Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JUNE/JULY 2024 25 and Jaiden Ausberry, and freshman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. Bowen has the upper hand for the lone starting job alongside Kiser — and he looked terrific in the jersey scrim- mage — while Sneed will get the first crack at rover in the base defense. Sneed looks especially primed to break out — he might have been Notre Dame's most improved player in spring ball. "Jaylen Sneed has — from when we ended bowl practice to now — made the biggest jump, maybe of anybody," Bullough said, "in terms of being locked in, in terms of playing in foot- ball position, starting it in his]stance, moving with purpose. "All those little things that Jaylen knows, 'If I can do those things, the sky's the limit. If I can focus in on the details and do the little things, I can make the plays.'" But the way all four are performing in spring ball, they've made a compel- ling case that the Irish can't keep any of them off the field. Is Bullough open to a heavy rotation at linebacker, or at least subbing liber- ally in specific situations? Very much so, he explained. "I'm not married to, 'It has to be these two or three,'" Bullough said. "It's dif- ferent this year. We're a little bit more by committee." Notre Dame prioritized speed at linebacker on the recruiting trail when Freeman initially took over as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. That speed has arrived in South Bend. If it makes sense in the fall, Bullough won't say no to a system that helps the Irish maintain that speed late in games and late in the season. "We've got guys that can move," Bullough said. "We're flying around. We're gonna keep them fresh." While they've manned the second team this spring, Ausberry and Vil- iamu-Asa have made it difficult for Notre Dame to pick three linebackers and stick with them. Starting with Aus- berry, he was always one of the faster, more explosive players in the room. Over the offseason, though, he hit the weight room and got stronger, which the coaching staff noticed quickly. Ausberry has stood out in sub pack- ages, particularly as a blitzer, from mul- tiple positions (Will and rover). Despite Kiser and Sneed being ahead of him, he's forced Notre Dame's hand. "Jaiden is a guy that, quite frankly, he's in the conversation of — he's put himself in a position, both physically and mentally, where he makes us as a coaching staff stop the film and say, 'All right, how do we implement and use this guy?'" Bullough said. "And that's because of the way he practices, because of the way that he's playing, because of what he's built himself up to in the weight room." The Irish started experimenting with Ausberry at nickel, where he started the Blue-Gold Game for the Gold team, and at sub-package safety. Freeman echoed Bullough, explaining that Ausberry has to see the field. Viliamu-Asa, meanwhile, was always expected to challenge for immediate playing time out of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco. He played against top competition at an elite high school pro- gram, and he arrived in South Bend with a college-ready frame at 6-foot-3, 236 pounds. Spring practice confirmed what most assumed: It would be a shock if Vil- iamu-Asa redshirts this season. He was ferocious in the jersey scrimmage, lin- ing up on the edge and breaking through for a sack. At one point in the Blue-Gold Game, Viliamu-Asa dropped back 20 yards down the field and laid the boom on Greathouse, jarring the ball loose. He can do it all. "The way he's been able to process in- formation, take the installs or the sheet of paper to the field, has been, quite frankly, pretty impressive," Bullough said. "He's right in the mix, and he's fighting every day." From Bullough's perspective, he loves the challenge of coaching younger play- ers. Not that he didn't enjoy working with Bertrand and Liufau, but by the time he was hired, there wasn't much coaching for him to do. This year is different, and the newly ordained position coach embraces it. "I thought about that even last year," Bullough said. "It's awesome. It allows you to really put your imprint on the room. Like when I got here, it was pretty much a finished product. We were just doing the X's and O's. "Now, it allows a little bit of my per- sonality, hopefully, to take over." ✦ Freshman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa arrived in South Bend with a college-ready frame at 6-foot-3, 236 pounds, and it would be a shock if he redshirts this season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER