Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2024 27 than Lewis in the Sun Bowl. Mickey started outside with Morrison. Gray ended up out-snapping Mickey coming off the sideline. With Cam Hart having left his post as an every-game starter at corner, Mickey and Gray emerged as the top two candidates to replace him. Not Lewis, who became a bit of a floater as a backup in the slot and out wide. Lewis leaving also makes this clear; Notre Dame is another injury away from senior Chance Tucker making the big- gest leap of his career. He's only played 51 snaps in three seasons, but Morrison's status combined with the departures of Hart and Lewis have catapulted Tucker up the depth chart. He took second-team reps with Gray in the aforementioned practice reporters saw the day after Mor- rison's injury news went mainstream. If you're playing alongside Gray in any capacity, it means you're next in line. You're right on the cusp of being asked to do a lot on Saturdays. If that happens for Tucker, we'll all get a glimpse into just how successful corners coach Mike Mickens can be with a developmental project of a player who has patiently waited for an opportunity. FRESH STARTS Some freshmen look like freshmen. Some don't. If you saw defensive end Bryce Young, defensive tackle Sean Se- villano Jr. and linebacker Kyngstonn Vil- iamu-Asa at a Notre Dame practice and had no idea how old they were, you prob- ably wouldn't guess first-year players. Especially in the case of 6-foot-7 Young. "Bryce Young has stood out physically I think more than anything, physically being college-ready," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. "He's got work to do like all of them do, but he's the one that's probably stood out the most, I think being physically ready at this point." He said the same thing about Junior Tuihalamaka a couple years ago. He's played and played well, but he hasn't been a superstar by any means. Free- man has learned what happens in March and April isn't always fully indicative of what'll occur in September and October. "I just don't want to crown anybody too early and also deter any of these young guys, [by having them say] 'Well, am I behind?'" Freeman said. "No, your journey is different. So, that's why I'm always cautious of crowning somebody too early, right?" So much of it is about timing and depth chart situations too. Notre Dame is dying for someone to be an Isaiah Fo- skey-like pass rusher again. The Irish didn't have one last year. Sophomore Christian Gray (No. 29) and junior Jaden Mickey (No. 7) have emerged as important players at cornerback for the Irish in 2024. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Vyper No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 12 Jordan Botelho 6-3 263 Gr./1 44 Junior Tuihalamaka 6-2 250 Jr./3 51 Boubacar Traore 6-4 240 So./4 42 Cole Mullins* 6-4 244 Fr./4 10 Loghan Thomas*^ 6-4 205 Fr./4 Nose Tackle 56 Howard Cross III 6-1 284 Gr./1 97 Gabriel Rubio# 6-5 306 Sr./2 41 Donovan Hinish 6-2 279 Jr./3 59 Sean Sevillano Jr.* 6-1 333 Fr./4 98 Devan Houstan 6-4 285 So./4 Defensive Tackle 99 Rylie Mills 6-5 297 Gr./1 47 Jason Onye 6-5 287 Sr./2 17 Brenan Vernon 6-5 272 So./4 95 Tyson Ford 6-4 290 Jr./4 93 Armel Mukam^ 6-3 290 So./4 Field End 9 RJ Oben 6-3 261 Gr./1 40 Joshua Burnham 6-4 252 Jr./3 30 Bryce Young 6-7 246 Fr./4 91 Aiden Gobaira^ 6-5 249 Jr./3 Will Linebacker 24 Jack Kiser 6-2 232 Gr./1 25 Preston Zinter 6-2 229 So./4 43 Kahanu Kia 6-2 226 So./4 — Bodie Kahoun+ 6-3 215 Fr./4 Mike Linebacker 34 Drayk Bowen 6-2 234 So./3 27 Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa* 6-3 236 Fr./4 Rover No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 3 Jaylen Sneed 6-1 218 Jr./2 4 Jaiden Ausberry 6-2 220 So./4 — Teddy Rezac+ 6-3½ 185 Fr./4 Boundary Cornerback 20 Benjamin Morrison^ 6-0 186 Jr./2 18 Chance Tucker 6-0 186 Sr./2 — Leonard Moore+ 6-2 175 Fr./4 Field Cornerback 7 Jaden Mickey 6-0 178 Jr./2 29 Christian Gray 6-0 188 So./3 — Karson Hobbs+ 6-1 180 Fr./4 Slot Cornerback 1 Jordan Clark 5-10 180 Gr./1 11 Micah Bell 5-10 177 So./4 Strong Safety 0 Xavier Watts 6-0 201 Gr./1 28 Luke Talich 6-4 210 So./3 22 Devyn Ford 5-11 198 Gr./1 — Tae Johnson+ 6-1½ 185 Fr./4 Free Safety — Rod Heard II+ 5-11 190 Gr./1 8 Adon Shuler 6-0 198 So./4 13 Ben Minich 6-0 192 So./4 23 Kennedy Urlacher* 5-11 195 Fr./4 — Taebron Bennie-Powell+ 6-1 185 Fr./4 * Early enrollee; + enrolling in the summer; ^ injured; # not practicing with the team this spring but expected to return in the summer 2024 Defense Scholarship Depth Chart