Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2023 33 BY PATRICK ENGEL E ach member of the senior trio that car- ried Notre Dame's linebacker unit in 2022 came back for a fifth year in 2023. JD Bertrand, Marist Liufau and Jack Kiser were the linchpins last year and will begin spring as the three expected starters again. Notre Dame has continuity at line- backer. Its linebackers also have continu- ity. Not since 2019-20 have they had the same position coach in consecutive sea- sons. Notre Dame employed three defen- sive coordinators/linebackers coaches in three seasons from 2020-22. Al Golden, though, returns for Year 2 in that role. There's value in giving the fifth-year players extended run during the spring, even though they're experienced and spent a year in Golden's defense. Liufau especially could benefit from a busy spring because he lost an entire season of reps in 2021 after breaking his ankle. He's still an explosive athlete who isn't worth giving up on after one up-and-down season as a starter. Maybe there's not much Bertrand can do to alter the popular but not exactly ac- curate view of what he is. He won't wow in athletic testing, but another season like his 2022 should make clear he's a plus on defense. The 2022 season should have done that, really. He's faster than given credit for, a smart defender, decisive against the run and improved as a tackler this year. Kiser's production and playmaking warranted more playing time than he received. That's not to say Golden's increased nickel defense usage was a mistake, but it's a problem he must solve. Rarely is a team's second-leading tackler 15th in snaps. Maybe that's the an- swer — playing him at one of the inside linebacker spots more often — though that becomes a juggling act with Bertrand and Liufau. Junior Prince Kollie and sopho- more Jaylen Sneed are also part of the picture, and they also would benefit from a heavy spring work- load. They might be Notre Dame's two best athletes at linebacker. Their 2022 seasons also demonstrated a need for growth and continued ac- climation. Maybe Notre Dame is open to a shake-up at the linebacker rota- tion, but that will require a group of inexperienced underclassmen and Kollie to give the staff more reasons to consider playing them than they did last fall. 2023 SPRING FOOTBALL OVERVIEW PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER LINEBACKERS WHO'S GONE, WHO'S BACK Position Coach: Al Golden (second season) Returning Starters: Gr. JD Bertrand (23 career starts), Gr. Marist Liufau (16) and Gr. Jack Kiser (15) Departing Starters: None Projected New Starters: None Top Reserves: Jr. Prince Kollie, So. Jaylen Sneed and So. Nolan Ziegler Newcomers: Fr. Drayk Bowen, Fr. Preston Zinter and Fr. Jaiden Ausberry ALL EYES ON … SOPHOMORE JAYLEN SNEED Sneed, the highest-rated recruit in Notre Dame's 2022 class, didn't play until the ninth game of the year and preserved a redshirt, but he ended the season on the rise. He logged 17 snaps in the Gator Bowl, specializing in pass-rush situations and in coverage. His goal this spring is to turn a positive finish to 2022 into a weekly role in 2023. POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH A STARTING LINEUP SHAKEUP Prince Kollie was the only rotation player at linebacker behind the starting trio, logging 136 snaps in the final 10 games of the season. There were flashes of impressive closing speed and playmaking ability mixed with moments of uncertainty. If he finds more steadiness, could that push him into a split with one of the three graduate students? The upside is intriguing. NUMBERS TO KNOW 19 Tackles for rising junior Prince Kollie in 136 snaps last year, including 13 solo stops. That's a tackle every 7.2 snaps, about on par (in a much smaller sample) with team tackles leader JD Bertrand (7.1). 89.4 Pro Football Focus tackling grade for Jack Kiser, the best among all Irish defensive players. PFF dinged Kiser for just two missed tackles in 338 snaps last year. 646 Snaps for Marist Liufau, which led all Notre Dame defensive players. He was just third on the team in tackles, though, with 51. JD BERTRAND