Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 MAY 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED first-team reps. The defense announces starters before each practice, which has led to frequently shuffled lineups on the line. The selections are based on recent past performance. The more defensive linemen that earn first-team reps, the better the outlook for the position's depth. A Botelho breakout, though, should yield frequent first-team assignments. Reporters could only watch one session of 11-on-11 this spring, and in that one, sophomore Junior Tuihalamaka earned the first-team vyper defensive end reps. There's value in other players pushing Botelho — Notre Dame doesn't have a proven No. 2 vyper either — but ideally, Botelho earns most of the first-team snaps there. The standout rusher of that same open practice was Ohio State graduate transfer Javontae Jean-Baptiste, who looks like the early leader to start at field end. His array of pass rush moves and agility stood out in practice. He held his own against left tackle Joe Alt in 11-on- 11. Everyone but Alt had trouble block- ing him in one-on-ones. "Right now, he's best suited, after watching his film from Ohio State, to be our field end," Freeman said. Jean-Baptiste arrived this semes- ter with 929 career snaps, but just six starts. Would he prove to be a starter who was buried behind former five-star recruits and draft picks at Ohio State, or a role player who belonged where he was? So far, it looks like the former. DEFENSIVE LINE DEPTH SEARCH Freeman said he wants a defen- sive line rotation of eight to 10 play- ers. Notre Dame has fielded defensive lines that have gone nine deep in recent years, occasionally hitting 10 in a game. Eight is the minimum if the Irish want another good defensive line. Nine or 10 would be a sign that the developmen- tal track record under former position coach Mike Elston is still strong under Al Washington. Notre Dame has six who look like rota- tion locks: Botelho, Jean-Baptiste, grad- uate student end Nana Osafo-Mensah, graduate student tackle Howard Cross III, senior tackle Rylie Mills and junior Gabriel Rubio. Everyone except Rubio has logged at least 190 career snaps. Ev- eryone but Botelho and Rubio has played at least 450 career snaps. Osafo-Mensah is the least likely starter of that group, but he's still valuable in Freeman's eyes. "Nana Osafo-Mensah is a vocal leader, raises the energy, performance of those around him," Freeman said. Fielding an eight-man rotation likely means at least one of the nine freshmen and sophomore linemen becomes a con- tributor. Just one of the four sophomores played more than one defensive snap last year. That was Tuihalamaka, who spent most of the year at linebacker. The others were on the field only for the final play of a 44-0 dusting of Boston Col- lege. Tackle Devan Houston was the only freshman to enroll early, and he's out for the spring after having shoulder surgery. Mills, Rubio and Cross are a good base in the middle. But a rotation of only those three would tax each of them over an entire season. Sophomore Ty- son Ford, a former top-100 recruit, felt like the name to watch for a potential redshirt-to-rotation jump. Junior Jason Onye, though, was working ahead of him and senior Aidan Keanaaina in the open practice. Onye's motor has stood out since his freshman year, but he arrived as a project who likely needed multiple seasons be- fore he was ready. He's up to 292 pounds and looks more consistent at the point of attack. He bears watching the rest of the spring as the possible fourth tackle. Notre Dame moved senior Alexander Ehrensberger to tackle after three years as a field end, hoping to restart a devel- opmental path that appeared to stall last fall. His only action after Week 4 was in mop-up duty against Boston College. Ke- anaaina was a likely rotation player before he tore his ACL last March. He was with the third team in the open practice. Five Breakout Candidates From The Defense 1. Senior Defensive End Jordan Botelho Nearly three seasons of instability and usage only in specific game plans gave way to a dominant Gator Bowl showing. Botelho had 2 sacks and 10 pressures in the win over South Carolina, a strong initial argument to keep that starting job with Isaiah Foskey off to the NFL. 2. Junior Defensive Tackle Jason Onye Onye arrived in 2021 as a long-term project need- ing technical refinement and more strength. He has added weight and impressed enough on the field to earn second-team defensive tackle reps. At this point in spring practice, he looks like he has an inside track to being in the interior line rotation. 3. Sophomore Linebacker Jaylen Sneed Sneed might not have a lot of room to earn play- ing time with graduate students JD Bertrand, Jack Kiser and Marist Liufau all returning as starters. Junior Prince Kollie was also ahead of him last year. But a rotation role or pushing a starter isn't out of the question if Sneed, the highest-ranked recruit in Notre Dame's 2022 class, takes a big leap after ending 2022 on an upward trend. 4. Senior Safety Xavier Watts Watts hopped into the starting lineup when Brandon Joseph missed two November games with an ankle injury. He stayed there when Joseph returned. The converted receiver has the fluidity to cover in the slot and immediately displayed a willingness to meet ball carriers in run defense. He might be the safest bet to break out on the defense. 5. Sophomore Cornerback Jaden Mickey Mickey would qualify as a post-hype breakout. He was a 2022 spring standout who earned a rotation role Week 1, but spring momentum didn't lead to much fall success. Still, Notre Dame gave him 248 de- fensive snaps and likes his confident mentality. He could play nickel or field corner, as he did last season. Notre Dame has an opening at the former after TaRiq Bracy's departure. — Patrick Engel Senior Jordan Botelho is among the defensive ends vying to take Isaiah Foskey's vacated starting spot. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER