Notre Dame Season Preview: Linebacker Play Will Be Key In 2023

Notre Dame needs better linebacker play in 2023 if the Irish are going to make a jump on defense

The play of the Notre Dame linebackers is one of the most hotly discussed and debated topics in our shows and message board discussions. To some, the linebackers in 2022 were poor and need to be replaced, to others the unit was inconsistent, but at times it was good.

No matter what side of the aisle you sit in this discussion, one thing we should all be able to agree on is on the whole the Irish linebackers must play better in 2023 than they did in 2022, and significantly so.

We continue the 2023 Notre Dame season preview with a look at the Notre Dame linebackers.

2023 ROSTER

A look at the career stats for the Notre Dame linebackers:

JD Bertrand - 190 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 3 break ups, 1 interception
Jack Kiser - 123 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 5 break ups, 3 forced fumbles
Marist Liufau - 73 tackles, 6.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 2 break ups 
Jaylen Sneed - 7 tackles, 0.5 TFL
Nolan Ziegler - 1 tackle

BREAKOUT FOR BERTRAND

There might not be a more debated player on the roster than JD Bertrand, at least now that Tyler Buchner has transferred. Bertrand has racked up 184 tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss the last two seasons. Are there areas where he must improve? Absolutely, but Bertrand has been a good football player for the Irish. 

Now, heading into his third season as a starter, and second season as the Mike in the Al Golden defense, there is also no doubt that Bertrand must be better than he has the last two seasons.

What would help is if Bertrand can do all season what he did in his last seven games of the 2022 season. Over the final seven games, Bertrand racked up 59 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and all 3 of his pass break ups. If you project that level of production over the course of 13 games and he would finish with 110 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 4 sacks and 6 pass break ups. 

That's extremely impressive, as is the fact Bertrand had 41 solo tackles during that stretch, which is exceptional. If that was projected over the entire season he would have 76 solo tackles. Here's some context, let's look at the solo tackles for past Notre Dame linebackers:

2020 - Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah - 42 solo tackles (12 games)
2019 - Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah - 54 solo tackles (13 games)
2018 - Te'von Coney and Drue Tranquill - 63 solo tackles
2015 - Jaylon Smith - 69 solo tackles
2014 - Jaylon Smith - 64 solo tackles
2012 - Manti Te'o - 55 solo tackles
2011 - Manti Te'o - 62 solo tackles
2010 - Manti Te'o - 64 solo tackles

That gives you some good context at the production rates that Bertrand had in the final seven games. It's hard for me to embrace arguments Bertrand isn't a pretty good linebacker when you look at those number, and you break down the film of how outstanding he was in the 35-14 win over Clemson, in the 41-24 win over Syracuse and the 45-38 bowl win over South Carolina.

Now here's the rub, for as good as Bertrand was in the last seven games, he was equally unproductive in the first five, and you can't blame all of that on the two ejections for targeting. Bertrand had just four solo tackles in the first five games, an unacceptable rate for a Mike linebacker.

As he got more comfortable in the defense, Bertrand became a much more productive player. Now he needs to do that on a more consistent basis. That means being even more decisive, it means doing a better job with block destruction, it means winning to the point more consistently and he must tackle better. Bertrand cleaned up his tackling in 2022 compared to 2021, but there is still room for improvement. The good news there is that according to Pro Football Focus, Bertrand had just two missed tackles in the final five games.

Bertrand also has to be quicker when it comes to route recognition in the pass game.

There are certainly parts of his game that can and should get cleaned up, but for Bertrand it's really about building on what he did during the second half of the 2023 season. If he can build on that and continue to produce at that level, the Irish defense will have an outstanding and highly productive run defender up the middle of the defense this season.

WHAT ROLE FOR KISER?

One of the biggest questions I have for fifth-year senior Jack Kiser is how will he be used in his final season? Kiser has been the team's starting rover in each of the last two seasons, but he spent a lot more time in the box in 2022 than he did the prior season. In fact, Kiser got the start at Mike against North Carolina when Bertrand was out due to a targeting ejection the week prior.

Kiser was a quietly good player for Notre Dame last season, finishing with career-highs in tackles (58), tackles for loss (5.5) and sacks (2.5). He was much-improved against the run, and when Kiser was allowed to attack downhill against the run he was quite good for the Irish defense.

The 6-1 1/2, 223-pound Indiana native has the speed to play Rover and play in space, and he showed that each of the last two seasons. He was good in coverage for much of the 2021 season, but Kiser struggled a bit in coverage in 2022, due in part to being put in some spots he shouldn't have.

Heading into the 2023 campaign, I'm curious to see how Notre Dame line up, and how that impacts Kiser. I could see Notre Dame doing a lot more nickel this season, and in those instances I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of Bertrand and Kiser playing inside together more frequently than we did last season. I'm also curious to see how Golden uses him to attack downhill more this season, as Kiser was the team's best second level pass rusher last season, he was even better with that in the spring.

Kiser is better at certain roles, but they have been different in his two seasons as a starter. Does he put it all together in 2023, or will he be a guy that is zeroed into more focused roles? 

NOW OR NEVER FOR LIUFAU

Expectations were high for Marist Liufau last season, and the veteran struggled for much of the 2022 campaign. The expectations I had for him were too high in hindsight when you consider he was coming off a 2021 campaign in which he missed the whole season with an injury. But that doesn't change the fact that Liufau had a rough 2022 season.

The issues were plentiful, but it really comes down to a consistent lack of execution. That include being assignment correct, using good technique, taking good angles to the football and being stout at the ball. Assignment mistakes plagued him throughout the season, and even at times when he was in good position he would make a mistake that cost him, like the facemask penalties against Navy and South Carolina that kept the defense from getting off the field.

What makes his struggles frustrating is how athletic Liufau is. He's fast, he's got some explosiveness as a runner and he's a long athlete. Liufau was Notre Dame's best linebacker in the spring of 2021 and he carried that into fall camp before an injury early on cost him the entire season.

So what happens in 2023? Does Liufau get back on track and live up to the expectations we had for him last fall? Or does he continue to be the wildly erratic player that he was in 2022? If it's the latter then Golden needs to make a change at the position, and in that case we could see Kiser or one of the young players get a chance there.

But what if Liufau gets back to being the player he was in 2021 before the injury? If that happens this linebacker unit will look very, very different this season. At this point I have no expectations for Liufau, he's in prove it mode. If he doesn't the staff needs to make a change, but if he does he'll finish his career off with a bang.

SOPHOMORE SURGE

Part of what raises my confidence in the linebackers isn't just having a good view of the veterans - especially Bertrand and Kiser - but it's also knowing that Notre Dame has several very talented young players that need to be given a chance to play.

Sophomores Jaylen Sneed and Nolan Ziegler are long and extremely athletic and talented young players. Both took redshirts in 2022, both had impressive springs, and no matter what the veterans do, both need to have a role at linebacker this season.

Don't be surprised if Sneed gets an opportunity to handle the third-down spot that Bo Bauer had the last two seasons. Sneed has experience as an edge rusher in high school and he impressed in this department during the spring. He's an explosive athlete that can be disruptive in the pass game.

Sneed got a lot of playing time in the win over South Carolina and he showed off that impressive athleticism, but also why he didn't play much last season. He will need to be far better from an assignments standpoint in 2023 if he wants to crack the rotation on base downs, but a third-down role could be made simpler for Sneed, who can be turned loose on the quarterback.

Ziegler had an outstanding spring while playing both Mike and Will. He's a physical player with top-notch length, but he's also very athletic and he can run. If Ziegler can build on what he did in the spring he'll have a chance to earn a key rotation role this season. Like Sneed, Ziegler needs to play. Head coach Marcus Freeman said the staff needs to have a plan each week to play the younger players, and both Golden and special teams coordinator Marty Biagi need to make getting Ziegler on the field a priority this season.

FRESHMAN IMPACT

In past seasons a freshman linebacker class like this one would be no brainers to get on the field, but that speaks to the depth and experience Notre Dame has at linebacker. But we'll likely get chances to see what this group can do this season.

Drayk Bowen had an outstanding spring for a freshman. Yes, he had plenty of freshman mistakes as he learned a new and complex system, but Bowen also showed he's a big time football player and big time athlete. Bowen still needs a lot of technical work on the finer points of the game (footwork, hand play, drop angles, etc), but the Indiana native has an incredibly bright future and he could be hard to keep off the field this season.

I fully expect Bowen to be a special teams player as a rookie, but I also wouldn't be surprised if at some point this fall he earns a No. 2 spot on defense and we start to see him getting some reps in that area as well.

Classmate Jaiden Ausberry is an exceptional athlete that also had a good spring, but Ausberry isn't quite as physically developed as Bowen. That could combine with Notre Dame needing to play a lot of nickel defense this season to keep Ausberry from getting a lot of linebacker playing time. A redshirt wouldn't be bad for Ausberry as he looks to fill out his frame, but he's a guy I could see being too good not at least play on special teams.

I expect the third freshman linebacker - Preston Zinter - to take a redshirt this season, barring injury. Zinter had the slowest adjustment period for the freshman, but he ended the spring with a quality performance in the Blue-Gold Game.

KEY STORYLINES

1. Will The Linebackers Get Back To Fundamentals - One area where defensive coordinator Al Golden must improve is demanding more out of his players from a fundamental standpoint. Golden seemed to emphasize scheme over technique last season. That needs to change in year two, but the fact so many veterans return at linebacker means the players will have a much better grasp of the scheme. Hopefully Golden tasks Max Bullough with enhancing this part of the game. If the linebackers simply play with better technique (initial footwork, angles, block destruction, tackling technique) that will result in a solid jump in improvement. If they can do that and show more scheme soundness the linebackers could become a strength of the 2023 defense.

2. Will The Blitz Package Be Better - Golden likes to trigger his linebackers a lot, especially compared to former coordinator Clark Lea, and even more than Freeman did in his one season as a linebacker. The issue was the blitz packages weren't very effective. There were timing issues, beating blocks issues, angle problems and the linebackers didn't finish well on blitz packages. I don't think Golden will back off his desire to attack, and with the athleticism he has at the position it would be foolish for him to do so. The key is not blitzing less, it's being more effective when they do it. That requires a better feel for the defense, which should come, but also with improved coaching from a fundamental standpoint. Finding ways to use young players like Sneed and Ziegler, and finding more ways to trigger Kiser could help the blitz game a lot in 2023.

3. Improving The Rotation Is A Must - The starting linebackers played a lot of football last season. My hope is they don't play as many snaps in 2023, and that's not because I don't think they can play. It should be clear to you that I'm much higher on the veterans than most appear to be. But I still want a deeper rotation for two very important reasons.

A) Notre Dame's starters are undersized, with Liufau at 235 pounds being the biggest of the group. A deeper rotation means fewer snaps on the veterans, which will limit some of the wear and tear on the starters and allow them to be more fresh in November.

B) Notre Dame's sophomore class (Ziegler, Sneed) and possibly the freshman class (Bowen, Ausberry) all need to play. Freeman spoke with Irish Breakdown about this over the summer in regard to playing the younger athletes. It's arguable that no position needs this more than the linebackers. There's simply too much athleticism and talent in the younger classes to not find ways to get them on the field.

4. Does Liufau Finally Put It All Together - Liufau is arguably the biggest enigma on the roster. He is a really athletic player, and he moves extremely well. He certainly looks the part of a big time football player, but he doesn't execute like one. Is this the year where he puts it all together and turns his athleticism and potential in production, or will he continue to be the same guy he was in 2020 and 2022, a toolsy player who just doesn't execute at a consistent level.

I have no idea what Liufau will look like this season, but I do know this, if he and the coaches can work together to find a way to get the most out of Liufau the Irish could end up having one of the nation's best linebacker units.

5. Coverage Improvement Is Needed - Notre Dame's linebacker weren't nearly as disruptive in the pass game as they need to be, both as rusher and in coverage. The unit as a whole struggled in coverage last season, and it needs to get a lot better this season.

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