Prince Kollie working on his mental game to move up the Irish depth chart

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — What mitigated Prince Kollie’s progress at climbing the Notre Dame depth chart in his first two seasons, he admits, was being a less-than-stellar student of the game.

“I think it's the mental part of it for me,” the junior linebacker said after practice No. 4 of 15 this spring, on Wednesday. “I don't think I have any problems physically, but mentally, you have to be on top of everything. On top of everything.

“You've got to know the defense like the back of your hand. You've got to know all the checks, because we (linebackers) are like the quarterbacks of the defense. So, a lot of it's on us. You’ve just got to know everything, what (the other players) are doing. You've got to know the whole nine.”

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And when that didn’t align for him, Kollie would fume about it for hours, before eventually adapting the stance of learning from his mistakes and moving on more quickly.

This spring, the 6-foot-1, 228-pound Jonesborough, Tenn., product has taken it a step further. He’s mentoring freshman linebackers Drayk Bowen, Preston Zinter, Jaiden Ausberry and sophomore walk-on Tre Reader.

“(Defensive coordinator Al) Golden says if you can teach (the defense), then you really know it,” Kollie said. “I see it myself like, ‘OK, you don't understand it. Let me try to help you. Here's why.'

“Then I get a better understanding of it, and I'm helping them understand it, too. So it's really beneficial both ways.”

How’s that working out?

Bowen is his new star pupil, even though he has divided his attention between Kollie’s tutelage and trying to play college baseball this spring as well.

“I was watching him (watching film) the other day,” Kollie said. “He's really good at finding the ball. There's a lot of the things I try to do, like just being patient, especially when there's so much trash, and it's kind of unique.

“So, there'll be a lane over here, and you'll think the back’s over there going that way, but he comes back. You can't see him. You’ve just got to have a feel for it. He's got a feel for it.”

And how’s the teacher, Kollie, faring?

“I’m excited about PK,” Golden said Wednesday. “I love the kid, love the player. He works hard. He’s low maintenance. He’s in the mix. He was in the mix last year, and he’s right there.

“I expect a great challenge by the PKs, the (Nolan Zieglers), the (Jaylen Sneeds — all those guys challenging those older three guys for reps. Hopefully, over time, it’s just going to make us stronger.”

The three older guys are all grad seniors and incumbent starters. Weakside (Will) linebacker Marist Liufau led the defense in total snaps with 646 in 2022. Middle linebacker JD Bertrand was second among linebackers and third overall on the defense with 580 snaps, and a distant third among linebackers was rover Jack Kiser with 338 snaps. Yet he had more tackles, tackles for loss and sacks than Liufau with almost roughly half the snaps.

Part of Kiser’s lower snap count was how much nickel defense ND played in 2022, way more downs with five defensive backs on the field and two linebackers than ND’s so-called base defense with three linebackers.

Kollie was actually fourth among the linebackers, but with a modest 136, which translated to 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks. As a freshman the former high school Butkus Award winner accrued 58 snaps.

“I've got to earn their trust,” Kollie said. “I've got to be perfect, almost, with the checks, knowing what we're in, being able to adjust the linemen up front. I just got to be perfect and earn their trust, so my playing time can increase.

“I've got to do it in practice. It starts in practice. Our team likes to motion and all kinds of eye candy. If I can't make the check in practice, then they don't trust me to make it in the game. So it starts in practice. I've been doing it little by little.”

Ziegler, a high school wide receiver and safety and seemingly natural rover, is now a backup at middle linebacker and surging. So is Sneed at rover.

Then you throw in the fact Kiser’s natural position is weakside linebacker, not rover, and there are all kinds of crisscrossing story lines and position battles, even with three returning, established starters.

“I was always raised and taught to compete,” Kollie said. “None of us in the room shies away from competition. I got here looking up to Marist, because Marist was just a baller. I was amazed by how he'd fly around and hit everything. Like, yeah, I want to be like that. I feel like I can be like that.

“And then after last year, I'm like, 'OK, I can do a lot of the same things he does and maybe even a little bit better.' We're not afraid of competition. We encourage it. There's no hard feelings between any of us.”

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Throw a new grad assistant linebackers coach in the mix, Shane Bullough, and it’s an even more fascinating position group to track this spring.

All of which probably points to more equitable timeshares in the playing rotations between the 1s and 2s when the spring concludes and perhaps a surprise or two along the way from a group that probably could use a good jolt.

Kollie would love to be that surprise, and his buy-in and excelling on special teams last year, eventually helped give him the confidence to pull it off at linebacker.

“I got to show that I'm disciplined,” said Kollie, who was credited with blocking one of ND’s nation’s-best seven punts in 2022 but claims he actually blocked two of them. “It's a really, really pivotal point in the game, not to jump offsides.

“You're amped up to block a punt, and you've got to hold your water. Special teams have helped me slow everything down and focus on my job and execute it.”

And start dreaming big again.

How big?

“I feel like I can go to The League and play a long time and play a long time in The League,” he said.

Which means disrupting the status quo now?

“Absolutely.” he said. “I feel like I’ve still got to keep climbing. because you've got to earn it every day,”

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