Jaylen Sneed Is Still Learning, But His Talent Is Obvious

Notre Dame linebacker Jaylen Sneed has a lot to learn, but he's already impressing the Irish coaches

Notre Dame signed an outstanding defensive class in 2022, and the star of that group was linebacker Jaylen Sneed, who is now a freshman for the Fighting Irish. The former top recruit is now pushing for a role within a deep linebacker depth chart.

Sneed played several different positions in high school, including quarterbacks as a senior for Hilton Head (S.C.) High School. He's now bulked up to 215 pounds and learning more and more about the rover position and making a run for spots on special teams.

Al Golden was still with the Cincinnati Bengals when Sneed signed with Notre Dame, but the rookie linebacker has made a strong impression on the first-year defensive coordinator.

"I have a lot of excitement about Jaylen Sneed," Golden said of the standout freshman. "I think he’s very, very talented and if he can continue to develop and just submit to the process of just learning every day and improving every day and get some consistency, it’s gonna be really good. I’m really, really excited about him as a student athlete.”

Sneed was a five-star recruit and the No. 34 overall player in the country according to 247Sports, and the talent that made him such a coveted recruit has been obvious already.

"He’s physical, he’s fast, he’s fun to be around," continued Golden. "He just has to catch those guys that are in front of him, you know those guys that have so much experience. Those guys are trying to mentor and help him and hopefully we can keep getting him going down that same path.”

Sneed is in his second semester on campus and has yet to suit up for a college game, while Jack Kiser is a senior and Jordan Botelho is a junior, and both have a lot more experience.

Recruited as a rover, Sneed is also starting to get some action inside, which is a work in progress.

"It’s hard, like if you’re out there playing in space all the time (and) now you’re in the box," Golden explained. "So his box reads, his ability to see pullers and tight ends going back and things like that in the box is getting better.

"He’s so young, he’s so young, so nothing but positive energy for him and he’s just starting his journey," continued Golden. "Whatever we’ve got to do to make sure that he’s learning and improving on a daily basis, I think that would be, for James (Laurinaitis) and I, that’s what we’re trying to get done is really see in the next month if we can’t really see how far we can push him to get him better.”

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