Notre Dame Post-Spring Depth Chart

The spring is now completely in the rearview mirror for Notre Dame, and the roster looks a bit different now. There are some transfers headed out of the program and the non-early enrollee freshmen are much closer to getting on campus.

Before we dive fully into our offseason analysis let's take a first crack at the Notre Dame depth chart on defense, which now includes the entire freshman class. The offensive depth chart can be found HERE.

DEFENSIVE END

Notre Dame's defensive end depth chart is looking quite strong despite the loss of starters Daelin Hayes and Adetokunbo Ogundeji, who were both picked in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The move of a slimmed down Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa outside, where he will be paired with Justin Ademilola, has solidified the big end depth chart. A strong spring from former top recruit NaNa Osafo-Mensah, who missed much of the 2020 season with a knee injury, has the present and future of the position looking quite good.

Isaiah Foskey is expected to have a breakout season, and the impressive spring of sophomore Jordan Botelho gives Notre Dame a chance to have a dynamic one-two punch at Vyper. Former linebacker Osita Ekwonu was moved to Vyper to provide depth, which was needed after Will Schweitzer went out with an injury.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Despite the move of Tagovailoa-Amosa outside the interior depth chart is loaded. Tagovailoa-Amosa was the three-technique starter in 2019 and 2020, but the interior depth gave the staff the confidence to move him outside. Part of that confidence comes from the return of Jayson Ademilola, who had a dominant spring inside. Athletic sophomore Rylie Mills and top freshman Gabriel Rubio gives Notre Dame a deep and talented group of three techniques, which is a position Notre Dame wants and needs more production from in 2021.

When Jacob Lacey is your third nose guard and Aidan Keanaaina is fourth your team is absolutely loaded at that position. Lacey's health is currently in doubt after the shoulder injury that limited him in the fall kept him out of the spring. That allowed Howard Cross III to fill in as the No. 2 player at the nose, and Cross had a strong spring. If Lacey returns healthy and in to form he'll eat up a lot of snaps, which gives Cross the ability to play both nose and the three technique.

I won't be at all surprised if Aidan Keanaaina forces himself into a rotation spot, especially in short-yardage and goal line situations.

LINEBACKER

Shayne Simon and Marist Liufau will continue their position battle into the fall, and freshman Devin Aupiu - who was recruited to play Vyper - was moved to an off-ball linebacker spot this spring to provide depth. No matter who starts I expect both Simon and Liufau to play a lot in the fall.

Inside, two-year starter Drew White missed much of the spring with an injury, which allowed Bo Bauer to get a lot of snaps. Bauer is an outstanding run defender and he impressed as a blitzer, but his coverage remains a work in progress. White needs to get back healthy, because a healthy White could be a great fit in Marcus Freeman's defense.

JD Bertrand is an overlooked player, but he flashed all spring and performed well in the Blue-Gold Game.

Jack Kiser looked comfortable and impactful in his first spring at rover, and he'll be very, very hard to supplant. Isaiah Pryor will have a battle with Paul Moala in the fall to see who gets the No. 2 rover snaps. Keep an eye on talented freshman Prince Kollie when he arrives in the summer. Kollie is projected to play rover initially, but the athletic first-year player could play a number of different spots.

SAFETY

The injury to All-American Kyle Hamilton allowed other safeties to get a lot of work, which should benefit the depth chart in the fall. Hamilton projects to start at the field safety position but he'll move around a lot. Houston Griffith had a strong spring and seems to enter the fall with the boundary safety position locked down.

Veteran DJ Brown can play both safety positions, and KJ Wallace is an emerging player. We didn't see much of Litchfield Ajavon in practice videos but he made his presence felt with authority in the Blue-Gold Game, including a jarring hit on Joe Wilkins Jr. in the end zone that knocked the ball out. Freshman Justin Walters showed up a lot in the practice clips and he played well in the spring game.

I'm curious to see where incoming freshman Khari Gee ends up. I could see him being an alley player, which would fit at the field spot, but he also has the range to be a centerfielder, which would also fit at the boundary spot.

CORNERBACK

There will be battles throughout the cornerback depth chart in the fall. Junior boundary corner Cam Hart was a bit up-and-down early in the spring, but he ascending late in practices and performed very well in the Blue-Gold Game. Sophomore Clarence Lewis was steady all spring, but the re-emergence of senior TaRiq Bracy was big for Notre Dame.

Freshman Ryan Barnes missed early portions of the spring but finished strong. He will play in the boundary while fellow early enrollee Philip Riley Jr. finished the spring at the field position. Sophomore Ramon Henderson still needs technical work, but his length and speed allows him to make up for mistakes and allowed him to ascend this spring.

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