Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2023 19 NEW-LOOK DEFENSIVE LINE With defensive linemen Isaiah Foskey (563 snaps), Justin Ademilola (485), Jay- son Ademilola (418) and Chris Smith (265) all gone, Notre Dame's two-deep will look quite different along its defensive line. Graduate student nose tackle Howard Cross III, senior three-technique tackle Rylie Mills and graduate student strong- side defensive end Nana Osafo-Mensah are the mainstays, but the Irish are excited about some of the new faces up front. Ohio State graduate transfer Javontae Jean-Baptiste has stood out, logging more reps with the first team at strong-side de- fensive end as camp has gone on. Jean-Baptiste has a signature look: He wears a full ski mask at practice even when it's 90 degrees outside. "He's a dog," Osafo-Mensah said. "Every O-line in the country should be ready for him because he's coming with an edge. He has a chip on his shoulder. "He wears a ski mask, like a little Shiesty mask, every practice with an objective. He's coming out there with some passion." Irish fans are familiar with senior vyper Jordan Botelho (136 snaps) and junior defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio (184), but both will play larger roles this year. Botelho is the starter at vyper and Rubio should see his snap count in- crease dramatically. Junior defensive tackle Jason Onye and sophomore vyper Junior Tuihala- maka should both be high-volume rota- tional players. Sophomores Tyson Ford and Joshua Burnham also have a chance to earn playing time at defensive tackle and vyper, respectively. "I'd strap it up against anybody," Irish defensive line coach Al Washington said. "That's how I feel about my guys. But they have to do it. I see it, but they have to do it. I don't want to put a guy's name out there. I want him to reveal himself." OPEN COMPETITION Notre Dame is holding an open com- petition at both offensive guard spots. While sophomore Billy Schrauth and ju- nior Pat Coogan are battling for the left guard position, graduate student An- drew Kristofic and junior Rocco Spin- dler are fighting for the right guard job. Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph confirmed July 31 that both competitions are truly open. He said Spindler has improved dramatically since he spent most of spring camp with the second team, but beyond that, Rudolph gave nothing away. He did lay out his requirements for the guards who ultimately start against Navy. "One, you've got to be accountable," he said. "You've got to be able to con- trol the controllables like penalties, as- signments and knowing the detail with things. Secondly, you have to win at the point of attack — guys that can flat out win and create opportunities for the back. Win at the point of attack and in the protection game. "Three, guys that can play in a way where they make guys around them better." At slot cornerback, either Thomas Harper or Clarence Lewis will techni- cally be the starter, but both should play a great deal for the Irish. Harper is espe- cially versatile, spending individual drills with the safeties throughout camp. If Notre Dame feels comfortable enough with Lewis, Harper might spend more time at safety during the season. LINEBACKER VERSATILITY Notre Dame likes graduate student linebackers Marist Liufau and Jack Kiser at rover and Will linebacker, but not nec- essarily in that order. Irish defensive co- ordinator Al Golden sees them as inter- changeable, depending on the situation. "I don't even ask anymore," Golden said. "They'll sometimes do it by them- selves. I just want them to make sure they're comfortable in it, that we can handle it." In other words, Liufau will be playing more outside — on the edge or toward the slot — than Notre Dame fans are used to seeing from him. Kiser will play more inside and should see more snaps than he did this past season (338). Also projected to play more is sopho- more Jaylen Sneed, the No. 35 recruit in the On3 Industry Ranking in the class of 2022 and a five-star by On3's own rating system. He likely won't start over Liufau, Kiser or graduate student Mike linebacker JD Bertrand, but Golden loves him as a versatile weapon to get to the quarterback. "He has the ability to pressure or to line up on the edge on third down," Golden said. "That's really what he does. We're trying to get him going in those things. At the end of the year, that's what he did for us, and it was awesome." Sneed will continue to develop behind the graduates, but make no mistake, he'll help Notre Dame in 2023. ✦ Graduate student linebacker Jack Kiser leads the way for a versatile group of linebackers, cross-training at the rover and Will positions. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER