Notre Dame football: Youth movement at LB will have to wait a year
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team has talented young players at the linebacker positions, but their chances will have to wait a year.
The Notre Dame football team has a deep 2022 recruiting class coming in, especially on the defensive side of the ball. After another double-digit win season in 2021, Brian Kelly bolted for LSU, leaving Marcus Freeman and his staff to make sure the commitments remained.
While some decided to open up their recruitment, most of the class stayed on with the Irish, including an incredible group of linebackers. All told, the Notre Dame football team got commitments from four linebackers, including the biggest prospect of the class in five-star Jaylen Sneed.
Joining Sneed were Preston Ziegler, Josh Burnham, and Niuafe Tuihalamaka, all four-star recruits. That kind of talent is going to be the future at the position, alongside Prince Kollie, who got valuable playing time as a true freshman in 2021.
While this group is the future, they will have to wait in line, as the Irish return a veteran group at all three linebacker spots, and have a linebacker expert as their head coach.
Notre Dame football to lean on a veteran defense in 2022
Senior Marist Liufau, Jack Kiser, and JD Bertrand, barring any kind of injury, are in line to start for the Irish this season. Liufau was out due to injury last season, but is a breakout candidate in 2022, while both Kiser and Bertrand appeared in all 13 games for the Irish.
Bertrand led Notre Dame football with 102 tackles, nearly double the amount of the second-highest total for the season.
Bo Bauer and Jordan Bothelo also return and are expected to play key roles on this defense, so while the young talent is outstanding, and will get time, starting will have to wait another year. The Irish defense has the talent on all three levels to be downright dominant, and it starts here, where they have a collection of guys who can not only cover, but have no issue coming up and stopping the run.
The Irish have more than enough talent to be in the College Football Playoff conversation this season, and they have a big test right out of the gate against Ohio State. If they can beat the Buckeyes, which is certainly possible with this group on defense, it will set the stage for what could be a magical season for Freeman in his first at the helm.