SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Freshman safety Tae Johnson was named the Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of the Week for his performance in the 37-15 win over No. 22 Pitt, in which he posted a pick-six, five tackles and a shared TFL. The Shaun Alexander Award honors the top freshman player in college football.
Johnson has now posted four interceptions on the season, making him the only Power 4 freshman with four interceptions. He ranks tied for fifth among all Power 4 players in interceptions, ranking tied for ninth among all FBS players and tied for first among all freshmen.
Notre Dame’s 17 interceptions this season ranks third nationally.
Johnson and the Irish defense stifled the Pitt offense, which entered the day with the sixth-ranked scoring offense in the country, averaging 39.7 points per game. Johnson and the Irish held Pitt to just nine points on the day until the very last play of the game.
Johnson and Notre Dame’s defense did not allow Pitt to convert on a single third down on Saturday, marking the first time since 2022 (UNLV) that Notre Dame has not allowed a third-down conversion.
Entering the game, Pitt’s offense averaged 426.8 yards per game. Not only did the Irish defense limit the Panthers to 219 total yards of offense, Notre Dame had held Pitt to just 140 yards of total offense with three minutes remaining in the game, when Notre Dame removed their starters from the game.
This season, Notre Dame ranks third in the nation in total interceptions (17), 10th in turnover margin (0.90), 13th in rushing defense (99.3), 15th in sacks (2.80), 17th in scoring defense (18.4) and 19th in team passing efficiency defense (112.76).
This marks the first such weekly honor of Johnson’s career. Earlier in the season, he was named to the 2025 The Athletic Midseason All-Freshman Team.