Since Notre Dame sent safety Xavier Watts to the NFL to play for the Atlanta Falcons, a new, up-and-coming star for the Notre Dame defense has emerged. He is from Irvington, New Jersey, and his name is Adon Shuler.
In his press conference on Monday, head coach Marcus Freeman said, “I always say that, what’s more important than the opponent is the obligation we have to each other to get our jobs done.”
Shuler has done just that for the Irish.
Across his three seasons in an Irish jersey, the redshirt sophomore has appeared in 29 games, starting 23, logged 109 total tackles, 63 solo tackles, 46 assisted tackles and five tackles for loss. He has a knack for finding the football, as shown by his three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and five interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He’s been sound in coverage as well, defending 14 passes, breaking up nine to go along with the takeaways.
In his first season with the Irish in 2023, Shuler appeared in just five games and didn’t see much game action. In game three against Pittsburgh, he finished with two solo tackles, one while on special teams, the other while playing his main position of safety. Against Wake Forest, he registered a solo tackle while playing on the kicking unit. In his final game of the season against Oregon State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, he managed a then-career-best three tackles.
Going into the 2024 season, Shuler saw much more time on the field, as he was a starter in all 16 games for Notre Dame. He would record his first college interception against Texas A&M in the season opener and take it 12 yards the other way. He also matched his career-high mark at the time of three solo tackles. Later in the season, Shuler created chaos against Georgia Tech. He would get his first pick-six to go with three tackles (two solo and one assisted). To end the season, he finished with 59 total tackles, three tackles for loss, three interceptions, 94 return yards and one pick-six.
Now in the 2025 season, Shuler has continued his upward trajectory on the field, starting all eight games for the Irish so far. Kicking off the season against Miami, he finished the game with one solo tackle and one assisted tackle. In a rematch with Texas A&M, Shuler led the team with a total of seven tackles, three solo and four assisted.
He wreaked havoc in a later game against Arkansas, with nine tackles (four solo and four assisted) and a forced fumble, which eventually led to a Notre Dame touchdown. Shuler has continued to be a force on the field in recent games, as he got a career-high in tackles against USC with 11 (five solo and six assisted) and finished with another career high in tackles for a loss with two.
Last Saturday against Boston College, Shuler pulled off an important interception that led to an Irish touchdown, finishing the game with four tackles (three solo and one assisted). He broke down the play in a press conference after practice on Tuesday.
“Coach wanted to put a little pressure on them, we sent a six-man pressure,” Shuler said. “I was able to read the quarterback, the d-line, the linebackers. I got to him, he threw the ball up, I followed and made a great play on the ball.”
Shuler had one of his best games in last season’s contest with Navy, as he finished with seven total tackles. He commented on the excitement of facing the Midshipmen and his performance last year.
“It’s downhill, it’s a physical game, you have to be on your keys,” he said. “I feel like that’s where I was last year, being on my keys and making sure that I knew where I was going and just finding the ball.”
Shuler also commented on the team’s mindset going into this game.
“We have to be on our keys every play,” he said. “It’s the brotherhood, it’s the Notre Dame locker room. Brotherhood is always going to be the brotherhood. I feel like we’re building every game, every week, as a brotherhood. You get to know and learn everybody on your team, and that makes you play harder.”
But every game brings a challenge, especially rivalry games like Navy.
“Each game that you play presents different challenges throughout the game that you have to overcome,” Freeman said. He also harped on the need for defense against Navy and the importance of having leaders on that side of the ball like Shuler. “The experience of understanding how fast it is going to happen is so important,” he said. “There’s so much value in being a person that has played against Navy or Army in previous experiences.”
Of course, Shuler is not alone in this defensive battle. He is surrounded by a rapidly improving Irish defensive unit.
“Their consistency, their work ethic, they give tremendous effort,” defensive line coach Al Washington said about his guys. Shuler rounded out his press conference with what Notre Dame needs when closing these games out.
“Start the second half fast,” he said. “When the coaches come in with the game plan for the second half, we have to hone in and make sure that we are on everything. I feel like we have been doing that in the second half.”
Notre Dame will host Navy this Saturday, Nov. 8, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
