The recruiting impact from Marcus Freeman is beginning to show in a big way on this elite Notre Dame defense
It has been a roller coaster season for Notre Dame football thus far. People have been dwelling on the negatives, and it is very understandable. Hidden amongst the frustration has been a lot of positives. That is particularly true on the defensive side of the football, where the team is letting up less than 250 […]
It has been a roller coaster season for Notre Dame football thus far. People have been dwelling on the negatives, and it is very understandable. Hidden amongst the frustration has been a lot of positives. That is particularly true on the defensive side of the football, where the team is letting up less than 250 yards per game, and just 12 points per game.
A big reason for that dominance is the recruiting of head coach Marcus Freeman since coming to South Bend. The 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes were on full display during the 66-7 dismantling of the Purdue Boilermakers this past weekend. That group has a chance to be special.
Pass rush help is coming
The outside pass rush has been an issue for Notre Dame in recent years, and everyone knows it needs to become more impactful. They have solid players there, but haven’t had high upside pass rushers. That could change very soon, credit to the 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes.
We saw plenty of flashes on Saturday from sophomore Boubacar Traore, who finished the game with one tackle for loss, a sack, and an interception returned for a touchdown. The explosiveness, bend, and length really popped on film. There’s a good chance that Traore could be the best big sack artist for the Irish, with serious juice as a pass rusher.
Perhaps the defensive lineman with the most hype and upside is true freshman Bryce Young, whose Notre Dame legacy has built some high expectations. At 6-7 and 258 pounds, you don’t see a ton of defensive lineman who are as physically gifted as Young. He has steadily been getting more and more reps over the last couple of weeks, and the expectations for Young long term are very high.
While Traore and Young will get all of the fanfare, we also got our first taste of freshman Loghan Thomas on Saturday. While he finished with just one unassisted tackle against Purdue, we saw the movement skills he possesses. At 6-4 and 224 pounds, Thomas is continuing to add weight to his frame. The explosiveness and twitch he possesses is tremendous.
Dynamic group of linebackers
Things have changed swiftly on the second level for the Irish since Coach Freeman took over. You have the veteran Jack Kiser to lean on, but a ridiculous amount of young talent around him. Even if you take Jaylen Sneed out of this equation, the depth of talent is incredible.
Arguably the most impressive linebacker against Purdue was true freshman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, who was a five-star recruit coming out of St. John Bosco in California. The range that Viliamu-Asa possesses for a player who is listed at 6-3 and 240 pounds is special. Combine that with his instincts, and you have something extremely special.
We have also seen great moments from sophomores Drayk Bowen and Jaiden Ausberry. Both were very high recruits. Bowen has started every game at middle linebacker, while Ausberry has been rotating between WILL and rover. No matter what combination is on the field, they just continue to make big plays.
Continuing the elite secondary
What Mike Mickens has accomplished with the Notre Dame secondary over the last few years has been pretty incredible. He has been the cornerback coach in recent seasons but took over the full secondary this offseason. It’s hard not to be excited over that secondary, which has been elite the better part of the last two years now.
That group lost a couple of valuable contributors from last season in the form of cornerback Cam Hart, safety DJ Brown, and nickel back Thomas Harper. Despite that, the unit might be playing even better early on. They have had several younger players contribute and soften the blow of defections.
That includes sophomore Christian Gray, who is starting on the other side of All-American Benjamin Morrison. There is an argument that Gray might be the more physically gifted of the two but obviously Morrison holds the edge in technical refinement and experience. Keep an eye out for Gray, who looks poised to be the next great one once Morrison leaves for the NFL this offseason.
Early in the offseason, we had a feeling that Northwestern trashed Rod Heard as the starting safety opposite Xavier Watts. While Heard has a key role, it was sophomore Adon Shuler who solidified that role. A tenacious and explosive defender, Shuler has also had tremendous flashes in both the run and pass game so far this season. The future is very bright at the position, even when Watts is gone.
