Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 PRESEASON 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED That's a long way from failure, after all. "We work really hard at it," Golden said. "The players work hard at it. The staff works hard at it. And there's a lot that goes into it. There are tips every day. There are cut-ups. There's a sum- mer development program. There are individual programs. "We are really working hard in April, working really hard in May and June, working on the weekends, getting it sit- uated so that you can give that informa- tion to the players. And, most impor- tantly, you must have enough leaders and a high standard so that they accept the information and make it their own." HOLDING THE LINE Jack Kiser knows a thing or two about level 500, as a graduate student in his sixth year at Notre Dame should. In Kiser, Golden has the embodiment of a player that has dragged the Fight- ing Irish defense along from level 100 in Golden's first season in South Bend to level 300 last year and level 500 this year. It's because of players like Kiser that Golden is enabled to field a defense capable of mastering so much. JD Ber- trand and Marist Liufau bore that torch in 2023. It's Kiser's in 2024. "We're blessed," Golden said. "We have great kids. We have great leader- ship. From that standpoint, it doesn't take a lot to convince them. Just sharing different experiences and what can help them. And for the most part, they want to learn. They want to know how to do it right." It's not just Kiser who's got Golden in position to coach his most elaborate Notre Dame defense. The four lineback- ers the Irish have shown they will insert into the regular rotation are intelligent, talented players. Drayk Bowen is just a sophomore and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa is a true fresh- man who has not played any college football yet. Those are Notre Dame's top two middle linebackers. Kiser can play the middle a bit too, but the fact that the Irish don't feel like he needs to man the middle after the departure of Bertrand, a multi-year Mike starter, is evidence enough of the excitement the coaching staff has for Bowen and Viliamu-Asa. Those two can rotate in at Kiser's weak-side spot, too. Then there are ju- nior Jaylen Sneed and sophomore Jaiden Ausberry at Will or rover. Freeman ex- pects a substitution pattern of a com- plete handful of linebackers. Golden proved in the first fall camp practice that Freeman wasn't fibbing. Kiser, Bowen, Viliamu-Asa, Sneed and Aus- berry all subbed in and out throughout a lengthy 11-on-11 session comprised of first- and second-team players on both sides of the ball. "I'm very confident in that linebacker corps," Freeman said. A 'HEFTY BAG' It's not just the Notre Dame line- backer room that completely embraces the idea of a level 500 mentality. It's that entire side of the ball. It's a love for the game and a long- ing to get better that connects longtime Notre Dame defensive stalwarts like Kiser with those who have only been on campus for one or two years like Bowen and Viliamu-Asa. The gap is bridged easily to transfer portal additions too. Arizona State transfer Jordan Clark, for instance, said he chose Notre Dame be- cause he wanted to go somewhere he could progress and be taught by a coach that utilizes a "hefty bag" like Golden. Hefty bag equates to, you guessed it, level 500 types of things. "If football is social for you, this is not the place," Golden said. "If you want to be great, if you want to be really coached in the fundamentals of the game — the ball disruption, how to defend the screen, how to tackle, different tech- Vyper No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 12 Jordan Botelho 6-3 258 Gr./1 5 Boubacar Traore 6-4 240 So./4 44 Junior Tuihalamaka 6-2 246 Jr./3 10 Loghan Thomas 6-4 224 Fr./4 Nose Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 56 Howard Cross III 6-1 288 Gr./1 41 Donovan Hinish 6-2 274 Jr./3 88 Armel Mukam 6-3 302 So./4 59 Sean Sevillano Jr. 6-1 320 Fr./4 97 Gabriel Rubio^ 6-5 316 Sr./2 Defensive Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 99 Rylie Mills 6-5 295 Gr./1 47 Jason Onye 6-5 289 Sr./2 17 Brenan Vernon 6-5 262 So./4 98 Devan Houstan 6-4 292 So./4 42 Cole Mullins 6-4 259 Fr./4 Field End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 9 RJ Oben 6-3 262 Gr./1 40 Joshua Burnham 6-4 247 Jr./3 30 Bryce Young 6-7 258 Fr./4 Will Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 24 Jack Kiser 6-2 231 Gr./1 25 Preston Zinter 6-2 235 So./4 43 Kahanu Kia^ 6-2 230 So./3 Mike Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 34 Drayk Bowen 6-2 239 So./3 27 Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa 6-3 240 Fr./4 36 Bodie Kahoun 6-3 221 Fr./4 Rover No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 3 Jaylen Sneed 6-1 222 Jr./2 4 Jaiden Ausberry 6-2 216 So./4 35 Teddy Rezac 6-3 199 Fr./4 Boundary Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 20 Benjamin Morrison 6-0 190 Jr./2 18 Chance Tucker 6-0 189 Sr./2 15 Leonard Moore 6-1 187 Fr./4 Field Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 29 Christian Gray 6-0 187 So./3 or 7 Jaden Mickey 6-0 178 Jr./2 21 Karson Hobbs 6-1 184 Fr./4 Slot Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 1 Jordan Clark 5-10 181 Gr./1 4 Jaiden Ausberry 6-2 216 So./4 21 Karson Hobbs 6-1 184 Fr./4 Strong Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 2 Rod Heard II 5-11 195 Gr./1 or 8 Adon Shuler 6-0 200 So./4 23 Kennedy Urlacher 5-11 196 Fr./4 31 Taebron Bennie-Powell 6-1 177 Fr./4 Free Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 0 Xavier Watts 6-0 203 Gr./1 28 Luke Talich 6-4 208 So./3 13 Ben Minich 6-0 192 So./4 16 Tae Johnson 6-2 175 Fr./4 ^ Injured FALL CAMP 2024 NOTRE DAME SCHOLARSHIP DEPTH CHART Here is Blue & Gold Illustrated's projection of Notre Dame's 2024 defensive scholarship depth chart a few days into fall camp.