Blue-Gold Game Takeaways: What We Learned About The Notre Dame Defense

Notre Dame wrapped up its spring yesterday by hosting its 92nd annual Blue-Gold Game. The Gold squad won 24-0 and there were some very impressive moments from the offense, and some areas that remain questions. Here are all my top takeaways of the defense from the game.

Could Linebacker Become A Strength? - Linebacker play in year one of the Al Golden era was wildly erratic, and the lack of production was a limiting factor in the defense. Notre Dame returns all three starters, and they absolutely need to play better than we saw a season ago. Whether or not that will happen remains to be seen, although JD Bertrand and Jack Kiser had strong springs (before Kiser's late spring injury).

Behind those veterans is a talented and athletic group of linebackers that finished off the spring in impressive fashion. As long as Al Golden and the defensive staff allow true competition, the only way the veterans can hold onto jobs is if they play very, very well. That alone should raise excitement about improvements happening.

What we saw yesterday is that what the younger linebackers lack in experience they make up for with outstanding athleticism and football talent. Sophomore Nolan Ziegler led the Blue team in tackles (10 total, 9 solo) and classmate Jaylen Sneed led the Gold team in stops (7 total, 3 solo). Freshman Jaiden Ausberry flashed playmaking skills, as did classmates Preston Zinter and Drayk Bowen.

If this young group can build on what we saw this spring they'll either beat out the vets, or the competition gets the veterans to play at a high higher level. Either way the end result is much improved linebacker play. This group should also become favorites of special teams coordinator Marty Biagi.

Botelho Ready To Become A Big Name - The nature of the two open spring practices kept us from seeing much from Jordan Botelho, but in the Blue-Gold Game he looked a lot like the guy we saw in the Gator Bowl. Of course, Botelho had two sacks in that game and consistently harassed South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler.

Botelho was turned loose on the Blue team's first pass play of the game, but it wasn't the only time he came screaming off the edge on his way to the quarterback. His first step burst was impressive and his disruption far surpassed his official numbers of one tackle and one sack.

There is depth behind Botelho with sophomore Junior Tuihalamaka and Josh Burnham both showing flashes. Tuihalamaka is a physical edge player and Burnham is one of the best athletes on the team. Notre Dame should be just fine at Vyper this season despite the loss of Isaiah Foskey.

Cornerback Depth Is Improved - Nickel corner TaRiq Bracy is headed to the NFL and starting field cornerback Cam Hart didn't play in the Blue-Gold Game or in any of the contact periods this spring as he comes back from an injured shoulder. Despite the loss of those two talented players the cornerback position looked just fine this spring.

Of course having Benjamin Morrison still on the field as huge, and Morrison looked the part of an All-American during the Blue-Gold Game. He was sticky in coverage and blew up a reverse attempt in the backfield, showing tremendous instincts and improved tackling strength.

But the good vibes at corner aren't just about Morrison. Classmate Jaden Mickey finished off a strong spring with a strong spring game performance. On top of an impressive interception of Tyler Buchner, Mickey showed much-needed patience in coverage, and the Blue team largely avoided him in the game.

Junior Chance Tucker also had a strong spring game performance as a cover player. He has clearly gotten strong and it has helped him become far more effective in coverage. Ryan Barnes was a bit up-and-down, but his ups were impressive. He needs to be a bit more assignment correct and play under control a bit better than he did yesterday, but the range and tackling potential are impressive. Senior Clarence Lewis had a rough spring game, but Notre Dame is at the point now where Lewis either plays better or they have options to replace him.

Talented freshman Christian Gray should be back to full healthy in the fall and Notre Dame also welcomes burner Micah Bell this summer. Of course, Hart will also be back to full speed in the fall. Transfer Thomas Harper is listed as a safety, but he was recruited to play the nickel position, which was manned by Bracy, a corner. All of a sudden Notre Dame appears deep, long and talented at the cornerback position.

Potential Breakouts Up Front - A number of young defensive linemen finished off strong springs with a Blue-Gold Game performance that has raised optimism about some breakouts coming up front.

Redshirt sophomore Jason Onye capped off a strong spring with some highlight reel plays up the middle. Onye still has to be more consistent with his get off, and yesterday showed he still needs work on taking on double teams, but when he's on he is really, really impressive and disruptive. His combination of athleticism and power stood out in a big way yesterday.

Sophomore Donovan Hinish also had some impressive moments, and classmate Tyson Ford was really up and down with his play, but when he was on you could see the Top 100 recruit talent he possesses. It was a good step in the right direction for Ford, and we also some some impressive flashes from the other sophomore end, Aiden Gobaira.

Gabriel Rubio is noticeably stronger, and we saw that in the spring game as well. Howard Cross III isn't really a breakout candidate, but he was outstanding all spring and was quite good in the Blue-Gold Game.

I leave the spring far more confident in the play and coaching of the defensive line than I had coming into the spring.

Young Players Competed Hard - One of the best parts of yesterday's game was how hard the sophomores and freshmen played. Often times in this kind of format the young players are still too far behind in the defense and they don't fly around.

There were plenty of mistakes from the young players, like Drayk Bowen's run fit on the first series that opened up a 30-yard rushing lane for Gi'Bran Payne, but Bowen made the mistake hard. Moving forward in the game he didn't repeat that mistake, which allowed him to be more impactful. Jaiden Ausberry dropped an interception, and then on the next play he makes up for it with tackle for loss.

Freshman Preston Zinter struggled in the open practices and he clearly was hesitant due to not really having a grasp of the defense. Whether he was more confident in the spring game, or he just adopted the mantra of if you make a mistake, make it fast and make it hard, the end result was Zinter flying around the field and playing impressive football. There isn't a linebacker on the depth chart right now that I don't see as having starting caliber potential, and the athleticism from that young group was on full display yesterday.

We saw that up front as well, and clearly the young guys have a lot to learn. But I loved the competitiveness we saw from that group, and it made the second half far more entertaining.

Safety Depth Is A Concern - Safety was also a concern coming into the spring, but outside of the play of Xavier Watts it remains a big concern coming out of the spring game. The play of walk-on Marty Auer all spring, and in the spring game, was a welcome site.

The issue is we didn't really see Ramon Henderson take a step forward and DJ Brown still has the same physical limitations he's always had. Smart player, veteran player, but he's just not the athlete Notre Dame needs on the back end against teams like Ohio State, USC, Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, etc. We saw that in the Blue-Gold Game from a deep coverage standpoint and also tackling in space.

Injuries to freshmen Adon Shuler and Ben Minich didn't help matters much, and Thomas Harper needs to be kept in the slot.

It's obvious that Notre Dame needs to scour the transfer portal for help at safety, whether it's starting caliber talent (ideal) or simply for depth.

Red Zone Woes Continuing? - The offense got into the red zone four times and scored every time, with three of those drives ending in touchdowns. Sound familiar? It should, as Notre Dame was the nation's worst red zone defense in 2022.

I don't wan't to make too much of a spring game, especially one where the defense couldn't pressure when it wanted to (it could only pressure once every four plays per spring game rules), but it's still concerning until the defense proves it can actually make red zone stops. On Saturday it couldn't.

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