Defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola returning to Notre Dame for fifth season
One of Notre Dame’s most disruptive interior linemen is coming back for one more year.
Defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola will return for a fifth season with the Irish, he announced Friday. Ademilola led all Notre Dame defensive linemen in snaps (594) and quarterback pressures (43) this season. He ranked fifth on the team in tackles, with 49.
The 2022 season will be Ademilola’s last year of eligibility. He is returning as a “super senior” using the COVID-19 exemption that gave all 2020 college football players an extra season. Before the NCAA passed the COVID waiver, 2021 would have been his final year of eligibility.
Ademilola is the third Notre Dame player to use the waiver to come back, joining offensive tackle Josh Lugg and safety Houston Griffith. Wide receiver Avery Davis, linebacker Bo Bauer, linebacker Isaiah Pryor and cornerback TaRiq Bracy have the COVID year available, but have not yet announced their plans for 2022.
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The Ademilola twins are returning for 2022 now that Jayson has made his announcement. Jayson’s twin brother, Justin, said Wednesday he will stay for a fifth year. Justin made 35 tackles (6.0 for loss) and finished second on the team with five sacks. He was the No. 2 vyper behind junior Isaiah Foskey and played the fourth-most snaps among Irish defensive linemen (445).
With Jayson Ademilola remaining in the fold, Notre Dame has its first guarantee that one of its four defensive line starters will return. The Irish knew they would be losing two in nose tackle Kurt Hinish and defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa. They are still awaiting Foskey’s NFL Draft decision, which is among the most pivotal Notre Dame stay-or-go calls in recent years. He led the team with 11.0 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.
Ademilola started all 13 games in 2021 and has been part of Notre Dame’s defensive line rotation since his freshman year in 2018. He made 17 tackles (0.5 for loss) in 11 games that season. He was the No. 2 three-technique tackle in 2019 and notched 25 stops (4.0 for loss). He held the same role in 2020, making 11 tackles in eight games with two starts.
Ademilola ended 2020 with his best game of the year in the College Football Playoff against Alabama, making five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks in the 31-17 loss. He took over as the starter when Notre Dame shifted Tagovailoa-Amosa to defensive end last spring.
Notre Dame signed Ademilola as a four-star recruit out of Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter’s Prep. He was the No. 99 overall player in the 2018 class, per the On3 Consensus.
