Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2024 33 BY TYLER HORKA I t's a changing of the guard in the Notre Dame linebacker room. The group has a new full-time coach in Max Bullough, who was promoted to the position after one year as a gradu- ate assistant for the Irish. Last year, in Bullough's hands-on GA job, he leaned heavily on graduate students JD Bertrand and Marist Liufau. He can't do that anymore. They're both NFL Draft hopefuls. Jack Kiser stuck around for his sixth season, and Bullough is for- tunate he did. Otherwise, he'd be in charge of a unit that has one start at linebacker among eight players. Bullough said Kiser was one of Notre Dame's most improved linebackers from the start of 2023 to the end of it. That much growth in a play- er's fifth season can be unusual, but everything has been trending for Kiser to take the reins as Notre Dame's most important linebacker in 2024 and run with them. "Kiser is a guy you can put at any position on the field," Bullough said. "He's going to help you get lined up. But I think he's becoming more than that. I think he's becoming sturdier. I think he's becom- ing someone who can actually hold up and doesn't look small out there." When it comes to not looking small out there, sophomore Drayk Bowen has everybody in the position group beat. He's the heaviest of the bunch at 234 pounds. If Kiser takes over for Bertrand in the middle, Bowen might be the favorite to replace Liufau at the weak-side spot. He's obviously big and fast enough to play in the middle himself, too. Spring ball will be the closest Bullough ever gets to putting a jigsaw puzzle together in foot- ball terms. He's got a lot of young pieces to work with in his unit plus Kiser's veteran leadership. He's got to figure out how to put them all together in a proper manner. "The onus is on me," Bullough said. POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH WILL LINEBACKER Is Drayk Bowen going to be Marist Liufau's replacement as a sophomore? Will Jaylen Sneed shed his role as more of a rushing linebacker and take on more complete responsibilities as a weak-side backer? Someone's got to start alongside Jack Kiser when Notre Dame is in nickel. Who's it going to be? 2024 S P R I N G F O O T B A L L O V E R V I E W LINEBACKERS PERSONNEL UPDATE Position Coach: Max Bullough (first season) Returning Starters: Gr. Jack Kiser (17 career starts) Departing Starters: JD Bertrand (35), Marist Liufau (27) Projected New Starters: So. Drayk Bowen (0), Jr. Jaylen Sneed (1) Top Reserves: So. Jaiden Ausberry, So. Pres- ton Zinter Newcomers: Fr. Bodie Kahoun, Fr. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Fr. Teddy Rezac NUMBERS TO KNOW 28.6 Wa s J ay l e n S n e e d 's missed tackle rate in 2023, the highest of anyone on the Notre Dame defense. For reference, Jack Kiser had the second-lowest of any Irish player at 5.1 Thomas Harper led the way at 4.7. 30 Quarterback pres- sures for JD Bertrand last season, making him one of four Notre Dame players with at least 30 per Pro Football Focus. The others were all defensive linemen led by Howard Cross III at 39. 90.3 Overall Pro Football Fo- cus grade for Kiser, the highest of anyone on the Notre Dame defense in 2023 despite playing fewer snaps (354) than Bertrand (647) and Marist Liufau (595). Graduate student Jack Kiser was one of Notre Dame's most improved line- backers from the start of the 2023 season to the end of it. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER ALL EYES ON … JUNIOR JAYLEN SNEED Notre Dame's highest-ranked signee in the class of 2022, Sneed finally has an opening to potential starter status with JD Bertrand and Marist Liufau having moved on from the program. Sneed saw a boost in playing time in his second season in South Bend, but now it's time to be one of the top dogs.