Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1496419
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2023 31 Tuihalamaka and sophomore Joshua Burnham are the most likely candidates to be the No. 2 vyper behind Botelho, and possibly push Botelho if his devel- opment doesn't go as planned. Tuihala- maka appears to have an edge so far. "He's really smart, he's rugged," Golden said in December. "He's al- ready around 250 pounds, so he's in the ballpark already. He gives us versatility there, too, because he still has the quali- ties to drop and do those things. We're not just locked into a specific four-man rush. We can drop him if we need to, into the boundary." Tuihalamaka and Burnham are con- verted linebackers, which meshes with some of the vyper's coverage responsi- bilities and its alignment in a two-point stance. "We ask our vyper to do some different things in terms of almost being an out- side linebacker at times," Freeman said. SECONDARY WILL TAKE TIME Graduate student cornerback Cam Hart and grad student safety Thomas Harper could be two of Notre Dame's four start- ing defensive backs. Both, though, are limited to non-contact work this spring while they recover from shoulder surgery. The Irish know what they have in Hart, a two-year starter who held op- posing receivers below a 50 percent catch rate each of the last two seasons. Harper, a graduate transfer from Okla- homa State, will likely compete for a starting job when he returns. He started all seven games he played in 2022 before the shoulder injury ended his season. Hart's absence from 11-on-11 practice has given senior Clarence Lewis, sopho- more Jaden Mickey, junior Chance Tucker and freshman Christian Gray more reps. That quartet, Hart and sophomore Benja- min Morrison look like Notre Dame's top six corners. Lewis was the first-team slot corner in the open practice, with Mickey taking his spot on the outside when Notre Dame plays nickel. Junior Ryan Barnes — who has impressed this spring — is play- ing inside and outside, too. Harper's limited participation and the absence of freshman Adon Shuler (shoul- der) leaves Notre Dame with four fully healthy scholarship safeties this spring. It's worth noting that Harper was paired with senior Xavier Watts in the few drills against the offense he is allowed to do. Watts is seen not only as a likely starter, but potentially the best player in the safety group. He impressed in his four starts to end last season, totaling 22 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 2 passes broken up. "Xavier Watts is going to be one of the stars of this team next year," departed starting safety Brandon Joseph said. "I've seen him grow tremendously, whether it's in meeting rooms how he takes [O'Leary's] coaching, or out here where he makes his physical presence known." Harper, graduate student DJ Brown and senior Ramon Henderson are the likely contenders for the other safety spot. Notre Dame played a four-safety rotation last year that included Brown and Henderson, so whoever isn't the starter could still have a role. ✦ Here is Blue & Gold Illustrated's projection for how Notre Dame's 2023 scholarship depth chart looks after observing a couple spring practices. Vyper No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 12 Jordan Botelho 6-2½ 255 Sr./2 44 Junior Tuihalamaka 6-2 247 So./4 40 Joshua Burnham 6-3½ 247 So./4 — Boubacar Traore 6-4 250 Fr./4 Nose Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 56 Howard Cross III 6-0 7 ⁄8 280 Gr./2 97 Gabriel Rubio 6-5¼ 302 Jr./3 92 Aidan Keanaaina 6-3 312 Sr./3 41 Donovan Hinish 6-1 5 ⁄8 287 So./4 Defensive Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 99 Rylie Mills 6-5 1 ⁄8 296 Sr./2 47 Jason Onye 6-4½ 292 Jr./3 95 Tyson Ford 6-3 7 ⁄8 292 So./4 90 Alex Ehrensberger 6-6 7 ⁄8 267 Jr./3 98 Devan Houstan* 6-4 287 Fr./4 — Brenan Vernon 6-4 250 Fr./4 Field End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 1 Javontae Jean-Baptiste 6-4½ 255 Gr./1 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah 6-3 1 ⁄8 260 Sr./3 91 Aiden Gobaira 6-4 5 ⁄8 241 So./4 — Armel Mukam 6-4 250 Fr./4 Will Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 8 Marist Liufau 6-2¼ 235 Gr./2 10 Prince Kollie 6-0½ 228 Jr./2 25 Preston Zinter* 6-2 233 Fr./4 * Early enrollee; ^ coming off an injury Mike Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 27 JD Bertrand 6-1 230 Gr./2 42 Nolan Ziegler 6-3 225 So./4 34 Drayk Bowen* 6-2 230 Fr./4 Rover No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 24 Jack Kiser 6-1 5 ⁄8 223 Gr./2 3 Jaylen Sneed 6-1 1 ⁄8 217 So./3 23 Jaiden Ausberry* 6-0 1 ⁄8 215 Fr./4 Boundary Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 20 Benjamin Morrison 6-0¼ 185 So./3 15 Ryan Barnes 6-1 7 ⁄8 190 Jr./3 29 Christian Gray* 5-11¾ 184 Fr./4 Field Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 5 Cam Hart^ 6-2½ 202 Gr./2 7 Jaden Mickey 5-11½ 177 So./3 18 Chance Tucker 5-11¾ 180 Jr./3 Slot Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6 Clarence Lewis 5-11½ 196 Sr./2 — Micah Bell 5-10 162 Fr./4 Strong Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 0 Xavier Watts 5-11¾ 198 Sr./2 13 Thomas Harper 5-11 195 Gr./1 21 Adon Shuler*^ 5-11½ 195 Fr./4 Free Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 2 DJ Brown 6-0 3 ⁄8 200 Gr./1 11 Ramon Henderson 6-1 190 Sr./2 22 Ben Minich* 5-11 7 ⁄8 190 Fr./4 Spring 2023 Defense Depth Chart Senior safety Xavier Watts "is going to be one of the stars of this team" in 2023, according to departed starter Brandon Joseph. PHOTO BY KAYDEE GAWLIK