Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1491978
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2023 41 2023 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY MIKE SINGER With every passing recruiting cycle, players who commit to a program just to later "decommit" is becoming more prevalent. But for every drama-filled recruitment that has a decommitment, there are several prospects that make an early pledge and stick with it. Considering Jaiden Ausberry's back- ground, it would've made sense if he had second thoughts on his Notre Dame commitment that he gave a couple weeks before his senior year began. His father, Verge, played for the LSU Tigers in the late 1980s and currently works in the athletic administration for the school. Ausberry attended Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab, which is es- sentially located on LSU's campus. Aus- berry was as familiar with LSU as one possibly could be. In addition, Ausberry's older brother Austin played his freshman season at Auburn in 2022. The Tigers wanted to pair the Ausberry brothers on their team and went after him hard. Jaiden even went to Auburn this fall to see his brother play. But he never wavered. "Auburn and LSU were trying to get me to flip — Texas A&M and Michi- gan, too," he said. "But I stayed solid and stayed committed. Even though the season was a little bumpy, I know that these next few years will be really good, especially with the recruiting class that's coming in. I trusted in the process." Ausberry fell in love with Notre Dame for what the Irish offer on and off the field. "It has the best of both worlds — aca- demics and athletics," Ausberry said. "I had a great relationship with Coach [Marcus] Freeman and Coach [Al] Washington. I thought it was the best place for me and really liked the vibe. "You look at the upcoming sched- ule for Notre Dame, and we have Texas A&M, Miami, Clemson and Ohio State coming up. I really think that'll help me in the long run on and off the field." No t re Da m e u se d i ts u p co m i n g schedule as part of the recruiting pitch when going after the four-star recruit. "Definitely. My first college game will be in Ireland against Navy, and that's insane," Ausberry noted. "That's really cool." ✦ LSU Legacy Jaiden Ausberry Stayed True To His Irish Pledge Despite having ties to LSU, Ausberry — the nation's No. 21 linebacker and No. 219 overall prospect per On3 — committed to Notre Dame and never looked back. PHOTO COURTESY ON3.COM JAIDEN AUSBERRY LINEBACKER 6-0 · 212 UNIVERSITY LABORATORY SCHOOL BATON ROUGE, LA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 219 21 9 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 59 5 5 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 205 13 14 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 21 11 STATISTICS • Notched 133 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovery (returned for a touchdown), 1 interception, 4 passes broken up and 1 blocked field goal attempt during his senior season, plus had 20 rushing attempts for 54 yards and 9 touchdowns. • Compiled 94 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions and 4 passes broken up as a junior in 2021. • Broke school record for tackles with 402 in his career. NOTABLE • 2023 Under Armour All-American. • 2022 Butkus award finalist. • 2022 Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) Defensive Player of the Year. • 2022 The Advocate's Louisiana All-Metro 3A and below most outstanding defensive player. • 2021 Louisiana Football Coaches Association first-team defense. • 2022 and 2021 LSWA first-team defense. • His father, Verge, was a standout inside line- backer at LSU in the late 1980s and currently serves as the Tigers' executive deputy athletics director/executive director of external relations. • His older brother Austin Ausberry is a defensive back at Auburn. • Also participates in track and field; was clocked running an 11.67 in the 100-meter race and posted a mark of 20 feet, 2.75 inches in the long jump. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Notre Dame on Aug. 4, 2022. • Enrolled at Notre Dame in January. • Picked the Fighting Irish over LSU, Michigan, Auburn and Alabama. • Recruited by defensive line coach Al Washing- ton and defensive coordinator Al Golden. • Visited Notre Dame four times, including his official visit on June 10, 2022. 2023 PROJECTION • Ausberry is certainly a candidate to redshirt in 2023 but could be a special teams contributor. THEY SAID IT Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden: "Jaiden has shown he can be a really good sub linebacker. I'm really just excited about that room in general." On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power: "Ausberry is an instinctual, space linebacker who you need on your roster to help defending modern offenses. With his biggest strengths, you have to start with his instincts. He is natural in reading plays, triggers quickly and has been a strong high school player over the past few years for one of the top programs in Louisiana. "And I think he's good in coverage; the combina- tion of reading run plays is supplemented well with his ability to drop back in coverage and stick with skill players — running backs coming out of the backfield or tight ends down the seam. I think he has a well-rounded skill set." National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming: "Aus- berry has the quick-twitch athletic ability, burst and aggressiveness to play either strong safety or inside linebacker at the next level. He's a tackling machine, plays the game on his feet and has the quick hands and balance to avoid blocks and make plays. He's excellent in pursuit and gains good depth on his drops. "Ausberry does a good job of reading the quar- terback and often gets a head start towards the receiver due to his instincts. He is certainly one of the more aggressive, instinctive and athletic defen- sive players in the entire Southwest."