Notre Dame Early Enrollees Look To Get Started Fast

Notre Dame welcomes 12 early enrollees to its 2023 football team, and seven of those signees are on the defensive side of the ball. Despite plenty of talent returning to the defense in 2023, this defensive class will have a chance to make an early impact. At the very least the Notre Dame freshmen should force the veterans to step up their game next season.

A look at the early enrollees for the Notre Dame defense signees who start school this week.

DL DEVAN HOUSTAN

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 150 caliber player)
Upside Grade: 4.5

Houstan has gone under the radar during the 2023 recruiting cycle, but landing him was very big for the Fighting Irish. Houstan is a talented player with impressive size at 6-5 and 270 pounds, he's athletic for his size and he brings positional versatility to the defense.

Spring Push: Houstan is the only 2023 defensive lineman enrolling early, which means he gets a much-needed head start into the Matt Balis strength program. Houstan is a good athlete, as I mentioned, but I do think he could stand to have some body reshaping, and that should begin this winter and spring. Houstan brings a much-needed boost in length and size to the interior of the defensive line. How quickly he adapts to the strength program and gets caught up to the speed of the college game will determine if he's able to make some noise this spring.

Looking To The Fall: None of the freshman defensive linemen are needed in year one, but that doesn't mean there aren't opportunities for them to come in and play right away. Notre Dame's interior defensive line is far from proven, especially from a playmaking standpoint. Houstan has playmaking potential, and as stated above, he brings a combination of size, strength and athleticism that Notre Dame simply doesn't have very much of on the roster. It won't be easy for him to burst into the rotation early on, but he has the talent to do so, and being an early enrollee helps him to reaching that objective.

LB DRAYK BOWEN

IB Grade: 4.5 (Top 50 caliber player)
Upside Grade: 5.0

Bowen is one of the most decorated defensive recruits to sign with Notre Dame since Jaylon Smith back in the 2023 class. The Indiana native was named the 2022 Butkus Award winner, the All-American Bowl National Defensive Player of the Year, and he also earned Mr. Football honors in Indiana.

Spring Push: Bowen chose to enroll early instead of playing his senior baseball season. This should prove beneficial to him, especially if he wants to play early in his career. Bowen is a very talented athlete with tons of upside, but he's still quite raw fundamentally, he has an injury he now gets to rehab with the Irish medical staff and he gets a jump in the Irish strength program. Getting that extra strength work and getting 15 extra practices to improve his fundamentals will make Bowen a much better football player in a hurry.

Looking To The Fall: Cracking the linebacker rotation won't be easy, even for a group as talented as the one Notre Dame is bringing in. Bowen could play Mike or Will, and the thing I'm most interested in as a rookie is what position he settles into. Personally, I really like his potential as Mike linebacker. He has the size and power for it, he has the speed for it and he has the leadership for it. In a perfect world he learns for a year behind JD Bertrand, gets some work on special teams and then puts himself in position to battle for a starting role in 2024.

LB JAIDEN AUSBERRY

IB Grade: 4.5 (Top 50 caliber player)
Upside Grade: 5.0

Ausberry is the other highly ranked linebacker in the Notre Dame class. He and Bowen are both Top 100 recruits, with the Louisiana native ranking as the nation's No. 58 overall player by ESPN and No. 69 by Sports Illustrated.

Spring Push: Ausberry is a smooth and fluid athlete, so I expect him to make an immediate impression with how well he moves. During the spring he'll need some of the same improvements as Bowen. Ausberry should see his skillset take another big jump after some time in the Balis strength program. He's a bit undersized at 210 pounds, so I'm curious to see how much good weight he's able to add in his first spring. Ausberry is also a bit raw technically, so the extra practices should provide a major boost.

Looking To The Fall: If Ausberry has a good spring he could find himself pushing for a role either at Rover or Will. Like Bowen he'll likely need a year of development, but he's a truly gifted player that could push his way onto the field a bit sooner than expected. A strong spring would give him a shot at becoming a key special teams player, but there is no doubt he'll at least push the older players and force them to raise their games if they want to keep him off the field.

LB PRESTON ZINTER

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 300 caliber player)
Upside Grade: 4.5

Zinter is one of the most overlooked members of the 2023 class, but he's a darn good football player. He's also a very unique player that could play anywhere from Mike to Will to Rover to even possibly moving over and playing an H-Back role on offense. Depending on how much he fills out I could even see him eventually playing Vyper. That's the kind of versatility and athleticism Zinter brings to the table.

Spring Push: The biggest question I have about Zinter is where will he play. That will be the thing I am most interested in seeing this spring. He's a quality athlete with impressive length and size. I think he could blow up quickly in the Balis strength program, and that will have an impact on what position he ultimately plays.

Looking To The Fall: Zinter is likely a candidate for a redshirt in year one, but he could also end up being a player that becomes too valuable of a special teams weapon to keep on the sideline. I'm actually hoping that he doesn't play in year one and gets a redshirt. Zinter strikes me as the kind of guy you're going to want to have an extra year at the end of his career, because that is when his game could really take off.

CB CHRISTIAN GRAY

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 100 caliber player)
Upside Grade: 4.5

Gray is yet another Top 100 recruit that was part of the Notre Dame defensive class. He ranked 78th nationally by Rivals and No. 93 by On3 after a brilliant senior campaign.

Spring Push: I'm very much looking forward to seeing Gray this spring. He's a very intriguing athlete who is just starting to scratch the surface of his potential. Gray is very long and an impressive athlete, but he's also quite skinny, so he'll need to take quickly to the strength program. If he has a strong winter in the strength program he could be in position to make a push for a role during the spring. With Cam Hart likely out this spring with an injury, young guys like Gray will have a chance to get more reps. I am curious to see if he begins in the boundary or field position, and if he gets a shot at nickel.

Looking To The Fall: The cornerback depth chart will be a hard one for a young player to crack, but Gray is an advanced cornerback with a great feel for the game. He might need a year to add the necessary strength to play, but it wouldn't surprise me if the older players need to fight hard to keep him off the field, or if some of them simply get passed up by Gray. I'm most intrigued to see if Notre Dame is willing to give him a look in the slot. That's a position that right now doesn't have a natural replacement for TaRiq Bracy. Transfer Thomas Harper will likely fill that role in 2022, but who provides the depth? That's a question that Gray might be able to answer.

S ADON SHULER

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 200 caliber player)
Upside Grade: 4.5

Another overlooked member of the class, Shuler saw his ranking drop despite having an outstanding senior season. He provides leadership and playmaking potential at a position that is woefully thin heading into the 2023 season.

Spring Push: Notre Dame's safety depth chart is a problem, so there's clearly an opportunity for a freshman to quickly rise up the ranks. Getting an early start could give Shuler a chance to make that kind of move. More of an alley player than a centerfielder, Shuler will need to make some good strength gains during the winter and spring if he's going to push his way onto the field in 2023.

Looking To The Fall: Shuler will need to build a strong foundation in the spring if he's going to make a push in the fall. I wouldn't be surprised if Shuler found his way onto some special teams units, but if he doesn't crack the safety rotation he might end up getting a redshirt in year one. How much growth he makes in the spring will go a long way towards determining that.

S BEN MINICH

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 250 caliber player)
Upside Grade: 4.5

I'll be honest here, when Notre Dame landed Minich last summer it wasn't a commitment that I was overly thrilled with. His junior film was solid, but at the time there seemed to be better players still on the board. By the time his senior season was over, however, Minich had completely changed my mind on him as a prospect and his grade saw a big jump.

Spring Push: Minich is a fast and athletic athlete that has the combination of speed, sound fundamentals, versatility and instincts to make an early push up the depth chart. He should be one of the players that benefits the most from the Balis strength program, and if he takes to that quickly you'll see Minich start to push some of the older players.

Looking To The Fall: A strong spring would put Minich in position to make an early impact for the Irish. With just three scholarship safeties expected to return for the spring, there's an opportunity for a rookie to make an impact in the fall. Minich might have the best combination of attributes to make an early impact at both safety and on special teams.

GRADE KEY

5.0 - Elite player
4.5 - All-American caliber player
4.0 - Multi-year starter
3.5 - Key role player / Late career-starter
3.0 - Backup

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2023 Scholarship Chart
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2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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