Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 14, 2023 19 While he did not start against Navy, Jean-Baptiste has started every game since and reached 50 or more snaps in three of the past four games. Against Ohio State, Jean-Baptiste received 64 reps and rarely came off the field. "He's done a great job in practices, he's done a great job in game reps that he's been in there and I can see him con- tinuing to excel as a football player for our team," Notre Dame head coach Mar- cus Freeman said. Golden credited defensive line coach Al Washington with much of Jean-Bap- tiste's continued improvement, say- ing Washington has been tough on the newcomer. There's trust between the player and the coach, though, and Jean- Baptiste has responded well to Wash- ington's coaching style. "I'd say Coach Washington just wants the best for me so he's pushing me in every little way," Jean-Baptiste said. "He's just trying to push me over that extra couple of percentages just to let me know that like you've got to go. "Sometimes you can do something good but it could be done better. You cannot get complacent where you're at." Golden is proud of Jean-Baptiste, who quickly earned his coaches' and teammates' trust at Notre Dame. "It's really not easy to do, to come into a new place, learn a system, fit in, find a role and then cultivate it from there," Golden said. "And he's done that." The Irish coaching staff was espe- cially proud of Jean-Baptiste after the Ohio State game, in which Freeman said he played really well. Despite everything going through Jean-Baptiste's head, he finished with 8 tackles, 2 quarterback hits and 5 defensive stops. It was arguably his best effort of the season, and it meant something to him. "There were just a lot of mixed emotions going on," Jean-Baptiste said. "There was definitely some extra emotion." Jean-Baptiste, who spent four years at Ohio State, was one of the last Notre Dame players to leave the field. He walked off, accompanied by interim strength and conditioning coach Fred Hale, with an emotional expression on his face. The way the game ended, see- ing his former teammates and coaches celebrate on his home field — it hurt. The next week against Duke, though, Jean-Baptiste combined with gradu- ate student linebacker Marist Liufau for his first shared sack in a Notre Dame uniform. After the play, ABC cameras caught Liufau jumping around him in celebration and senior defensive tackle Rylie Mills getting in his face to hype him up. After leaving Mills, Jean-Baptiste breathed what almost looked like a sigh of relief. He has found a home at Notre Dame. ✦