Notre Dame Football 2021: 25 Most Impactful Players, No. 20-16
By Andrew Hall
Notre Dame Football 2021: 25 Most Impactful Players, No. 20-16
No. 17: Jack Kiser, Linebacker
- High: 15, Low: 23
The athlete from Royal Center, a small town in Indiana, burst onto the scene with an excellent performance against South Florida. Jack Kiser made his first career start in that game after Shayne Smith and Marist Liufau were ruled out due to COVID-19 protocols.
He tallied eight tackles, with two of them going for a loss, as well as a quarterback hurry. Kiser finished the 2020 season with 20 tackles, an interception, and three tackles for loss.
Kiser did most of that damage from the Will linebacker position, and he now appears poised to become the everyday starter at the Rover spot. His instinctual play will serve him and the Notre Dame defense well. Initially, fans may view Kiser as who he is not, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, but their approaches are completely different. JOK’s overwhelming athletic ability helped him make negative plays frequently.
Kiser will not make as many negative plays but he will always make the play needed within the structure of the defense.
Players like Kiser can often become clichés because of how coaches talk about them, but, players like Kiser make plays that win football games. He will help the Fighting Irish win a lot of football games this season. He will not have an impact that is always visible at first glance but is necessary for the rest of the team to be successful.