Eight days after Jalen Stroman pushed away offers from USC, UCLA and Boise State, among others, to start a new chapter at Notre Dame, the Virginia Tech transfer safety found himself in Atlanta on Jan, 20, taking in the biggest moment so far in the Marcus Freeman Era of Irish football.
And picturing how he could contribute to an encore in the 2025 season.
“Let me give you the right word. I would say inspiring, really,” Stroman told reporters Saturday of his taking in the CFP National Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium between the Irish and prevailing titlist Ohio State. “Just for me to experience that from the outside, looking in, it was inspiring for me. I want to go back. I definitely want to help this team go back there.”
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And by keeping his eyes on the most decorated Notre Dame safety in its modern history playing in his final game, two-time All-American Xavier Watts, Stroman feels he has a pretty good idea of what his contribution to the roadmap back to the CFP finale should look like.
“When I see him making plays,” Stroman said of Watts, “I was like, ‘That could be me. That could be where I can go make my plays in this defense,’ and I definitely see that. I see that myself, and I see it everywhere.
“His ability to be in the right position at the right time is what it is, and [DBs] coach [Mike MIckens] is gonna put me in the right spot, and coach [Mickens] is gonna make sure I go make them plays.”
For the first six of Notre Dame’s 15 anticipated spring football practices, however, the 6-foot-1, 204-pound Bristow, Va., product has been more spectator than participant, a development he takes in stride but didn’t exactly see coming.
The younger brother of former Virginia Tech and current New York Giants cornerback Greg Stroman Jr., suffered a broken right clavicle in the Hokies’ 2025 season-opening loss to Vanderbilt in Aug. 31 and missed the rest of that season.
His hope was that he’d be full-go for his first spring with the Irish, and his fifth and final collegiate season. But upon further review …
“On his physical exam process, he had an injury last year at Virginia Tech, a clavicle fracture that ended up not healing for him,” Notre Dame head football trainer Rob Hunt told reporters ahead of the March 19 start to spring football at ND.
“So, we needed to take care of that when he got to campus. He’s going to be moving around a little bit during spring ball in the second half. But he’ll have no contact.
“He’s not going to be exposed to any type of risk for himself. Expect a full recovery and unrestricted activity for him in the summer.”
And yet he has still found a way to impress new Irish defensive coordinator Chris Ash, who’s sifting through some younger, unproven options as well to be returning safety Adon Shuler’s sidekick in 2025.
“Mental reps are still valuable reps,” Ash said of Stroman. “Our expectation is that he’s learning everything. We just can’t really evaluate what he can do movement-wise and what he is as a playmaker other than what we saw on film from Virginia Tech.
“He’s out in the walk-through, so he’s getting the mental reps. He’s locked in on the sideline, so he’s developing. He’s a pro, man. He just goes and does his work every day. He’s locked in. He’s studying. He’s got great questions. So, our expectation is that when he’s healthy, he’ll be ready to go.”
And still the favorite to be the starter.
But ND’s safety rotation may go much deeper than last season when Watts racked up the second-most game snaps of any defensive player in the nation (970), admittedly over 16 games, and Shuler was a high-rep player (third among Irish defenders at 768).
Next was Rod Heard II at 409 in his one and only season with the Irish, but then a big dropoff to then-sophomore Luke Talich (98), the player who probably is benefitting the most from increased practice exposure due to Stroman’s limitations.
But Talich, sophomore Tae Johnson and Kennedy Urlacher and tall/long early enrolled freshmen JaDon Blair (6-5) and Ethan Long (6-3) are among the other aspiring and promising safeties.
“They’re developing and getting better,” Ash said of the next wave. “I really like what I see from that group. We have a long way to go for them to truly master what we do. But man, they’re working hard every single day, and what I see is guys that can run.
“And I know they can hit, so I’m not worried about that. They can run, they can cover. So, we can play man. We can play zone with them. There’s talent back there.”
Stroman brings that as well as talent and versatility to play both safety positions. In his last healthy season was 2023, Stroamn amassed 55 tackles, including two for loss, four pass breakups and two QB hurries.
“Here, I feel like I need to work a little bit more on just picking the ball off,” Stroman said. “That's one thing I haven't done to prove myself, and I definitely will.
“Just taking those extra steps. Even though we just go in the film room and just do it with coach Mick, still (taking those) extra steps away from film. Like my film at home, my film when I come in here, just extra things I could possibly do to progress myself and also teach the young guys the steps of the way.”
It already feels like home, though, and it did from the very first time Stroman set foot on campus for the first time, on his portal recruiting visit this past winter.
“Really the culture, the winning culture, and just the people,” Stroman said of what pulled him toward South Bend. “Honestly, when I came here, it's just different, and I just liked it.
“It felt comfortable being here and being able to learn. As soon as I walked in here, I was starting to learn. So, I just felt good.”
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