www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2018 49
Freshman rover Shayne Simon is
a third highly publicized recruit that
has made an early splash in prac-
tice. Rivals (No. 168 overall), ESPN
(No. 133) and 247Sports (No. 48) all
ranked him as one of the top defen-
sive signees in the class, so that was
not totally unexpected. What has
been a surprise, however, is how
quickly Simon became comfortable
in a Notre Dame uniform.
Simon never showed the jitters
evident from most freshman, and
when he made a mistake due to his
lack of knowledge of the system he
quickly moved past it and doesn't
seem to make the same mistake mul-
tiple times. He took advantage of
sophomore Jeremiah Owusu-Kora-
moah missing time with an injury to
quickly rise up the depth chart.
Simon has shown a strong all-
around game that is perfectly built
for the rover position. At 6-3 and 222
pounds, he has the size, length and
range to handle playing the spot,
which requires a defender to be able
to play in space and cover a lot of
ground. He has made a number of
strong plays against the run, and his
willingness to deliver punishment
has allowed him to make an impact
on the edge.
What makes Simon such an ideal fit
for the rover spot is that he has shown
himself to be just as good in coverage
as he is at defending the run. He has
the skills to be an every-down player
at rover, which is ultimately what
Notre Dame wants at that position.
Simon will be an active special
teams player this season, but do not
