Notre Dame DE Justin Ademilola announces return to Fighting Irish in 2022
Notre Dame will return a key piece of its 2021 defense in 2022.
Defensive end Justin Ademilola announced he will return to the Fighting Irish roster for a fifth year next season. Ademilola ranked second on the team in sacks this past season with five.
Ademilola, twin brother of Notre Dame interior defensive lineman Jayson Ademilola, arrived in South Bend as a three-star prospect in 2018. He played in three games that year and took a redshirt season.
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Ademilola has played in all 25 of Notre Dame’s games the past two seasons. He’s coming off the best campaign of his career. He totaled 35 tackles, six of which went for a loss, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Ademilola played the sixth-most defensive snaps among all Notre Dame front seven players, starters or reserves, with 445.
The second defensive player in as many days to announce he’ll return for another season (joining safety Houston Griffith), Ademilola could be in line to become a first-time starter if junior defensive end Isaiah Foskey elects to forego the rest of his eligibility to enter the 2022 NFL Draft. On the offensive side, tight end George Takacs and offensive lineman Josh Lugg announced they’ll be back in 2022 as well.
RELATED: What Josh Lugg returning to Notre Dame means for Fighting Irish football
Foskey led Notre Dame with 11 sacks this past season. He recorded the third-best season of any Notre Dame player in program history in that category. If Foskey chooses to turn professional, Ademilola is a prime candidate to replace him as Notre Dame’s starter at the “vyper” defensive end spot. If Foskey returns, Notre Dame obviously gets back its top two leaders in sacks which rarely happens for any defense.
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Jayson Ademilola, meanwhile, did not redshirt as a freshman in 2018. He played in 11 games that season. He too is coming off his best season ever at Notre Dame. He recorded 50 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks from the inside of the line.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jayson Ademilola led the team in quarterback pressures with 30. That’s an impressive feat for an interior lineman whose job isn’t necessarily to get to the passer like an edge rusher.
Ademilola could join his brother in returning to Notre Dame because the NCAA granted all players who participated in the 2020 season an eligibility waiver. Decisions loom for players like Ademilola, Foskey, linebacker Bo Bauer, center Jarrett Patterson, wide receivers Joe Wilkins and Avery Davis, cornerback TaRiq Bracy and safety Isaiah Pryor.
The deadline to declare for the NFL Draft is Jan. 15.
