2018 Notre Dame Football Stars Reunite with the Kansas City Chiefs

The 2018 Notre Dame football season was a stepping stone year for the program.

After coming close to the College Football Playoff in 2015 and making a run towards it in 2017, 2018 was the year the door was finally kicked down.

And a huge part of that was because of the defense.

Notre Dame allowed just 237 points all year that season, 18.2 per game. That was the 13th fewest in all of FBS that season.

And now, eight years later, a pair of key defenders from that Notre Dame team are joining forces with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Safety Alohi Gilman Heads to Kansas City Chiefs

After spending from 2020 through the start of last season with the Los Angeles Chargers, former Notre Dame safety Alohi Gilman was traded to the Baltimore Ravens.

After he was acquired, the Ravens allowed just 18.4 points per game for the remainder of the season.

Gilman went on to force a fumble, recover two fumbles, and return an interception 84-yards for a touchdown in limited time in a Ravens uniform. The interception was made by a teammate, but the ball was handed to Gilman, who outran the opposition for the score (see below).

Work smarter, not harder 🤣

Kyle Van Noy picked it off, then handed it to the faster Alohi Gilman, who took it to the house!

(via @Ravens)pic.twitter.com/T8SJbe8iTV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 14, 2025

With the new NFL year officially getting started, free agency is open and reports have Gilman headed to the Kansas City Chiefs on a three-year, $24.75 million deal.

Not bad for a player who was selected 186th overall back in 2020.

Gilman Reunites with Notre Dame Captain Drue Tranquill

With the Chiefs, Gilman joins fellow-2018 Notre Dame defender Drue Tranquill. Tranquill, a captain on the 2018 team, was also drafted by the Chargers before signing as a free agent with the Chiefs.

Tranquill spent from 2019 through 2022 with the Chargers before spending the last three with Kansas City. He won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs during the 2023 season and returned to the Super Bowl with them in 2024.

Gilman's Biggest Moment at Notre Dame

Although Gilman was part of that Notre Dame team that went 12-0 in the regular season and made its first College Football Playoff, it wasn't without challenges along the way.

The final game of that regular season came at USC, against a Trojans team that had been struggling. Despite that, USC seemed set on ruining Notre Dame's year.

USC led 10-7 shortly before halftime and was driving to extend the lead. With just a minute before half, quarterback JT Daniels found Amon St. Brown for a first down, but Gilman stepped in and forced a fumble on that play.

Defensive back Donte Vaughn jumped on the ball for the Irish and that kept the score 10-7 in USC's favor at halftime.

It's quite possible that Notre Dame still wins that game without Gilman's forced fumble, but keeping the score at 10-7 instead of seeing it potentially stretched to 17-7 at half made a huge difference.

Now Gilman joins Tranquill and looks to rework some of that 2018 magic in Kansas City.