoidable in football, and successful teams are often distinguished by how effectively their backups perform when starters are unavailable.

Johnson’s injury could lead to expanded responsibilities for players such as Ethan Long and Joey O’Brien, while the defensive line will have to rely more heavily on its rotation.

That means the next few games could serve as an important evaluation period for Notre Dame.

If the replacements perform well, the Irish could emerge from the situation with greater defensive depth than they had before the season began. If the unit struggles, however, opponents may look to exploit the areas affected by the injuries.

For Freeman, the central message is likely to be patience.

The temptation in college football is always to get important players back onto the field as quickly as possible. But with Johnson and Onye expected to return later in the season, Notre Dame has little reason to gamble with their long-term health.

A few missed games in September are preferable to a setback that could threaten their availability during the most important portion of the schedule.

The Irish also have enough defensive talent to navigate the situation.

Johnson’s absence will test the secondary, while Onye’s injury will challenge the defensive tackle rotation. But Notre Dame is not suddenly without options. The performances of Talich, Gray, Brewu and other members of the defense will determine how smoothly the transition goes.

The injuries to Johnson and Onye are undoubtedly disappointing for Notre Dame, particularly after the team opened the season with such an emphatic win over Wisconsin.

However, the overall picture is not catastrophic.

Both players are expected to miss only a few weeks, and neither has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

That distinction is important.

Notre Dame can afford to view the situation as an early test of its depth rather than a crisis. The coaching staff now has an opportunity to evaluate players who may become increasingly important as the season progresses.

For Johnson, the focus will be on recovering from his foot injury and returning to the secondary when he is ready. For Onye, the goal will be to heal his ankle and regain his role on the defensive line without unnecessary setbacks.

Until then, the Fighting Irish will have to move forward without two experienced defensive starters.

The challenge begins immediately against Rice, but Notre Dame’s larger objective remains unchanged. The Irish want to build a team capable of competing deep into the season, and handling adversity is part of that process.

If Notre Dame can maintain its defensive standards while Johnson and Onye recover, the early injuries could eventually become little more than a footnote in the team’s season.

For now, though, they represent the first significant test of Notre Dame’s defensive depth in 2026.

The Irish have already shown they can make a statement on the field. Their next challenge is proving that they can absorb injuries, trust their backups and continue moving forward while waiting for two important pieces of their defense to return.