All-American Bowl: East Team Day One Recap - Notre Dame Signees

The East squad hit the field for the first day of All-American Bowl practices, including Notre Dame signees Brenan Vernon and Adon Shuler

On Tuesday, the East squad hit the field at the Alamodome for their first practice of the All-American Bowl week. Notre Dame was represented by two 2023 signees, defensive end Brenan Vernon and safety Adon Shuler. Both Irish signees had the opportunity to showcase their talents against some of the premier talent in the 2023 recruiting class from across the nation.

Both players had very strong first days of practice. They showcased a lot of what has Notre Dame fans excited for when they both make it to South Bend in the future.

DE BRENAN VERNON (No. 9)

It took about three seconds to find Vernon, who was consistently first in line during the duration of the East team’s first practice. Vernon’s stature was the thing that immediately impressed.

Listed at 6-5 and 275 pounds, the Ohio native looks every bit of that listed size with plenty of length to work with. He also hosts a clean frame that could hold significantly more weight if that’s the trajectory the Notre Dame staff sees for him.

For a player who does not care much for media attention, or social media for that matter, Vernon’s energy and personality was on display all day. He routinely sparked some energy into other defensive lineman in his group. Vernon was loose, expressive and ready to get after it.

The first practice served more as an introduction to positional coaches and focused on the technical side of the game. Vernon showed a focused approach as a run defender, consistently playing with solid pad level and gaining extension in the inside run period. The physicality he plays with presents a great baseline.

Vernon is a long legged edge who really relies on his ability to create power and his first step explosiveness. Both of those attributes were on full display during the day. His longer lower body does affect Vernon’s ability to change direction at times, definitely projecting more as a linear player.

During one-on-one pass rush reps, Vernon showed flashes of tremendous upside. When he was able to get inside of the lineman's frame, he created some easy mover. He hit Ohio State offensive tackle commit Luke Montgomery during the period for an easy outside win.

The Ohio standout even capped off the day with an impressive interception during team drills. The awareness on the play to get into the passing game was phenomenal.

Adding secondary rush moves must be a high priority during the week. When he was not able to win off of his initial move, Vernon got into a little bit of trouble.

S ADON SHULER (No. 18)

Shuler is just a week away from officially becoming a member of the Notre Dame family as an early enrollee. The day of practice was predicated much more on building a sound understanding for what the coaches expected and refining the technical part of playing the safety position.

In drills, as well as in live opportunities, Shuler showcased a nice ability to change direction. He looked very smooth in and out of his pedal, quickly changing direction to stay in phase with wide receivers on day one. There was no easy separation in one-on-one opportunities.

His communication ability was one of the bigger takeaways on day one. Shuler quickly demonstrated an understanding for what the coaches were teaching him, and relaying that to the other members of the secondary. In large, he wasn’t out of position at all on day one and looks to build on that as the week moves on.

The physical part of the game was not heavily emphasized on day one, which is a big part of what makes Shuler such a good football player. As he gets more opportunities over the next few days, he has a chance to showcase that element of his game.

Shuler even looked a little taller than first expected, appearing to be a hair over 6-0. His length was rock solid, as is his frame right now. There is a lot of growth potential moving forward as he gets into a college strength and conditioning program. 

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