Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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8 OCT. 7, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Be it through football, academics, or even while overcoming surgery and per- sonal struggle as a Notre Dame freshman in 2019, Jack Kiser has squeezed every ounce of life that he possibly could during his four-plus years on campus. A fourth-year rotation regular and a frequent starter over the last two-plus seasons, the versatile graduate student linebacker has started or filled in admi- rably at about every linebacker position during his career. The Royal Center, Ind., native has also been a rock on the Irish special teams since his sophomore season in 2020. Through the first five games in 2023, despite making only two starts, Kiser still led the Irish with 28 tackles, and also had 1 sack, 2 quarterback hurries and 1 forced fumble. The definition of an overachiever, Kiser made his way to Notre Dame out of small and remote Pioneer High School. As a se- nior there in 2018, he became the Indiana Mr. Football honoree and the MaxPreps Small Schools National Player of the Year. Blue & Gold Illustrated recently caught up with Kiser to discuss his season so far, his time at Notre Dame, and his last go-around with the Fighting Irish. BGI: What do you want your legacy to be? Kiser: "I want to be remembered as a guy who was a leader, a hard worker, someone who does it the right way, the Notre Dame way. Someone who gives any task, any challenge, everything I have and is a guy that people can look up to." BGI: What has your time here meant to you? Kiser: "There have been a lot of obstacles that I've had to battle through, but I just kept a good mentality, my head down and worked. I think that has been what Notre Dame has meant to me. And I'm a lot better person for it." BGI: You've played in so many different roles and positions. What has that versa- tility meant to your career? Kiser: "That's something that I have al- ways taken a lot of pride in. Ever since I was in high school, I did almost every- thing. When I got here, I just wanted to learn everything and be ready for when my opportunity came. That's what can set you apart, and that's what I was try- ing to do." BGI: How did the team bounce back from the heartbreaking loss to Ohio State? Kiser: "Obviously, guys are devastated, disappointed and frustrated. We had plenty of opportunities to win that game. But the most reassuring thing was every- body showed up the next day and was ready to get back to work. Nobody was going to sulk in their misery." BGI: What's left to accomplish during the home stretch of your long career? Kiser: "I'm not going to look forward to the fu- ture, I'm going to be in the moment. I'm going to make everything count, make everything be the best that it can be. When you look to the future, you lose what's going on around you. You lose sight of what's really important." — Todd D. Burlage Five Questions With … NOTRE DAME GRADUATE STUDENT LINEBACKER JACK KISER Recent Injuries, Youth Make It Wide Receiver By Todd D. Burlage Through the first half of the season to date, Notre Dame played well in about every facet of its game and there wasn't much to complain or worry about within any position group. Well, with junior wide receiver Deion Colzie now out indefinitely after having his knee scoped last week and junior wideout Jayden Thomas battling an ornery ham- string injury that will keep him less than 100 percent for the foreseeable future, the wide receiver unit went from a strength to a concern, seemingly overnight. Through five games, Thomas led the Irish with 13 catches for 195 yards and 1 touchdown, while Colzie played 51 offensive snaps, scored a touchdown and was an important ro- tational regular at the position. Granted, Notre Dame is getting some quick and good work from a couple of true freshmen wideouts in Rico Flores Jr. and Jaden Greathouse. However, if Thomas misses any time or can't play at 100 percent, then having the best receiver on the team slowed by injury will be tough for this position group to absorb. Graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman has done a solid job of sharing the wealth in the Irish passing game. Six different Notre Dame wideouts had at least 3 receptions this season through the Ohio State game. Nonetheless, having two veterans in this group dealing with injuries — leaving the bulk of the outside and downfield receiving work on the shoul- ders of two true freshmen — leaves this as the most concerning position group at the halfway point of the season. D-Line Can't Pressure With Four-Man Rush By Jack Soble There are a couple reasons Notre Dame blitzes on passing downs more than almost every other team in college football. No. 1 is the strength of its cornerbacks and the confidence that they can lock down opposing wide receivers. But No. 2 is the biggest concern the Irish have right now. Notre Dame cannot consistently pressure quarter- backs with a four-man rush. While the Irish made many individual mistakes against Ohio State, most notably playing the final two snaps with 10 men on the field, arguably the biggest problem through- out the evening was the inability to pressure Buckeyes junior quarterback Kyle McCord without blitzing. They did that 8 times in 25 non- blitzing drop-backs, while they did it 9 times in 17 blitzing drop-backs, according to Pro Football Focus. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman recognized it, too. "We just didn't get enough pressure," Freeman said after the game. "I just felt we weren't getting pressure. I wanted to hit him more, until probably the last series." Prior to the season, one thing most identified as a key to Notre Dame's success was senior vyper Jordan Botelho translating his low-volume pass rush efficiency into a larger role. This year, according to Pro Football Focus, Botelho's pass-rush win rate of 3.1 percent is 14th on the team, minimum 10 pass-rush snaps. Senior defensive tackle Rylie Mills has consistently hurried opposing quar- terbacks, but he and graduate student nose tackle Howard Cross III haven't been enough. Notre Dame needs more out of its pass rush. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHAT IS THE MOST CONCERNING NOTRE DAME POSITION GROUP? JAYDEN THOMAS JORDAN BOTELHO Kiser led the Fighting Irish in tackles with 28 (17 solo) through the first five games this season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER