Junior linebacker Jaylon Smith was one of the few bright spots on the Notre Dame defense last season. Despite one of the worst unit performances in Notre Dame history, Smith still shined. He was named an AP Second Team All-American and was a finalist for the Butkus Award. In 2015, Smith will be counted upon to lift up the Irish defense and carry it to greater heights.

SIZE: 6-3, 235

CLASS/ELIGIBILITY: Junior

HOMETOWN: Fort Wayne, Indiana

SCHOOL: Bishop Luers

CAREER STATS: 26 career games - 26 career starts - 179 tackles, 15.5 TFL's, 3.5 sacks, 1 INT, 8 QB hurries

PREP RANKING: Smith was a consensus five-star player and a consensus Top 10 player. Rivals.com listed him as the No. 3 player nationally, the No. 1 outside linebacker and the No. 1 player in the state of Indiana. The lowest he was ranked was No. 7 nationally (No. 2 outside linebacker). The other two services had him as a Top 5 player. Smith was an Army All-American and the highest ranked player in Brian Kelly's tenure at Notre Dame.

2014 RECAP: Smith had a lot on his plate going into the 2014 defense, and as the season wore on the burden only increased.

When Brian VanGorder arrived and installed his new attacking 4-3 defense, he needed a Will linebacker that could be productive and attack. One that could play the run, drop effectively into coverage and attack the quarterback as part of his pressure packages. That player did not exist from the crop of returning inside players, so Smith was quickly moved inside after spending his freshman season (and high school career) on the outside.

Smith built his prep reputation on his incredible athleticism, which has been evident from the moment he arrived on campus. What he showed in 2014 was that he is also an instinctive and smart football player. Despite having to learn a brand new position in a brand new defense, Smith ended up putting together an All-American season.

His 112 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and seven QB hurries earned him AP Second Team All-American honors. Smith was also a Butkus Award Finalist.

Smith started the season off extremely well. Rice spent the game running away from him, but Michigan and Purdue chose not to do that and Smith made them pay. The talented linebacker racked up 10 tackles and one of the more impressive tackles-for-loss of the season in a 31-0 victory over the Wolverines. He had 9 tackles (8 solo), two tackles-for-loss and a sack in a 30-14 victory over Purdue.

Here is the play he made against Michigan:

Smith had 9 more tackles against Syracuse and was outstanding against Stanford. The Irish held the Cardinal to just 47 yards on the ground, its rushing lowest total since 2007. Smith was all over the field against Stanford, racking up career-highs in tackles (14) and tackles-for-loss (2.5).

That was about the time the Notre Dame schedule took a turn and tougher offenses started arriving. During the first five games, Notre Dame did not play a single offense ranked in the Top 60 and three of those opponents ranked between No. 108 to No. 113 in total offense. During that stretch, Notre Dame allowed just 316.0 yards of offense per game.

Over the next four games, Notre Dame faced four straight Top 50 offenses and faced another Top 30 offense when the Irish finished the regular season against USC. During that stretch, Notre Dame allowed 462.6 yards per game.

It was also the time that opponents started attacking Notre Dame differently, and a big part of that was working hard to keep Smith from taking over the game.

Once teams started to get a read on VanGorder's schemes, and how he used Smith, it became increasingly easy to gameplan around him. Over the final seven games, Smith was less productive. He made 28 solo tackles during the first five games. Over the next seven games, Smith had just 31 solo tackles. He had three big tackle games down the stretch (10 vs. Northwestern, 11 vs. Louisville, 14 vs. USC), but 22 of those tackles were assisted.

During the first five games Smith made 6.5 tackles-for-loss and just 2.5 tackles-for-loss in the final seven games of the regular season.

What this means is that Smith was chasing down more and more plays, making tackles from behind as opponents ran away from him. It means as the Irish defensive line started to fall apart, Smith's ability to make an impact continued to decrease.

An area where Smith struggled as a sophomore was trying to learn a new position, be impactful and also be a leader. It was too much of a burden for such a young player. Being a leader is something that Smith strongly desires to be, but last season was a year too early. Adding that onto his plate caused him to do too much at times, and the results were costly late in the season.

He finished the season off on a solid note, making nine tackles against LSU. His ability to handle his position and provide leadership improved during the bowl preparation and helped send him into the offseason more prepared to handle both roles.

2015 EXPECTATIONS: Even if the rest of the defense plays exactly the same way it did in 2014, Jaylon Smith should have an even more productive season as a junior.

There are a number of reasons to expect a big season from Smith. The first is simply the fact he is a year older and a year stronger. Smith also has another year in VanGorder's system. This alone will allow him to play faster, with him thinking less and reacting more.

He will also have an extra year's worth of work on his inside technique. Smith struggled at times against bigger players on the inside. He had issues with taking on and beating blockers. He had issues at times holding his ground, which allowed big gashes to open up in the defense. The long touchdown run against LSU was a result of Smith getting blown off the line.

Improved strength, improved experience playing inside and improved technique will help him eliminate a number of these issues. Those improvements will allow Smith to play even faster and be more effective, especially against the run.

With more experience playing inside, Smith should also improve his pass defense. His toughest adjustment last season might have been trying to get a read on routes and a read on the quarterback from the inside. Expect to see Smith have a greater impact against this pass game this season. I would expect to see a few more big hits in the pass game as Smith gets back to feeling comfortable at recognizing routes and driving on the football.

The most important expectation for Smith in 2015 is being able to dominate on the field while also providing the leadership Notre Dame needs from its best player.

A GOOD SEASON FOR SMITH WOULD BE…One in which he is able to dominate opponents on a more consistent basis. This will look different in different weeks, at least from a statistical standpoint.

How VanGorder uses Smith this season could also impact the kind of season he has. Not necessarily from a "he had a great year" standpoint. Rather, there will be an emphasis on which statistics standpoint based on how he is used. If he is used in similar fashion to last season, his tackle and tackle-for-loss numbers should increase. If VanGorder chooses to use him to attack the quarterback more, his sack numbers could also see a bump.

The numbers are great, but the key for Smith is becoming a stronger and more stout run defender. If his ability to take on and beat blockers on the inside improves, Smith will take major strides in this regard. That will not only make him a more dominant player for Notre Dame, it will also raise his draft stock, making him a sure-fire first round pick.