Elijah Hughes holds the LDT · Depth spot in Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s defensive tackle room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Elijah Hughes is a 6'3", 295-pound defensive lineman from Arlington, Virginia, who transferred to Notre Dame from USC. A three-star recruit in the 2023 class, Hughes played eight games as a true freshman at Southern California, recording six tackles including 1.5 for loss and a shared sack. During his sophomore year in 2024, he appeared in seven games and posted six tackles with one sack. At Notre Dame in 2025, Hughes played in all 12 games as a junior, totaling 21 tackles—14 solo and seven assisted—with three tackles for loss, one sack, and three quarterback hurries. He recorded double-digit solo tackles twice, including four against Purdue.

USC2023 – 2024

Notre Dame2025 — present