My Favorite Notre Dame Football Player: Jaylon Smith

The former Notre Dame linebacker was special to watch, and as a more mature fan, when he stepped on campus, I was able to truly appreciate his time in the Blue and Gold. 

Let me preface this by saying, I am in my mid 20s, so all of these traditional old time Notre Dame heroes are out of the picture. Honestly, my earliest memories of players began around the Julius Jones years, while my fondest childhood memories were during the Brady Quinn years.

Throughout my teens, many greats walked through the halls of Notre Dame, including Golden Tate, Jimmy Clausen, Tyler Eifert, Manti Te’o, Michael Floyd, and many more. All of these players stand out to me for one reason or another.

However, it wasn’t until Jaylon Smith came around that I really attached myself to one individual player. It started with my love for recruiting. I’ve always had the passion for following college football recruiting, and Jaylon is one of the best recruits in Notre Dame’s history. He was not only fun to follow before he stepped on campus, but we all know how special he was while on campus.

From his freshman year on, he just had that “it” factor. During his sophomore and junior seasons, he showed why he was the best athlete in all of college football, and maybe even all of football. Playing with one of the worst defensive coordinators throughout his Notre Dame tenure limited his play making ability to an extent — mostly in the pass rushing department — but he still flashed elite traits.

With over 280 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and plenty of highlight reel plays throughout his three short years at Notre Dame, Jaylon was set to become a top 5 draft pick — maybe number 1 — in the 2016 NFL Draft. We all know how that story unfolded. While playing Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State tackle Taylor Decker shoved Smith after he was well out of the play. When Jaylon tried to stop himself from falling, his knee buckled.

That was it.

That was the last time some of us thought we would see Smith not only in a Notre Dame uniform, but maybe even a football uniform. His knee was shot, but worst of all, he had nerve damage on top of that.

I cried for him along with many other fans.

Notre Dame fans knew the heart and soul Smith put into life and football, and we always believed he would do his best to get back. He fell in the draft to the Dallas Cowboys in the second round and sat out his entire rookie season. Now, entering his third full season in the NFL, Smith finds himself as one of the top off-ball linebackers in the NFL with a combined 202 tackles, 9 tackles for loss and 5 sacks.

Quite the comeback from his gruesome injury during his last college game.

Reports are that he is back to running stride for stride with some of the fastest receivers in the game — something only Notre Dame fans have seen and believe. Oh, and he has a fancy new contract, making him one of the highest paid linebackers in the history of the game.

Congrats Jaylon! You are a one of kind athlete and person, and my all-time favorite Notre Dame athlete.