Notre Dame Defense Will Get An Infusion Of Youth This Spring
Unlike the Notre Dame offense, the Irish defense returns quite a bit of talent and proven production. In fact, the Notre Dame defense returns three players that have earned All-American honors during their careers in Xavier Watts, Howard Cross III and Benjamin Morrison. There are also plenty of veterans like Rylie Mills, Jack Kiser, Jordan Botelho returning, and the Irish welcome veteran transfers RJ Oben, Rod Heard and Jordan Clark.
Even with all that experience, Notre Dame will have to rely on some youth in key spots in 2024. Some could be starters, others will be depth, but the sophomore and freshman classes will need to perform well in 2024 if the Irish defense is going to maintain - or even build upon - its level of play from the 2023 campaign.
Linebacker is the first position you think of when you think about a potential youth movement for the Irish defense. Gone are fifth-year seniors JD Bertand and Marist Liufau, and even with the return of sixth-year senior Jack Kiser and talented junior Jaylen Sneed, Notre Dame will need the younger classes to step up.
Sophomore Drayk Bowen enters spring in pole position to start at Mike linebacker. A former Top 100 recruit, Bowen earned a starting role on special teams as a true freshman. He certainly adds a bigger and more physical body to the middle of the defense, checking in at 6-2 and 235 pounds. He's an explosive downhill athlete that arrives at the ball with power, and he has the potential to be an impact run defender.
This is a big spring for Bowen, who must develop a firmer grasp of the defense and be able to get the front lined up correctly on a regular basis. All while being able to play at full speed and limit the number of young player mistakes he makes. Bowen will also need to improve in coverage.
He has all the size, power and athleticism needed to make an early impact. This spring will be about learning, developing and starting to make plays.
Fellow sophomore linebacker Jaiden Ausberry is another extremely talented younger player that could make an early impact. Ausberry doesn't have the same pathway to playing time that Bowen has, but he has the talent to make a push nonetheless. Ausberry is undersized, but he's a very smart football player and he can fly. He could play either Rover and Will, and if he has a strong spring he'll put himself in position to earn a two-deep role, or possibly even a starting role.
I had Ausberry ranked even higher than Bowen coming out, so if both players are able to have breakout springs a lot of important questions will get answered at linebacker. Freshman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa is also a player to keep an eye on this spring. He is a smooth athlete with college ready size, and his football IQ is excellent. If older players don't perform well this spring they'll find themselves in a battle to not get passed up quickly by Viliamu-Asa.
Between Bowen, Ausberry and Viliamu-Asa, the Irish linebacker unit should remain a strength of the Irish defense.
At cornerback, talented sophomore Christian Gray is going to make his presence felt this spring. A long and athletic cover player, Gray has a chance to not only earn a starting job this spring, but if he is the player I think he is the Irish will once again have one of the best corner groups in all of college football. Gray has all the tools to be that player, and this spring gives him a chance to get a lot of reps and show himself to be an impact defender.
Fellow sophomore Micah Bell might be the fastest player on the team, and he too will get an increased amount of work this spring. Bell is more of a slot player, and if he steps up his game and gets more comfortable with his technique you'll see him start to make some noise as well.
Safety is the other position where the sophomore class needs to grow up in a hurry. Even with the return of Watts and the arrival of Heard, the safety depth chart is extremely young. Everyone behind those two veterans will be a sophomore or a freshman, and the spring has only the sophomores and one freshman.
Adon Shuler, Luke Talich and Ben Minch will all get plenty of snaps this spring, and Notre Dame needs at least two of them to make a big jump. Shuler will have a chance to come out of the spring battling for a starting role. He showed flashes in limited snaps as a rookie, and now he needs to develop quickly as a player in what is now his second spring. Shuler is a thumper that can run, but he'll need to show he can handle the coverage duties of a safety in this defense.
Talich is a very unique player, and one to keep an eye on this spring. He's long (6-4, 210), athletic and his high school film was excellent. He now gets a chance to battle with Shuler and Minich to sure up the depth chart at safety. Even if Heard is everything the Notre Dame staff hopes he can be, they will need at least one of the sophomores to force himself into rotation action. If two make that push it would give Notre Dame a chance to actually be improved at the safety position in 2024.
Notre Dame doesn't need its sophomore or freshman class to make an impact in 2024, but if they do it makes the defense a lot better. Sophomore Boubacar Traore and freshman Bryce Young are arguably the two most athletic edge players on the roster, but also need a lot of work. If one - or both - can mature their games quickly and force their way onto the field in 2024 the Irish defensive line will get a much-needed pass rushing boost on the outside. I'm also keeping a spring eye on inside tackles Brenan Vernon and Devan Houstan, who are long, athletic players that could see a sophomore surge.
Head coach Marcus Freeman and his staff have recruited the defensive side of the ball quite well since he was promoted to the top spot. If Freeman is the recruiter Notre Dame fans hope he is, and his staff can develop like a top program, we should feel the impact of that recruiting in 2024.
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