Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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90 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY BRYAN DRISKELL E xpectations are nothing new for Jaylon Smith. He entered Notre Dame as a consensus five-star recruit and the cornerstone of the vaunted 2013 recruiting class that was supposed to keep Notre Dame's on-field dominance rolling after the 2012 season. Ri- vals, Scout and 247Sports all ranked Smith as a top-five national player as a prep senior. He was projected to shine from the moment he stepped foot on campus and to emerge as the next great Notre Dame linebacker. When Smith arrived in South Bend, Notre Dame was in the process of replacing Manti Te'o, the most decorated linebacker in col- lege football history. Te'o was coming off a 2012 season in which he won the Walter Camp Award, the Butkus Award and the Lombardi Award, and was a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, while leading Notre Dame to its first undefeated regular season in 24 years. Freshman Sensation There was not a direct position correla- tion between Smith and Te'o, at least early on. Smith entered Notre Dame as an outside linebacker, while Te'o spent his career on the inside. Despite this distinction, the expecta- tion was that Smith's career would mirror that of Te'o, at least in regards to impact and dominance. Smith started off on the right foot, becom- ing the first true freshman linebacker to start an opener at Notre Dame since 1995. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native earned the starting Dog linebacker position after then-senior Danny Spond retired from football due to migraine problems. Smith started all 13 games in 2013 and made 67 tackles, the third-best season for a Notre Dame freshman and the best rookie mark since 1975. He also finished second on the team with 6.5 tackles for loss. Smith showed the same big-game flare that Te'o displayed throughout his career. As a freshman, Smith seemed to be at his best in Notre Dame's biggest games. Coming off a home loss to Oklahoma, Notre Dame needed a strong performance a week later against No. 22 Arizona State and its high-powered offense. Smith was brilliant in that game, racking up nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, breaking up a pass and forc- ing a fumble in Notre Dame's 37-34 victory. Two weeks later, he came up big in a win over USC, picking off quarterback Cody Kessler and adding a key tackle for loss. Against Navy, he made a crucial fourth-and- four stop on a reverse to seal the victory. Versus BYU, Smith made a third-and-two tackle of Cougar quarterback Taysem Hill to force a field goal attempt as part of Notre Dame's 23-13 victory. Those performances exemplified how the prep standout had become an impact college player in his first season. "It wasn't a tough transition at all," noted Smith, recalling his move from Bishop Luers High School to Notre Dame. "You have to humble yourself and let everything go and just learn from the leaders." More Than Just An Athlete Smith made a name for himself as a prep player based primarily on his elite athletic tools. Few players have his combination of speed, lateral quickness and explosiveness. Notre Dame's coaches saw that, too, but their expectations about Smith went far be- yond just what he could do physically. "He's as smart of a kid as I've ever coached," former linebackers coach Bob Elliott said prior to last season. "He has very good football intellect, and he's a very natu- ral player. One thing that's interesting about TAKING THE LEAD After shining individually his first two seasons, Jaylon Smith is ready to start elevating his teammates Smith led the Irish with 112 total stops and nine tackles for loss in 2014, and was second on the team with 3.5 sacks. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA