Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 PRESEASON 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED catches the ball well — which has also helped make him the starting holder on kicks. It will be difficult to keep corner- back KJ Wallace off the field. With injuries mounting in the secondary the Atlanta native has used the extra reps to make plays during camp. He is strong for a freshman, and we've seen him playing outside and in the slot in nickel packages. Wallace will likely begin the sea- son on special teams, but if he keeps working the way he has his first few weeks on campus, he will be a factor in the cornerback rotation as well. FIGHTING FOR A SPOT The return of senior Tony Jones Jr., junior Jafar Armstrong, and sopho- mores Jahmir Smith and C'Bo Flemis- ter meant the depth chart had plenty of talented runners. There isn't re- ally a need for a freshman to come in at running back, but Kyren Williams has forced himself into the mix. During the spring, we saw Williams fo- cusing on what he could do as a runner. In in fall camp, though, he has done most of his damage as a pass catcher. He is a natu- ral route runner and has good hands. The Irish safeties have had a hard time handling him due to his quick- ness and penchant for getting open. Williams is a tough runner, and there are s i m i l a r i t i e s i n h i s game and that of ju- nior running back Ja- far Armstrong, whose pass-catching prowess made him a factor last season. W h e n f a l l c a m p started there were two freshmen I originally had in the "likely to redshirt" list, but their production in practice has them competing for playing time. The first is rover Jack Kiser, an early enrollee who missed the spring with a shoulder injury. Now healthy, Kiser has shown off impressive range and athleticism at rover. He is a natural in coverage, and his willingness to mix it up in the run has him in position to push soph- omore Paul Moala for the backup rover spot. The other rookie who has forced himself into the conversation is de- fensive tackle Howard Cross III. Un- dersized at just 6-1 and 269 pounds, he could benefit from a redshirt, and there are times in practice when that lack of size shows up. However, Cross has also been a very active playmaker, showing the quickness to shoot gaps and get into the backfield. He is already pushing for a rotation spot, but if an injury happens to a veteran, he will be right there ready to step in. Defensive end Isaiah Foskey is currently buried on a remarkably talented drop end depth chart, but every time we see the team with pads on he forces you to take notice. He has outstanding size (6-5, 250) and length, and he's a powerful young player. When he figures out how to play with good technique he will be hard to block. Foskey will likely repeat what we saw from Justin Ademilola last sea- son, which means play four games and preserve a season of eligibility. But don't be surprised if the more his game matures the higher he climbs up the depth chart. POTENTIAL SPECIAL TEAMS IMPACT Notre Dame signed four lineback- ers in the 2019 class, and in a perfect world all of them would be able to redshirt this season. However, Kiser is already pushing his way into action and the other three are simply too athletic to just write off as redshirts. Defensive end Isaiah Foskey in most years instantly would have been on Notre Dame's two deep, but his position group this year is loaded with five seniors (most of whom are NFL prospects). PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER