Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 MARCH 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED in the last six games, all for a first down or a touchdown. He became Pyne's favorite third-and-long target. That's not enough to have justified this spot, but it put him in position to earn a larger role in 2023. 17. RUNNING BACK LOGAN DIGGS A combination of shaky run block- ing and a still-healing shoulder from April surgery made for a bumpy start to Diggs' season, evoking the idea he might be nudged out of the three-back rotation. Diggs flipped a switch when the of- fensive line did, though. He ended the year with the most carries (165) on the team and totaled 821 rushing yards. He averaged 5.0 yards per rush and scored 4 touchdowns, while adding 211 receiving yards and 2 scores. Diggs had 16 carries on 11 yards in the first two games and didn't play in the third due to illness. From there, he aver- aged 5.3 yards per carry. 16. LINEBACKER JACK KISER The rover position's reduced usage this year meant less playing time for Kiser. He was 15th among Notre Dame defenders in snaps, with 337. He was still the second-leading tackler (58), adding 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also logged the second most special- teams snaps of any Irish player (204). Kiser's lower workload probably makes this too high, but the production, steadiness and special teams usage are still enough for inclusion in the top 25. 15. LINEBACKER JD BERTRAND Notre Dame's leading tackler in 2021 was this low because of Bo Bauer's pres- ence and Marist Liufau's return. Ber- trand was going to play, but would he log 753 snaps again with a healthy Liufau and a presumed larger role for Bauer? Bertrand played 172 fewer snaps in 2022, but he still had 24 more tackles than anyone else on the team. Bauer tore an ACL in October, but even be- fore that, Bertrand was the clear No. 1 at Mike linebacker. This ended up being too low for an underappreciated part of Notre Dame's defense. 14. CORNERBACK CLARENCE LEWIS Last summer, it felt hard to imagine Lewis losing a starting job, even after a bumpy 2021 season and freshman Jaden Mickey's spring emergence. He played a team-high 832 defensive snaps in 2021 and had 19 starts through two years. Freshman Benjamin Morrison did ex- actly that, though. He filched Lewis' job before the end of September and sent him to a backup role. Lewis played fewer than 30 snaps in seven of the final 10 games. He had the second-highest PFF coverage grade of any Notre Dame cornerback (76.3), but his smaller role made this ranking too high. 13. DEFENSIVE LINEMAN RYLIE MILLS Mills had the look of a breakout player in the spring, when he locked down the starting job at field end. He ended up shifting between that spot and the in- terior. He still was third on the team in sacks (3.5) and fourth in tackles for loss (6.5), but that didn't quite match the preseason hopes. 12. LINEBACKER MARIST LIUFAU The breakout year envisioned in 2021 before a broken ankle was the basis for Liufau's lofty ranking. His ceiling was intriguing, even though he was largely unproven. Liufau had some splashy moments, but consistently making the simple plays eluded him at times. He led Notre Dame's defense in snaps played, though 51 tackles is light for that work- load. He held off backup Prince Kollie, who was hit-and-miss himself. 11. DEFENSIVE TACKLE JAYSON ADEMILOLA The tackles, tackles for loss and quar- terback pressure production dipped form 2021, but Ademilola rebounded from a rough first couple games and was his usual disruptive self when healthy. He had 29 tackles, 5 tackles for loss and 25 quarter- back pressures (second behind Isaiah Fo- skey). Notre Dame's interior line rotated more than it did in years past, which made 11th a bit high for any individual piece of it. Junior right end Michael Mayer was a consensus All-American and left Notre Dame with almost every notable program tight end record. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER