Notre Dame Football Spring Practice Report - Defense Edition

Analysis and observations of the defense from today's Notre Dame spring football practice

Notre Dame held another spring practice today and the media was given access to the entire practice. The Irish went outside today, so we get a lot of team action. I already broke down the offense, now it's time to focus on the defense.

OVERALL

Notre Dame again spent a lot of time focused on the nickel and dime packages. There was a mix between base looks in the box that had 4 DL and 2 LB, but even then they still had five DBs on the field in a true 4-2-5 personnel situation. They also went to the dime looks where they had only 3 DL on the field, 3 LB and 5 DB. At times they had 3 DL, 2 LB and 6 DB with three safeties and three corners, but this final piece was rare.

It was a heavy blitz day for the defense in the team period. They won the overall battle in the team period, but it was more mixed in the 1on1 and 7on7 periods.

DEFENSIVE LINE

There is a big picture observation about the defensive line, and that is the improved size up the middle. A year ago, Notre Dame really only had two rotation regulars that weighed over 290 pounds (Chris Smith, Gabriel Rubio). Now, the Irish are much bigger inside. If you look at their interior now there are only two players under 290 pounds (Howard Cross III, Donovan Hinish). The good news is they haven't lost an ounce of athleticism despite the jump in size.

*** The biggest DL standout from what I saw was senior Rylie Mills. Mills had impressive moments during the team run period, the 1on1 period and the final team period. Mills has really filled out and looks massive. He's listed at 292 pounds but he's just really wide and broad, and he showed very impressive power today. In a 1on1 rep against guard Billy Schrauth, Mills came off the ball fast, got his hands inside on Schrauth and drove the sophomore guard deep into the backfield. He was hard to handle at the point of attack in the run game as well. Mills was able to bull his way into the backfield against the run throughout the practice, but he also showed the quickness to shoot gaps and be disruptive in the pass game. It seemed as though he was deep into the backfield every time the ball was snapped. That's a tad hyperbolic, but that's how impactful Mills was in today's practice.

*** I don't pay much attention to Howard Cross III in practice. I already know who he is and he's a good football player. But me not paying attention to him didn't keep Cross from flashing and making himself noticed. Cross was really quick off the ball today and he looks stronger this spring, which showed today.

*** Junior Jason Onye continued his strong spring today. Onye was quick off the ball and his punch allowed him to be disruptive for much of the run game and team periods. I didn't get a chance to see but one of his reps in the pass rush 1on1s, but he wont that rep by quickly shooting outside and getting up field. My only knock on Onye today was he had a few snaps where he didn't come off as hard. Being able to bring the same effort snap after snap is a must, and this has been something I've seen in the two full practices. It's not bad, he's not being lazy, it's just about finding a level of consistency that he's still learning, and today was an example. But the good reps are really impressive.

*** Sophomores Donovan Hinish and Tyson Ford had some flashy plays today. Hinish is especially quick off the ball and he's clearly improved his strength. At times he can get knocked back and he clearly needs to add just a bit more beef, but when he wins off the ball his quickness/power combination makes him disruptive. Ford is very, very raw and he needs a lot of work, but today was evidence of why he needs to stick around, keep working hard and develop as a player. When Ford keeps his pads low and plays with fire he's very productive. He had a couple of 1on1 reps where he exploded off the ball and blew past a guard. He just needs to be way more consistent with his effort and learn to use his hands better, but he's got a lot of potential.

*** I didn't watch the ends much today, but a few things I noticed. I felt very bad for Jordan Botelho because he found himself matched up against Joe Alt the entire practice, and Alt dominated. I didn't see every single rep, but I saw a lot and Botelho had a tough time. Having to battle Alt and Blake Fisher is going to be very, very good for Botelho. If he can learn to get wins against them he'll be incredibly hard to block in the fall. The other thing I noticed is that Junior Tuihalamaka has a chance to be a very effective run defender from the Vyper spot. I wouldn't be opposed to him playing some Big End down the road if the need is there. Finally, I only saw Aiden Gobaira on one snap today, but on that play he couldn't be ignored. He exploded off the line and showed the big time quickness that made him a Top 100 caliber recruit. He blew past Tosh Baker and got to the quarterback in a hurry. It was a really impressive rep.

LINEBACKER

*** Senior Jack Kiser has spent most of the spring playing inside in the dime/nickel packages, and he's been very, very good. I'm not sure if Kiser has the girth to play 60 snaps inside, but he needs to spend most of his time on the field in the box. He's instinctive and shows excellent quickness, which was on display against. Kiser made quick reads, he flew to the football and he continued being a highly effective blitzer. They weren't tackling today and tackling is something Kiser needs to get better at (as do all the linebackers), but he was around the ball A TON today, and it's been that way all spring when the sessions have been open.

*** Senior JD Bertrand also had a strong practice. He did a good job getting his defense lined up, he was aggressive attacking downhill and he was very physical at the point of attack. Bertrand also had a quality day in the pass game, showing good blitzing, but primarily being effective reading the backs out of the backfield and jumping them. He saw and ran with Audric Estime on a wheel route and handled him on the rep, forcing an incompletion.

*** Senior Marist Liufau didn't do anything to stand out today. When I saw him he seemed to be assignment correct, but he was also very blockable.

*** Sophomore Nolan Ziegler had a very good practice, taking reps at both Will and Mike linebacker. He looked a lot more decisive today than he did in the first full practice we saw. Ziegler is clearly getting more and more comfortable in the defense. He was around the ball a lot more today and his combination of size and speed is truly outstanding. He's going to play a ton this season, and he'll have a chance to be an impact player.

*** Freshman Jaiden Ausberry is on the small/thin side right now, but he was very impressive today. Ausberry is very light on his feet and he was very active on the ball today. He showed an impressive ability to get around blocks and quickly get to the ball. His movements are really easy and fluid. He's got a shot to be a really good one.

SECONDARY

*** Sophomore Jaden Mickey had his best practice of the spring, at least in terms of the open sessions. Mickey was more patient than normal, he was quick attacking downhill when playing off coverage during 1on1s, and he was physical when asked to play press coverage. He got his hands on about 3 or 4 passes during the practice, and he gave receivers little to no room down the field. He bit inside on a post fake from Tobias Merriweather and was about to get beat outside, but Merriweather fell down. Other than that he was a pretty darn good today.

*** Junior Chance Tucker also had arguably his best practice of the spring. Tucker was solid during 1on1s, but he was really good during the team period. Tucker played with a lot of confidence and he was very sticky while playing man coverage. Tucker was clean with his transitions and he showed good strength while battling down the field on vertical routes.

*** Senior safety Xavier Watts was very active getting downhill in the run game and he covered a ton of ground when working over the top. It seems as though the offense avoids Watts in team, but when he was matched up in coverage he was quite good.

*** Veteran safety DJ Brown is always in the right position, but he had some issues when matched up in man coverage. 

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2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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