Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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���Seeing as how Kap is leaving, I feel like I���m trying to take on that role, just being a vocal leader next year,��� he said during a BCS media session in Miami. Day said he studied the team���s former outspoken captain closely in the past year to learn how to pick his spots as leader ��� when to speak up or lend a hand and when to let a teammate figure things out on his own. ���He has probably just a general intelligence that���s beyond an 18-year-old,��� Diaco said. ���He carries himself like an upperclassmen. It���s easy to forget [he���s not]. He���s got a very mature demeanor.��� Diaco went on to describe Day, an early enrollee, as an ���old soul.��� The extra semester thrust him into a leading role among his classmates when they arrived on campus last summer. His demeanor also convinced the Irish coaches that Day was ready for the field early in his career. Day played in all 13 games as a freshman. He finished the year with 23 tackles and two sacks. The third level of Bennett Jackson, who compiled 65 tackles and four interceptions as a junior in his first year as a starting cornerback, will be counted on to be a leader for a relatively inexperienced secondary in 2013. photo by lon horwedel Notre Dame���s defense has a pair of leaders to replace. Veteran safety Jamoris Slaughter had his final season with the Irish cut short when he ruptured his Achilles tendon in September, but he remained a mentor for the rookies that took his place. Slaughter���s coaches described him as one of the smartest players on the field when he was healthy last year. In his absence, senior Zeke Motta took advantage of the opportunity to be a muchneeded traffic director in the secondary. Rising senior Bennett Jackson, in his first season as a starting cornerback, also shouldered his fair share of the leadership load among the defensive backs this season. Co-defensive coordinator Kerry Cooks says Jackson is a natural teacher. ���He���s built himself up to the point now to where he���s trying to teach those younger guys because he still knows that we���re thin back there,��� Cooks said in December. ���It���s been awesome to see his growth.��� Jackson���s poise makes him a candidate to be-