Back To The Future For Developing Irish Defense

By John Brice
Special Contributor

The preceding moments all had purpose, but not like this.

Not as Notre Dame got to the final period of its Saturday practice inside the Irish Athletics Center, where the Irish continued their preparation for the Dec. 30 Gator Bowl against South Carolina.

That final stanza? Offense versus defense.

Bragging rights rested within.

Talking rights, too. For at least another 24 hours.

“We have a little leaderboard, so it’s back and forth,” said Notre Dame freshman cornerback Ben Morrison, a recipient of multiple Freshman All-America honors after a sterling debut season that saw him lead the Irish with five interceptions, one for a score. “As defense, we’re not trying to lose and offense is not trying to lose. So of course there’s going to be a little chirping going back and forth. It’s fun.

“Defense is going to win, we’re winning right now and we’re going to win it all, too. You gotta make plays. Offense has to score. Defense has to stop them. Tackles behind the line. All that.”

Evident in the aforementioned scene, and fabric of the program’s DNA, is the nonnegotiable foundation of Marcus Freeman’s competitive development for the Irish.

“Coach Freeman tells us competitive spirit, so we want to compete in the classroom, be able to reach that goal and reach those goals, off the field or on the field, and bring that competitive spirit,” said rookie linebacker Junior Tuihalamaka.

It’s been like that every game week, every day, since the moment he was head coach and even when he was defensive coordinator. You can definitely feel the competitive spirit out of Coach Freeman, how he talks and how he approaches everybody. It’s great.”

Perhaps no position group, certainly not on the defensive side of the ball, is more front and center in the program’s future than the linebacking trio of Jaylen Sneed, Nolan Ziegler and Tuihalamaka.

Mindful of as much while gleaning every digestible morsel possible from veterans JD Bertrand, Marist Liufau, the injured Bo Bauer and Jack Kiser, the trio might only match their lofty expectations with their daily film sessions.

“Every day we text each other what we’re seeing on film,” said Sneed, praising the open-door film access to watch with defensive coordinator Al Golden and assistant linebackers coach James Laurinaitis.

“Me, Nolan and Junior, we’ve been talking about it a lot. We want to be the future here. We want to be some of the best linebackers to come out of here. All of us want to be able to win Butkus Awards. It feels bright for us.”

For Sneed, it feels faster. So much so that a question about his increasing comfort yields a wide smile and a shake of the head before an answer.

“When you just look and know stuff, like, ‘Oh, the halfback is flat, it’s probably a stretch-belly (play),’” said Sneed, who tallied six tackles despite appearing in just three games. “Just knowing that and being one step ahead of the offense is just amazing.

“Way different speed. When I first got here, I was so slow and really just didn’t know what was going on. But now that it’s all clicking, I get the defense and I know what everybody around me is doing. I can just play free. It makes it so much better.”

Freeman is driving home the developmental message.

“Right now, that’s the great part about playing in a bowl game is you’re going to get 10 to 15 extra practices,” Freeman said as Notre Dame opened bowl prep. “For us, you’re not going to spend 15 practices on just one opponent. It’s no different than fall camp. You’re spending a part of fall camp developing your roster. That’s what we’re doing now and part of that is giving those guys that have played a tremendous amount of reps this season time for their body to recover. Keeping them integrated in what we’re doing, but also being smart in terms of how many reps they are getting in practice.

“This is a crucial development time for those young guys. That’s why we’re focusing on them right now. We’re slowly integrating into South Carolina and as you continue to get closer and closer to the game, it’ll be all South Carolina and that’s the focal point will be to win the game.”

Until the game kicks off, the focus remains on winning those competitive segments – and shining a light on what Morrison sees as an extremely bright Irish future.

“It’s huge. Even our last period (Saturday) at practice, basics, just going at it. Seeing Sneed, how far he’s come. Nolan Ziegler, those guys are just special players,” Morrison said. “Being able to showcase that throughout this bowl practice is huge. Because ultimately this is going to catapult us to next season so that we can all play to our abilities.

“They’re guys. People don’t understand how good our players are. In the season, you’re so focused. It’s week to week so you don’t have time to just develop anyone but we’re really able to develop a lot of guys right now and it’s awesome.”