Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2021 25 still in the earlier stages of his de- velopment. Foskey has played 336 snaps through two years. Of those, 282 came last year as the No. 2 vyper behind Daelin Hayes. He's in line to start there in 2021 and surpass 400 snaps this season. Notre Dame's pass-rush outlook is tied to him and his growth as much as anyone else. "He still hasn't played a lot of meaningful reps," Freeman said. "Everybody says Foskey's a future first-rounder, and I think he can be. But he still has to continue to develop and get those game reps. He has a high ceiling. "I want to see him go out there and do it. He's one of the guys who has made the biggest jump from practice No. 1 to No. 15. I know he has it in him." 4. WHAT DOES NOTRE DAME DO AT ROVER? Freeman is under no delusion about finding a comparable player to Owusu- Koramoah, who was the No. 52 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft. "You're never going to replace Jer- emiah Owusu-Koramoah," Freeman said. "But you have to replace his production. That's what I keep tell- ing these guys. We don't need another 'Wu.' We need to find different ways to replace that production 'Wu' brought." A cornerback might handle his slot coverage duties on passing downs. On run downs and in underneath coverage, though, the current rovers are intriguing options. Junior Jack Kiser, an outside linebacker last year, impressed this spring as a tackler and in zone coverage. He's the favor- ite entering camp, though graduate student and converted safety Isaiah Pryor remains in the mix. Neither of them is Owusu-Kora- moah, but both can help a good defense. "Kiser and Pryor, they've done a great job," Freeman said. "As I've always said, we're going to play our best three linebackers. Whoever after fall camp emerges as the best three linebackers will be the guys who start at Mike, Will and rover." Might that mean No. 2 middle line- backer and sub-package staple Bo Bauer plays outside? Could it give Will linebackers Shayne Simon or Marist Liufau snaps at rover? Free- man remains open to all possibilities. But it's hard not to see Kiser involved in some capacity. 5. HOW DEEP DOES THE DEFENSIVE LINE GO? Every position on the defense ide- ally would have "1A's and 1B's," Freeman said. That's already the case on the defensive line. The unit was 10-deep in 2020. It appears to have at least nine contributors in 2021. It's without question Notre Dame's best defensive position heading into camp. "Our defense will be as successful as our D-line play, and we have a lot of depth on our D-line," Freeman said. "They have done a great job of continuing to push themselves." The interior line will rotate five play- ers, all of whom saw meaningful time in 2020, with little drop-off from starter to backup. Foskey and sophomore Jor- dan Botelho are high-upside rushers at vyper. Graduate student Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa is the "big end" af- ter moving out from defensive tackle, where he started the last two years. Senior Justin Ademilola is his backup. Could it go deeper? Junior defen- sive end NaNa Osafo-Mensah worked at both edge spots in the spring. Alex Ehrensberger arrived last year needing physical and technical de- velopment, but the 6-6 7/8, 252-pound sophomore frequently showed up in spring practice video and can play inside and out. They're the best bets to push the rotation to 10 or higher. Freeman would welcome, if not prefer, a deeper rotation. He under- stands there are good players who are stuck behind other standouts — mainly on the defensive line, but elsewhere too. He doesn't want to lose them to a transfer because they're underused. "We have a lot of guys on this de- fense who can play for us and should be playing for us," Freeman said. "If you're not playing guys who are good enough, they're going to leave. We can't have these guys leave. "There has to be a reward for their hard work. That's why I believe we have to have 1A's and 1B's." ✦ Junior Jack Kiser impressed this spring as a tackler and in zone coverage, making him the favorite to land the starting rover job this fall. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER