Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1518481
18 MAY 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED than it's been in the middle of the Notre Dame defense for quite some time. Graduate student Jack Kiser is the old man of the group. There are nothing but inexperienced, young Bowen-types be- hind him — and Bowen himself might be the best of them. In the first few weeks of Notre Dame spring practices, he lined up next to Kiser as a projected starter with regularity. "Drayk's sharp," Notre Dame line- backers coach Max Bullough said in late February. "He was someone who didn't get a ton of reps in practice last year because we just don't do that with our twos late in the season. And he was al- ways a guy I felt confident in if it came to it he could go in the game and execute." In 2024, it's come to it. So, it's time to execute. Same goes for cornerback Christian Gray. The departure of Cam Hart left a void on the opposite side of the field from junior Benjamin Morrison. Gray and ju- nior Jaden Mickey are fighting to fill it. And despite being a year younger, Gray might be the best candidate to do so. He showed everyone just how athletic he is when he made a leaping intercep- tion along the sideline against Pitt last year. It was reminiscent of something Morrison would do, and if Notre Dame has two players on either side of the field pulling off Morrison-like picks then the Fighting Irish will be a better football team for it. Meanwhile, it's impossible to suggest Notre Dame will be better along the offensive line after losing future first- round draft choice Joe Alt, a two-and- a-half-year starter who played his way into near universal standing as the best offensive tackle in America. Charles Jagusah is far from that, but he's still someone everyone on the Notre Dame offense, from players to coaches, has extreme confidence in to start every game as a sophomore, be effective and get better and better with each rep, se- ries and game. He has all the tools to be a multi-year starter at tackle himself. "He's very conscientious about the communication, details, footwork, schoolwork," Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph said. "Whatever he's doing, he's got a really good feeling for the mental aspect of how it all fits and how it applies. "Some guys when they get like that, things go slow for them. He's able to understand it to that level and still kind of play fast." ON THE CUSP Preston Zinter and Jaiden Ausberry aren't as far along on the road to play- ing time as Bowen, but they're two more linebackers from the class of 2023 who are a whole lot closer to seeing the field regularly due to a combination of natural maturity and avenues opening with Ber- trand and Liufau no longer in the picture. Zinter appeared on 10 special teams plays and 10 defensive snaps last year. We don't know much about who he is on Saturdays. What we do know is he's about the same size as Bowen. If he's to get some run in games this year, he'd be wise to trace Bowen's footsteps. Ausberry, meanwhile, is a completely different player. He showed an unde- niable nose for the ball last spring. If there's someone not named junior Jay- len Sneed poised to bull rush from the linebacker spot, a role often played by Liufau, it's Ausberry. But he can also get from sideline to sideline with cover instincts, so he's someone not enough people are talking about who might be on the brink of cracking the rotation. Ausberry is to the linebacking corps what Adon Shuler is to the secondary. Everyone assumes Northwestern trans- fer Rod Heard II will play in tandem with graduate student Xavier Watts at safety, but while the Irish have been waiting on him to get to South Bend this summer Shuler has taken just about every first- team rep alongside Watts this spring. He's looked confident and comfortable with that responsibility, too. Playing behind him as second-team safeties are two more sophomores: Luke Talich and Ben Minich. That trio of sec- ond-year players constitutes the future of the back end of the Notre Dame defense. "They've been really impressive," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free- man said. "I've been really impressed with Adon and Luke in what they've done, especially getting some reps with Drayk Bowen could step up and fill the void left by JD Bertrand as Notre Dame's starting middle linebacker. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER