Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE With all due respect to starting line- backers Carlos Calabrese and Dan Fox from last season (the two leading Irish tacklers in 2013), those two fifth-year seniors were solid at stopping plays in front of them, but not always equipped athletically to chase down a play or smother a mobile quarterback before he was already downfield. Six different opposing quarterbacks last season, some not necessarily known for their elusiveness, rushed for at least 50 yards in a game against the Irish, yardage that typically resulted in frus- trating first downs and extended drives. Smith's combination of brains, brawn and burst — along with the coaching foresight to move their star inside — greatly diminishes the threat of the quarterback run and forces rival offen- sive coordinators to reconsider their strategies in the ground game. With Smith playing on the perimeter last year, Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner sliced through the Irish defense for a game-high 82 rushing yards on 6.3 yards per carry, adding a touchdown and a long run of 35 yards in a 41-30 win by the Wolverines. With Smith playing inside and locked onto Gardner two weeks ago, the Mich- igan quarterback managed only five rushing yards on 11 carries with a long run of nine yards in a 31-0 Irish win. Smith finished with 10 tackles, includ- ing one of Gardner for loss, and earned national defensive honors as the Ronnie Lott IMPACT Player of the Week. "Certainly his ability to close [on a quarterback] changes so much in terms of what you want to do," Irish head coach Brian Kelly said of Smith's in- stincts and athleticism. "He's a unique player." Smith's interior influence will be magnified in the coming weeks with six legitimate dual-threat quarterbacks coming consecutively on the sched- ule, including Terrel Hunt of Syracuse, Kevin Hogan of Stanford, Keenan Reyn- olds of Navy and, of course, reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Win- ston of Florida State. The extent Smith is able to control and contain these dangerous playmak- ers will tell much about Notre Dame's fortunes this season, a fact that actually has all of ND Nation resting comfort- ably. "Jaylon is a man," Kelly said. "I have not been around many players that have grown so quickly in the game the way he has in a very short period of time." This time last year, Smith was tread- ing water and trying to survive the speed and scheme of the college game as the first freshman linebacker to start a season opener for Notre Dame since 1995. Barely 13 months later, Smith has already become the face of the Irish de- fense, an irreplaceable team leader and the defensive player most responsible for the course of this season. And he'd have it no other way, inside or outside. "Wherever the coaches want me, that's where I'll be," Smith said. "It's not about me, it's about Notre Dame. I'm so blessed to play here. I'll never lose sight of that." ✦ Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com