Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 NOV. 9, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED H aving underclassmen rise up to make important and so m e t i m e s u n ex p e c te d impacts during a Notre Dame football season is nothing new. Just look back to last season when first- or second-year Irish players held down crucial roles, mainly as valuable backups. Playing behind star tailback Audric Estimé, running backs Jeremiyah Love (then a fresh- man) and Jadarian Price (then a sophomore) combined for 657 rushing yards and 6 touch- downs. Meanwhile, rookie wide receivers Jaden Greathouse, Jor- dan Faison and Rico Flores Jr. chipped in with 979 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. And that's just a few of the of- fensive underclassmen. Defensively last season, soph- omores Benjamin Morrison at cornerback (31 tackles, 10 passed de- fended, 3 interceptions) and lineman Joshua Burnham (18 tackles, 4 for loss) led a group of seven first- and second- year Irish who played in at least 12 games on defense and/or special teams. Fast forward to 2024, and the youth movement this season is even more ap- parent than it was in 2023. Irish freshman and sophomores are again scattered atop and throughout the team's statistical leaders. Because of his preseason perfor- mance, sophomore Drayk Bowen earned the starting Mike linebacker spot on opening day and entered the Navy game with a team-high 38 tackles. Because of a hip injury to All-Amer- ican Benjamin Morrison, freshman Leonard Moore landed a starting cor- nerback spot, and he responded with great play. In his first two career starts for the Irish, Moore made 14. "Ben [Morrison] told me not to make it about being a freshman. Just go out and play football," Moore said of his mentor's advice. "Don't give yourself any excuses." Beyond Bowen and Moore, the youth- ful Irish defense also enjoyed great work in its first seven games from freshman linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (21 tackles, 2.5 for loss), sophomore line- backer Jaiden Ausberry (29 tackles, 1 for loss) and starting sophomore safety Adon Shuler (15 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 touchdown). "The people are, obviously at times, inexperienced," Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. "But the team is becoming more and more expe- rienced together. And that's when you take a big-picture look at the perfor- mance. This team is continuously get- ting better." Offensively this season, tailbacks Love and Price — now sophomores — combined for 791 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns through seven games. Greathouse — also a sophomore — was second on the team with 17 catches for 202 yards with 1 touchdown. In ad- dition, freshman Anthonie Knapp and sophomore Sam Pendleton have both held down starting roles on the Irish offensive line all season, Knapp because of an injury, Pendleton because of pre- season performance. Be it through recruiting, coaching, player development, team culture or all of the above, Freeman's player trust and his "next man in" message are the foundation to Notre Dame's performance and success this season. These plug-and-play un- derclassmen are fearless. They don't freeze on the big stage, and they've needed no long ac- climation process. "We've got a lot of confi- dence," Freeman said. "This is a young team now, with some injuries. But we're confident in the guys that we put on the field. They just need the oppor- tunity. And sometimes it takes an injury or something else to put those guys out there." Injuries are never a positive. But working through them not only accelerates player develop- ment it also sets a foundation for improved depth and a bright future. Freeman forever challenges his play- ers to stay engaged and prepared be- cause you never know when your num- ber will be called. "This is a long season," Freeman said, "and one guarantee in life is that the future is uncertain." There were some exceptions, but under former head coach Brian Kelly, Notre Dame was reluctant to play its young guys, beyond meaningless mop- up duty. Be it through recruiting misses, de- layed development or just a lack of player confidence, Notre Dame lacked roster depth and its player rotations were squeezed tightly under Kelly. That hasn't been the case under Free- man and Co., and the message to his underclassmen and reserves remains unchanged to keep it that way. "Keep preparing," Freeman said. "Take care of the opportunity in front of you, and then you'll get the oppor- tunity to do it in front of thousands and millions of people." ✦ Sophomores Jeremiyah Love (left) and Jaden Greathouse (right) are among the underclassmen who contributed to Notre Dame's 6-1 start. Love led the team in rushing with 462 yards and 7 touchdowns, while Greathouse was second on the team with 17 catches for 202 yards and 1 score. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Now And Later, Irish Youth Movement Is Paying Off Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com. UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE