SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Defensive end Boubacar Traore gave Notre Dame a glimpse of what he could do in five games last season.
Then a knee injury forced him to wait almost a year to get his next opportunity.
What he learned as he watched his teammates reach the national championship game has propelled Traore to new heights this season as he helps solidify the Irish defense.
“That’s what really helped me when I was gone,” he said Tuesday. “I was reading the playbook, watching a lot of football, so that’s what helped me play faster. My impact is just doing what I do, playing violent in the run game and getting after the quarterback.”
The 6-foot-4, 250-pound sophomore certainly is doing his part. He has played 210 snaps, easily the most of any defensive lineman. Gabriel Rubio is second at 152.
It’s not just how much Traore has been on the field — it’s his productivity when he’s on the field.
Traore returned from a torn ACL by posting a career-high six tackles and recording a fourth-quarter sack that helped give Notre Dame a chance to rally in its 27-24 season-opening loss at then-No. 10 Miami. And after a 41-40 Game 2 loss to then-No. 16 Texas A&M, Traore helped the Irish defense rebound with a strip-sack and two additional tackles for a loss in a blowout win over Purdue.
Now after three straight wins have helped put No. 16 Notre Dame (3-2) back in the playoff discussion, Traore hopes to keep the momentum building when the Irish host N.C. State (4-2) on Saturday.
“He’s very talented,” defensive back Christian Gray said. “You can see that he’s very athletic. He’s one of the most athletic defensive ends I’ve ever seen.
“As the back seven, we just scrap as best we can and then we see Boubacar already getting the sack in like five seconds. He just dominates.”
That’s a big reason Notre Dame’s defense appears to have overcome its early struggles. It has allowed just two touchdowns in its last two games, with Traore logging two sacks and eight tackles during that span.
The Irish saw this potential last season when Traore burst onto the scene after an injury to another player put him in the starting lineup. All he did was make plays. His interception return for a touchdown in the first half at Purdue helped propel Notre Dame to a 66-7 rout.
Two weeks later, though, his season ended against Louisville.
Defensive line coach Al Washington said during preseason camp he wanted Traore to be explosive this season, but he also wanted him to last through the whole season. Initially, the Irish appeared to play it cautiously, but there are no restrictions now.
Traore spent his recovery focusing on getting stronger and learning more about the game to be ready so he could excel in the system implemented by new defensive coordinator Chris Ash.
“Whenever I step on the field, I try to take my flight, best foot forward,” Traore said. “If I’m on the field, I have to go 100% every play.
“My goal is to put the least amount of stress on the DBs because I know they’ve got to guard an open space for some time. So my job is really to just get to the quarterback and whenever they run the ball, stop the run.”
And that’s precisely what Gray has seen this season.
“He’s very, very smart,” Gray said. “He knows the offense on the other side of the ball. He’s just a very hard worker, in the film room and studying, meeting with coaches. He does everything extra, where you don’t see athletes doing that. That’s what really makes him special.”