Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2024 29 1. Sophomore cornerback Christian Gray It almost doesn't feel right putting Gray on this list considering he played 198 defensive snaps in 12 games as a true freshman, but you've got to consider that was not Gray's breakout campaign. It's coming up this fall when he could lock down an every-game starting role in the wake of Cam Hart's departure to the NFL. Junior Benjamin Morrison's shoulder injury complicates matters, too. Or, rather, makes them even clearer for Gray; if Morrison is not healthy by Aug. 31, and with graduate student Clarence Lewis having entered the transfer portal, Notre Dame's starters at the outside corner positions would almost assuredly be Gray and junior Jaden Mickey. Gray's time is now. 2. Sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen Somebody's got to start at linebacker alongside graduate student Jack Kiser. Why not Bowen, one of Notre Dame's most popular signees in the class of 2023 not just for being a homegrown Indiana recruit but also for what he brings as a bruising football player. Bowen has held steady as a projected starter all through the spring. He was a special teams staple as a true freshman. That's always a sign a coaching staff trusts a kid. The next step is be- ing trusted to man the middle of Notre Dame's defense. 3. Sophomore linebacker Jaiden Ausberry Just a year ago Ausberry was turning heads as a spring practice playmaker. He's lost a little bit of his luster in the last 365-ish days, but he's still the same guy who had a nose for the ball and there are more avenues toward playing time at the linebacker position than there were last season. Ausberry is in the same tough spot as junior Jaylen Sneed; the two get phased out of snaps as rovers because Notre Dame plays so much nickel defense. But if he can prove he's worth putting on the field as a weak-side backer, he should get way more than the 21 defensive snaps he recorded as a true freshman. 4. Sophomore safety Adon Shuler This space could've been reserved for any one of Notre Dame's three sophomore safeties; Shuler, Luke Talich or Ben Minich. We'll go with Shuler considering he's been consistently tak- ing first-team reps in spring practices alongside graduate student Xavier Watts on the back end of Notre Dame's defense. Like Watts, Shuler is a little undersized at 6-foot, 198 pounds. He gives up four inches of height to Talich. But Minich is also 6-0, as is Watts, so Talich is a bit of a unicorn at his position for the Irish. It's not all about height either. Athleticism mat- ters, and Shuler has shown this spring that he has a lot of it. He's a hungry tackler, too, which is an important quality for a safety. Northwestern transfer Rod Heard II isn't going to come in this summer and instantly be handed a starting job. Shuler will have spent too much time as a one this spring to give it up like that. Regardless, he appears to putting himself in position to crack the rotation this fall after only playing 52 defensive snaps in 2023. 5. Freshman defensive end Bryce Young Notre Dame needs a pass rusher to emerge after being led by Ohio State transfer Javontae Jean-Baptiste with his 5 sacks in the NFL Draft hopeful's lone season in South Bend. Why not the guy who's got Notre Dame pass rushing in his blood? The son of Hall of Fame defensive lineman Bry- ant Young, a three-year starter at Notre Dame in the early 1990s, Bryce Young is quite literally built differently. He's taller than any other Notre Dame defensive lineman at 6-foot-7. He's still a teenager and already weighs 246 pounds. Head coach Marcus Freeman said in late March if he had to choose on early enrollee who had impressed him the most to that point, an exercise he isn't particularly fond of doing, it'd probably be Young. That's impressive considering there are a slew of them playing well on both sides of the ball, from quarterback CJ Carr to linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. — Tyler Horka Five Breakout Candidates For The Defense Sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen (34) was a special teams staple in 2023 and is projected to start in the middle of the Irish defense this season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER