SOUTH BEND, Ind. — What Mike Lafaele saw in Jordan Botelho three years ago, when his Notre Dame football career almost truncated before it really got started, was a young man who wanted to impact others.
If he could only get out of his own way.
Highly recruited, with more star-system pedigree than his predecessor at the vyper end, 2022 All-American and ND all-time sacks leader Isaiah Foskey, the 6-3, 255-pound Honolulu native spent his first three years at Notre Dame more rumor than reality.
“I understand how that program works,” said Lafaele, Botelho’s position coach during Honolulu Saint Louis’ Hawaii state championship run in 2019, his trainer whenever he goes back to Hawaii and his mentor 24/7.
“It’s the best of the best. I know he’s come a long way in his maturity off the field and his character within the locker room. I’m just excited for what he’s going to do this year. I feel like it’s going to be a movie, something crazy. I’m excited for him. I’ve been waiting for this and, more importantly, so has he.
“I’m glad he stayed. We’ve had conversations about timelines and being realistic about stuff. He believes in that school. He believes in coach [Marcus] Freeman. He believes in his teammates. He said, ‘Ah coach, this is where I want to be.’
“I said, ‘Well, then go get it, man.’”
At Wednesday morning’s spring practice No. 9 of 15, impromptu opened up to the media, the senior looked the part of a burgeoning player looking to lock down a starting spot, and having to go against two of ND’s most talented players to do so, tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher.
“Through my experiences here, I definitely learned a lot,” Botelho said after practice Wednesday in his first interview with the ND media in more than three years. “I definitely had many mistakes, but I feel like they helped me grow as a person into the man that I am now.”
And in the next breath admitting there were times when even he wondered if he’d ever get to this point without starting over somewhere else.
“I would say my mom (Val-Oh Botelho) is a great example,” Botelho said, when asked about his perseverance. “She works very hard, and I know she has many setbacks too, but she just kept going. And she's done a great job.
“So, I kind of modeled myself after her and just try my best and never give up. Like I said, I feel like everything you go through just helps you to become a man every day.”
Added Lafale, “He could have walked away, but it’s not in him. He’s not a quitter. I think he has a vision for himself, what he can accomplish, and I think he’s starting to figure it out, put the pieces together. I think you saw it a little bit last year.”
Defensive coordinator Al Golden and D-line coach Al Washington in midseason saw enough of a surge in practices from Botelho, they moved Justin Ademilola from rotating with Foskey to a more prominent role at the field end spot.
Botelho moved up behind Foskey to No. 2 on the depth chart into the rotational role. And when Foskey opted out of the Dec, 30 Gator Bowl matchup against South Carolina to focus on the NFL Draft, Botelho got the start.
He accrued nine of his 11 tackles in 2022 and all 6.5 of his tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks coming in the final six games of the season. He also blocked a punt in Notre Dame’s 35-14 upset of Clemson on Nov. 5.
“Jordan just has to take care of Jordan,” Washington said of Botelho’s next step. “Take care of his business. Take care of his body. Take care of the things that are important to him. Keep the main thing the main thing, and everything else will take care of itself.
“He’s a great kid. He works his tail off. He really cares, and he’s really matured and really made a point to go for it. He could’ve gone any other way but forward with it and he decided to go forward with it.”
The most critical juncture when Botelho made that choice was as an early enrolled freshman, before he’d ever played in a game for the Irish.
He was sent home with everyone else on the team in March of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down sports around the world, then again a few months later when he continually violated team rules and protocols.
“It was a great learning experience,” Botelho said. “I got sent home, but it was a great opportunity for me too, because my coach back home, Mike Lafaele, I was just training with him. I was getting stronger, working on pass rush. Really, when I came back, I learned a lot from being back home and I felt like I was more ready to come back and be a college football player.”
But it wasn’t just the football. It was the talks Lafaele and Botelho had before and after the workouts. And late at night. And on the phone once Botelho was back in South Bend.
"This guy is born to play football. Everyone can see that,” said Lafaele, a former star defensive lineman and co-captain with the late Colt Brennan on Hawaii’s 2007 team whose perfect season ended with a Sugar Bowl loss to Georgia.
“But in the Notre Dame program you’ve really got to be excellent at everything — in the locker room, off the field, in the classroom. So, I think there were some things that he had to figure out and learn, which I truly believe he’s gotten to that point now.
“We prayed together — about him, his family and his future. I really try to explain to him where God has called him to be, and it’s called him to be at Notre Dame. God has a special plan for him in his life.
“I said, ‘You’re going to go and do something special on the field, but how much more of an impact can you make just in your communities, where you go, where you’ve been sent?’ And that got his attention. It’s deeper than football. You can make an impact on young kids.”
And one of the kids he made an impact on was Lafaele’s son, Anelu, now a junior defensive end at Honolulu Saint Louis, the No. 2 player per Rivals in the state in the 2024 class and a priority recruiting target for Notre Dame.
“Jordan is Portuguese and Korean, and my son is a quarter Korean,” Lafaele said. “And my son says, ‘I want to be like Jordan Botelho.’”
Perhaps finally Jordan Botelho is finally comfortable with who Jordan Botelho is and who he’s becoming.
“I feel like I'm moving in the right direction right now,: he said. “If I can just stay at that level, just keep getting better every day and just limit the setbacks.”
The Irish went out and got Ohio State defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste out of the transfer portal in January, a player with a skill set to play Botelho’s vyper end position. Instead, he’s played exclusively at the field end position, per Washington.
“[Jordan’s] thing is him taking care of his business, because the kids love him and I certainly love him,' Washington said. "He’s a joy to work with and he’s progressing, man. He’s turning into an every-down guy, not just a third-down guy.
“Be out there every down. That’s the goal, and I think he’s becoming that.”
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