Brewu drew inspiration from Aaron Donald's game and his parents' work ethic. The result? A strong, disruptive, physical impact player who can stymie offenses in multiple ways and make everyone around him better.
At 6 feet 1 inch, his height doesn't stand out as all that unique. However, at a listed weight of 280 lbs, his frame demands to be taken seriously. His upper body is powerful, enabling him to go toe-to-toe with the taller and larger offensive linemen in the middle of the offense.
A unique threat up the middle, he can shut down the run game and collapse the pocket, preventing opposing quarterbacks from stepping up into it. Even if he isn't the one to bring down the opposing ball carrier, his mere presence alone causes disruptive plays.
Of course, the player being described is former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
Donald has reportedly returned to the Rams and would make a terrifying combo with Myles Garrett, who was acquired from the Cleveland Browns on June 1.
Even if Donald doesn't come back, he already has a Hall of Fame-worthy career, with 111.0 sacks and 260 QB hits across 150 games. His 176 tackles for loss and 24 forced fumbles paint a unique portrait: a dominant, impactful player at a position that does not typically allow its dominant players to be so visually impactful.
Donald is not the subject of today's Counting Down the Irish feature. However, he served as an inspiration to today's main character, Francis Brewu, a transfer defensive tackle from Pittsburgh.
"Someone I look up to is Aaron Donald," Brewu said back in February. "So, I watched his videos and whatnot, and everything he talked about is getting in extra work, getting in extra lifts. When I decided I wanted to play college football, I decided to model myself after him and what he did to try to help me get to the highest level."
At 6 feet 1 inch and 285 lbs, Donald serves as the ideal pro comp for Brewu. They both are incredibly strong, with Brewu reportedly squatting 685 pounds and benching 475 pounds. When asked about Brewu's bench-press performance, Notre Dame's strength and conditioning coach, Loren Landow, praised Brewu's behind-the-scenes work.
"He's strong on the upper body," said Landow. "No two ways about it. He's strong total body, too. You know, I try not to get too excited about those things, because it's one aspect of performance, but when you see that in front of you, and it gets the room excited, I mean, those are the things that, obviously, everybody wants to talk about.
"But there's so many great things that he or the other guys are doing behind the scenes, on the training side—outside the strike side, the movement and the band and the burst, these are just really impressive that you see out of a young man like that."
Brewu is no stranger to working behind the scenes or to hard work, having spent three hours a day lifting in high school, simply alternating between his upper and lower body. Before starting high school, Brewu said he realized he wanted to play college football but saw that his high school wasn't sending many athletes to the Division 1 level. So he put his head down and got to work.
A desire to play Division I football was far from the only reason Brewu was willing to grind on the field and in the weight room. Both his parents served as inspirations and the source of Brewu's work ethic. Brewu's father works at Worthington Industries, a company that manufactures consumer and construction goods out of steel, in quality control.
"My dad had a tough life as a kid," said Brewu, "because he was an immigrant from Ghana, had a whole bunch of siblings, lived in a shack in a poor village, as rough as it gets, no running water. I mean, before school you would have to walk two miles to the water well, get water, walk two miles back. And to this day he's still working 12-hour days, six days a week."
Now a Division I athlete, Brewu can help his parents with his NIL earnings.
"That's the best part of this whole NIL thing," said Brewu, "being able to help out and take care of the people who took care of you. And it's important; that's a really important aspect of it, to make sure you get the value that you're worth so you can take care of those people you care about, because that's what it's for at the end of the day, to take care of my family."
Brewu's determination, work ethic, and strength have positioned him to be an impact player for Notre Dame football this season, and are the reason he's today's Counting Down the Irish featured player.
Irish Illustrated Ranking: 14
Prister Ranking: 17
Mentock Ranking: 19
Thomas Ranking: 14
Zwiller Ranking: 13
O'Malley Ranking: 12
Prister Says: "Curious to see just how stout Notre Dame's interior defensive line will be against the run with stronger-than-his-weight-indicates Brewu clogging up the middle. Brewu is the type of player who will make the run defense better without necessarily accruing gaudy stats. Account for him and others will win."
Mentock Says: "Francis Brewu may not be large and in charge compared to other Notre Dame defensive linemen, but pound for pound, there may be no one stronger on the roster. That strength, combined with technical proficiency, allows him to win at the point of attack and wreak havoc in opposing backfields. He'll be a major part of Notre Dame's interior rotation this fall, and most likely a week-to-week starter."
Thomas Says: "Heading to Notre Dame via the portal, Brewu appeared in 25 games for the Panthers, starting 14 of them. The move reunites him with his old primary recruiter, Charlie Partridge, and puts Brewu squarely in line to start for the Irish this fall."
O'Malley Says: "Random thought of the day: By season's end, Brewu will challenge the 2021-2026 collection of transfers into the program as the most important addition to a given Irish squad. (Well, a transfer not named Riley Leonard, of course.) Brewu will rotate extensively, but remains the best bet to lead the DT collection in snaps—and interior pressures on the quarterback."
What To Expect In 2026
While the defensive line is more of a rotational position than anywhere else on Notre Dame's roster, expect Brewu to be a consistent starter and as much of a staple as possible. It's that depth that will help Notre Dame against top-end opponents, but in key moments, the Irish will need the high-end talent and strength that Brewu possesses.
Brewu's skill set will help Notre Dame collapse the pocket from the inside, potentially preventing quarterbacks from stepping forward to avoid the pressure off the edge caused by Bryce Young and Boubacar Traore. And in the run game, Brewu can help take away runs up the middle.
Even if his stats won't pop off the page, he'll make everyone around him better.
Future Prospects
Brewu has one more year of eligibility remaining, which could result in a return to Notre Dame in 2027. With 25 games under his belt already, a strong season in Notre Dame's defensive line rotation, combined with a playoff run, could result in Brewu putting his name into the NFL Draft.
However, in the age of NIL, when top-tier players can earn more in their final season than as a later-round draft, a return to school is absolutely on the table. Helping that case is another year working with Loren Landow and new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, who could both continue to develop the Columbus, Ohio, native.
Stat Of The Day
A function of his position and play style, Brewu's 18 solo tackles in 2025 and career 2.5 sacks aren't eye-catching. His 20 total pressures, according to ProFootballFocus, would've been third among Notre Dame's interior defensive linemen in 2025.
More notably, Brewu's 15 run stops were only outdone by linebackers Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Drayk Bowen in 2025. The most stops along the defensive line were by Elijah Hughes, with 13.
Most Run Stops in a Season, PFF
Notre Dame Defensive Linemen
2025: Elijah Hughes - 13
2024: Rylie Mills - 13
2023: Howard Cross III - 29
2022: Jayson Ademilola - 17
2021: Isaiah Foskey - 17
2020: Daelin Hayes - 10
2019: Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa - 16
2018: Khalid Kareem - 17
Most Pressures in a Season, PFF
Notre Dame Interior D-Linemen
2025: Donovan Hinish - 27
2024: Rylie Mills - 34
2023: Howard Cross III - 36
2022: Jayson Ademilola - 25
2021: Jayson Ademilola - 39
2020: Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa - 14
2019: Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa - 24
2018: Jerry Tillery - 47
Of the groups, Tillery, Mills, Kareem, Hayes, and Foskey were all drafted.
Quote To Note
With Marcus Freeman at the helm of the program and updated facilities, the four-for-forty pitch, and of course, NIL, Notre Dame has a lot working for it in the recruiting space.
But for Brewu, one of the things that caught his attention and helped him decide to enroll at Notre Dame was the fanbase. More specifically, their attendance at Acrisure Stadium on November 15, when the Irish beat Pitt 37-15.
"That was a home game for us that day at Pitt," Brewu said of the experience in February. "It was College GameDay. So it was already a hyped-up game, but just going in and seeing so many Notre Dame fans there — that was huge. [I thought], 'Dang, these fans travel great. This community must have a lot of respect for this program.'
"And they do, so that definitely made me comfortable knowing that I was going to come to a place that prioritizes football and that had that strong support."
This article originates on IrishIllustrated.com.