BYU put Isaiah Glasker and Raider Damuni back on its depth chart for Notre Dame week. That is good news. It is not the same thing as putting either veteran back on the field for 60 snaps.
Glasker is listed at rover with Jake Clifton and Siale Esera. Damuni is listed with Tommy Prassas at strong safety. Both had been absent from the weekly chart, Glasker after leaving the TCU game and Damuni since the Utah Tech opener.
Their names matter because No. 2 Notre Dame just ran for more than 300 yards against Stanford and scored on runs of 97, 40 and 31 yards. One missed fit can become seven points before the pursuit reaches midfield.
The useful reading of Monday’s chart is narrow: BYU has two veteran options back in the weekly plan. The dangerous reading is that both are fully cleared, ready for normal workloads and guaranteed to start. The depth chart does not say any of that.
What actually changed on BYU’s depth chart
KSL Sports published the full Notre Dame-week chart Monday afternoon. Three changes carry most of the weight:
- Glasker returned at rover, listed with Clifton and Esera.
- Damuni returned at strong safety, listed with Prassas.
- LJ Martin was removed at running back, where Preston Rex, Journee Tonga and DeVaughn Eka now form the listed order.
Ace Kaufusi also moved from the rover group to third at MACK behind Cade Uluave and Miles Hall. Pierson Watson no longer appears at MACK.
That movement tells us more than a simple “two starters are back” headline. Glasker’s return allows Kaufusi to settle into an inside job after recording his first career sack against Iowa State. Damuni gives BYU another safety option without erasing what Prassas has done in his absence. The defense gains choices at two levels rather than swapping one name for another.
Monday’s document is still a planning sheet. The Big 12 availability process and game-day decisions will provide stronger evidence about who can play. Even an available designation will not tell us how many snaps a player can handle after missing time.
BYU should be happier about the menu. Fans should wait before ordering the full meal.
Glasker changes the edge math
Glasker’s listed return matters first against Notre Dame’s run game.
The rover job sits at an uncomfortable intersection. It has to set an edge against a run, carry or pass off space in coverage and close when the ball cuts back. Notre Dame can punish hesitation there because its backfield does not need much daylight.
True freshman Jonaz Walton ran for a program freshman record 181 yards on 13 carries against Stanford. His touchdowns covered 97 and 40 yards. Nolan James Jr. added a 31-yard score, and the Irish finished above 300 rushing yards.
Those are not ordinary efficiency numbers. They are explosives wearing rushing-stat clothing.
Glasker gives BYU length and experience at the point where an outside run decides whether to turn back toward help or reach open grass. His job is not to chase Walton for 97 yards. It is to make the run choose a worse path before Walton reaches full speed.
That can happen in several ways. The rover can force the ball inside toward Keanu Tanuvasa and Justin Kirkland. He can close the space between a pulling blocker and the sideline. He can make the quarterback hold a read long enough for the pursuit to arrive.
Clifton and Esera remain on the chart because one veteran name does not solve every snap. BYU can rotate by package, protect Glasker’s workload or use his presence to keep another linebacker in a cleaner assignment. The best version of this news is not Glasker playing every down. It is Kelly Poppinga no longer asking the same defender to answer every formation.
Damuni is protection against the second mistake
Damuni’s role begins one level deeper.
Prassas has held the strong-safety job since the opener. Returning Damuni to the chart should not be treated as a demotion notice for the player who helped BYU reach 5-0. It gives the Cougars a way to divide a difficult set of jobs.
Notre Dame’s Stanford explosives did not all look alike. Walton hit two long runs. James broke another. CJ Carr also completed touchdown passes of 70 and 30 yards. A safety who flies downhill at the first run picture can become part of the Irish passing plan. A safety who waits too long can turn a crease into a race.
That is why the pairing matters. Damuni and Prassas can let BYU separate early-down run support, passing packages and situational work instead of asking one player to live in every conflict.
Damuni has not played since Week 1. There is no honest way to know from a PDF whether his first step, contact tolerance or conditioning has returned to September form. If he is available, BYU can still use him in a defined package rather than pretending six weeks disappeared.
The defense does not need a ceremonial start. It needs clean leverage.
The Iowa State receipt argues for patience
BYU does not enter this game searching for a functional defense.
The Cougars held Iowa State to 200 total yards, including 49 in the first half. The Cyclones entered averaging 197.4 rushing yards per game and finished with 94. BYU’s defensive line recorded 18 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and a sack, earning the Big 12’s Defensive Line of the Week honor.
That result matters for how Glasker and Damuni should return. Poppinga does not have to throw both veterans into a full workload to rescue a broken unit. He can add them to a defense that just controlled a conference opponent.
The front’s Iowa State performance also offers the cleanest plan against Notre Dame. If Tanuvasa, Kirkland, Viliami Po’uha and the rest of the line can keep the first gap from widening, the returning defenders can play their actual jobs. Glasker can set or close the edge. Damuni and Prassas can fit from depth without guessing before the ball declares.
If the front gets displaced, the problem changes. A linebacker returning from an injury is taking on an offensive lineman in space. A safety is making touchdown-saving tackles instead of cleaning up four-yard runs. The names are the same; the difficulty is not.
The Iowa State recap showed how much margin BYU’s defense created for an offense that left points in the red zone. Notre Dame will make that margin expensive. Its offense has scored at least 27 points in every game and just put up 58 against Stanford.
Notre Dame’s defense is getting healthier too
BYU is not the only team adding names back to the weekly conversation.
Notre Dame’s Monday availability report removed linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa after he missed the Stanford game. Starting cornerback Leonard Moore and defensive tackle Jason Onye were upgraded to questionable. Safety Brauntae Johnson remains out, along with several linemen, and cornerback Chaz Smith is out for the season.
That matters because BYU’s offense will already play without Martin. The current backfield chart lists Rex, Tonga and Eka. Bear Bachmeier ran for 109 yards against Iowa State and earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, but asking the quarterback to replace Martin again would expose him to a Notre Dame defense that may recover an important linebacker.
Our Martin timeline analysis argued that the replacement backs have to produce enough ordinary carries to keep Bachmeier’s legs selective. Monday made that need sharper. Martin is off the chart. Viliamu-Asa is off Notre Dame’s availability report.
The injury ledger is not one-sided, and neither depth chart gets to block or tackle.
The two returns change BYU’s plan more than its prediction
Glasker and Damuni give BYU more ways to line up against the most explosive offense it has seen this season. That is the value.
Glasker can help force the rushing lane back toward the front. Damuni can share the deep fit with Prassas. Kaufusi can work at MACK. Clifton and Esera can remain part of the rover answer. None of those choices require BYU to announce a full-time starter on Monday.
The worst use of the returning depth would be to make the defense busier. Notre Dame wants one defender to chase motion, another to lose his leverage and the safety to arrive one step late. BYU’s advantage at Iowa State was the opposite: the front controlled space, the pursuit arrived together and the Cyclones rarely found a clean second level.
Saturday’s question is not whether Glasker or Damuni can make a dramatic return. It is whether their presence lets ten other defenders keep simpler rules against a faster opponent.
That is a less exciting test than a comeback montage. It is also the one that can keep a 97-yard run from happening.
The How to Watch guide has the verified 5:30 p.m. Mountain kickoff, ABC and radio options. The Notre Dame game center will carry the permanent event record and live-to-final progression.
Read the next reports, then watch the first series
Monday gave BYU a better list. Later availability updates will provide a better status. The opening series will provide the first useful evidence about roles.
Watch who takes the first rover snap. Watch whether Damuni rotates with Prassas or immediately receives the larger share. Watch whether BYU keeps two safeties patient when Notre Dame shows run action. Most of all, watch the edge before watching the ball.
The Cougars do not need Glasker and Damuni to erase six weeks of missed football in one night. They need two experienced defenders to make one assignment at a time, then let the rest of the unit arrive.
Two returns expand the answer sheet. Notre Dame will still grade every line.
Sources and further reading
- BYU Athletics: Notre Dame game-week hub and official BYU game notes for the official weekly materials, rankings, game information and team context.
- KSL Sports: BYU’s Notre Dame-week depth chart for the full chart and the Glasker, Damuni, Martin, Kaufusi and Watson changes.
- BYU Athletics: defensive line earns Big 12 weekly honor for Iowa State’s yardage, first-half output, rushing baseline and BYU defensive-line production.
- BYU Athletics: Bear Bachmeier’s weekly honors for his Iowa State passing, rushing and award record.
- Notre Dame Athletics: Irish beat Stanford 58-7 for Notre Dame’s rushing total, explosive scores and Walton, James and Carr production.
- Notre Dame official game notes and Blue & Gold availability report for the Oct. 12 Notre Dame availability designations.
- BYU Sport Nuts: Notre Dame game center, How to Watch, Iowa State recap and Martin timeline analysis.
