Analysis: ND LB Jaylen Sneed's evolution adds intrigue to Gator Bowl
The jewel of the 2022 Notre Dame recruiting class showed up for his early enrollment 11 months ago three months shy of his 18th birthday. But at 6-foot-1 and 198 pounds, at least he was the ideal size to be a college safety.
Which was actually not ideal, because Jaylen Sneed was recruited to play linebacker.
He was tasked last spring by first-year Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden to learn all three linebacker positions — middle, weakside and rover. At Hilton Head Island (S.C.) he learned the nuances of none of them, and by design.
On offense in high school the previous fall he played quarterback, the position he excelled at in youth football. On defense Sneed had long been a safety, but Hilton Head coach BJ Payne elected to deploy him in a number of different ways over his four high school years, including at defensive end.
“Linebacker has never been his set position,” Payne said. “So there was a lot of learning for Jaylen to do at Notre Dame, and that’s a complicated defense to learn on top of all that.
"Now, he did play a little outside linebacker at times. But for us, it was pretty simple. You know, ‘We know this dude is better than your guys. We're just gonna send him.’
“People like to hate the ‘see ball, get ball’ term. But truly like that's what we were able to do with him. Just, 'here's your assignment. Go kill.’”
What Sneed has become, mostly behind the scenes this fall, and still has room to grow into is the most intriguing storyline for 21st-ranked Notre Dame (8-4) in its Dec. 30 Gator Bowl matchup with No. 19 South Carolina (8-4) in Jacksonville, Fla.
Outside of Notre Dame’s quarterback curiosity, of course, both in how it unfolds on the field Dec. 30 and all the gambits of it related to the transfer portal.
And yet the gravity of the now 220-pound Sneed’s evolution — potentially — goes well beyond that of a once-coveted prospect perhaps finally and decisively climbing the depth chart.
It starts with a breathtaking skill set and applying it to the rover position at Notre Dame, which would allow the Irish to shift from playing so much nickel coverage and diluting their run defense because they have to, to playing nickel when they want to.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in 2019 and 2020 set that template for the rover position Mike Elko originally brought to South Bend in 2017 during his one season as ND's defensive coordinator. Owusu-Koramoah was a unanimous All-American in 2020 while doing so.
The reason the former South Carolina Mr. Football landed at No. 46 in the Rivals250 rankings of individual players — and ND’s top ranked player — in the last recruiting cycle is because he consistently showed those same skills on the camp circuit. Now, can he do it in the context of a structured defense in games?
“I really think he has the ability to do it all,” Payne said. “Shoot, he can continue to bulk up to a 240-, 245-pound Mike (middle linebacker) if that's what they want. He's working, and he wants it. That's the one thing about Jaylen, he’s always going to have the drive to push himself to be the best. And he's being coached up.
“The missing piece that he worked on a lot during the COVID year (2020) and going into his senior year was his coverage skills, because he was always good in coverage. He wasn't great. And then he became really good/great in coverage.
“I mean, you just watch him on some of the camps he would go to. He wasn't just covering tight ends. He was covering them AND slots and running backs and true X’s and Z’s (wide receivers). Just locking people down. He can run. He worked on his hips for a whole year. Got great hips, and he's so long. The sky really is the limit for him.
“The million-dollar question is where does he play next spring?”
Sneed’s sample size in a Notre Dame uniform to date comprises all of 22 defensive snaps and some late-season special teams work spread over three games. He’s accrued a modest six tackles, but that’s six more than Owusu-Koramoah amassed in his first two years at Notre Dame combined.
The Irish presumably return all three linebacker starters in 2023, in current seniors with junior eligibility, JD Bertrand (middle), Marist Liufau (weakside) and Jack Kiser (rover). Kiser played the least among them this season, yet had the highest rating of all ND linebackers from Pro Football Focus this year — and last.
He does not have the prototypical rover skill set, though, and yet has played well at the two inside positions when called upon to do so.
Then there’s the next wave of uber-athletic young linebackers that includes sophomore Prince Kollie, freshman Junior Tuihalamaka and Sneed — with recruit Drayk Bowen the most polished and highest-ceiling of the three linebackers set to enroll early this January.
Does that mean more of a rotation in 2023? Moving the pieces around? Younger players upending the status quo?
If the dynamic of who ends up where on the linebacker depth chart in 2023 doesn’t begin to play out in the practices leading up to the Gator Bowl and the game itself, it’s a missed opportunity.
Especially where Sneed is concerned.
“I think in the opportunities he's had, he's played his tail off and he's done exactly what Jaylen brings to the table, which is play fast and play physical. I'm really excited to see what the bowl game holds for him.
“I’m even more excited for what the future holds for him.”
Here’s the rest of Inside ND Sports' most intriguing players to track leading up to the Gator Bowl and in the game itself.
2. Jordan Botelho
The 6-3, 250-pound junior from Honolulu seemed stuck without a position for much of spring football and into fall camp, with hybrid defensive end/linebacker skills in a new defensive scheme.
He finally settled at back at the vyper end position behind All-American and all-time Irish sacks leader Isaiah Foskey and grad senior Justin Ademilola, and gained traction for playing time at midseason when Ademilola shifted to be the starting field end.
With Foskey opting out of the bowl to focus on the NFL Draft and Ademilola still pondering a sixth year at ND or jumping into the draft pool himself, the opportunity for Botelho to make a case to be the starter in 2023 begins now and the window to break through may never be this open again.
The Irish coaches, meanwhile, are perusing the portal, though, to perhaps add at that position. And, short term, Golden is sifting through other options for the bowl, including moving Ademilola back to vyper for the game.
Botelho’s intensity, his jaw-rattling hits, his ability to pressure the passer are all impressive even in small sample sizes. But addressing and fixing his highest missed tackle rate on the team is where he needs to earn trust. Can he consistently play the run? Can he set the edge? Can he become complete?
3A. Deion Colzie and 3B. Tobias Merriweather
Sophomore Deion Colzie’s launch as a meaningful player in the Irish wide receiver rotation was delayed by a knee injury in August training camp. Freshman Tobias Merriweather’s was halted by concussion issues late in the season, just as he was ascending.
Both the 6-5 Colzie and 6-4 Merriweather have the talent to be starters in 2023 or at least important pieces at a position group that may add as many as five new faces this offseason.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees in the Gator Bowl gets to lean into the different scenarios of what a Michael Mayer-less Irish offense may look like for the first time since Rees was promoted after the 2019 season. It’s a great opportunity to see what the two tallest wide receivers on the team can provide.
4. Mitchell Evans
Speaking of a Mayer-free offense, Mitchell Evans’ purported advanced receiving skills have been way more of a practice thing than something that shows up in games to date, as the 6-5, 255-pound sophomore has two career catches — both coming last season.
With Mayer opting out, it’s Evans’ chance to stake an early claim to be TE1 in 2023. Freshman Holden Staes will be his main sidekick in Jacksonville. But at some point this offseason, recovering junior Kevin Bauman and convalescing freshman Eli Raridon (both with torn ACLs) have the talent to get thick into that TE1 mix.
5. Jaden Mickey
The 6-0, 176-pound freshman’s wow spring and solid summer gave way to growing pains once the season started. At midseason, Jaden Mickey was allowed to just focus on playing field cornerback rather than having to learn and play the nickel as well.
The effect of that shift was diluted by late-season injuries. But the coaching staff is still very bullish on Mickey’s future. And with starter Cam Hart sidelined for the bowl game, Mickey should have ample opportunity to start to build momentum for 2023.
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