Kiser thinking big in possible final season at Notre Dame

Jul. 14—Jack Kiser has put in a lot of hard work during his time at Notre Dame and he's hoping for a big payoff this upcoming fall with the Fighting Irish.

The fifth-year senior from Royal Center has continually elevated his status as a linebacker at Notre Dame. He's hoping for his best season yet in what could be his final year of college football.

"I technically do have two seasons left," said Kiser, who still has a COVID Year of eligibility to use after this year if he wants. "My mindset is one year at a time, so I'm going to go into this fifth year and plan on it being the last. Of course you never know what circumstances might arise. But I'm going to expect this is my last camp, my last time putting on the helmet and just kind of go through those emotions because you never know what's actually going to happen."

Kiser, the 2018 IndyStar Mr. Football who led Pioneer to back-to-back state championships, was Notre Dame's most efficient defensive player a year ago. He finished second on the team in tackles with 58 despite playing nearly 300 snaps less than No. 3 tackler Marist Liufau.

Kiser could be looking at more playing time this year. Tim Prister of Irish Illustrated wrote recently that "Kiser and Liufau are expected to flip spots where Kiser's penchant for finding the football and Liufau's off-the-edge promise should play better to their respective skillsets."

The Fighting Irish went 9-4 last season, which included a 45-38 win over South Carolina in the Gator Bowl. The Irish finished 2022 with six wins in their last seven games, including top-25 victories over Syracuse, Clemson and the Gamecocks. They were ranked No. 18 in the final AP poll.

"It was a tough year starting 0-2 right off the bat but I do think the team turned it around," Kiser said. "Towards the end of the season we were playing our best ball which is what you want to see.

"In terms of me individually just based on the opponents we were playing and the offensive schemes we were playing, we had to turn into more of a nickel defense and that meant we weren't having the Rover or the strong-side 'backer on the field every down. Unfortunately that was my position, that was my role so I took a hit in terms of playing time. But when I was in there I was trying to make the most of it. I think I did do that and I was able to make an impact on the game.

"Moving forward to this season the goal is to prove to the coaches and prove to everybody that I do deserve to be out there a little bit more. And I need to prove to them that they don't want to take me off the field no matter the circumstances. That's the mission and the goal this offseason and it has been to just make them have that confidence in me and be that guy."

Kiser added he worked this spring to solidify a starting role. He started in six of 13 games a year ago and started eight of 13 games in 2021.

"I would say for the past three seasons I've been the guy who can flip from strong-side to weak-side, play Mike linebacker if need be. We saw that last year when JD [Bertrand] had the targeting calls and was out, I filled in at Mike and started at Mike and played really well. This past spring ball that was a big emphasis of mine showing I could be versatile, do everything. When we go nickel, I can be that Will linebacker, you don't have to take me off the field. I can walk down on the edge, I can play behind the nose, whatever the case may be. I've been trying to showcase that I can do it and I can do it as well as anybody."

Kiser broke his toe a week before the Blue-Gold game, which was held April 22 this year.

"The week before the spring game we have what really is the big scrimmage. It's closed to the public," Kiser explained. "That's where we can run most of our playbook, really compete, a full live scrimmage. In that scrimmage I ended up breaking my toe, didn't realize it, thought I just stubbed it, so I finished the scrimmage and everything. The next day I couldn't move it at all and it was all purple, so I was like, yeah, something's wrong. I went and got an X-ray and sure enough cracked it all away across the toe, so I was out for the spring game. After the spring game April through May it was really just making sure I got my toe healthy, let the bone heal, it didn't affect the joint at all. So I got back the first week of June and got cleared and so this summer has been getting back into full shape, getting that confidence back in the toe planting, driving off of it. It's been a really good recovery. It's healed great, I'm not concerned about it at all."

The Irish have routinely been a top 25 team during Kiser's time with the program. They went 11-2 his junior year in 2021 and 10-2 his sophomore year in 2020 which included a loss to No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff.

The College Football Playoff will expand to 12 teams in 2024. But this year will still feature a four-team CFP field.

The Irish expect to compete for one of those four spots. Their chances got a boost when quarterback Sam Hartman decided to transfer to Notre Dame. He joins the Irish after a stellar career with Wake Forest in which he threw for nearly 13,000 yards and 110 touchdowns, the latter of which set an ACC record. He threw for 3,701 yards, 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 12 games last season.

"It's been great seeing Sam come in," Kiser said. "He's been one of those guys that he walks in a locker room and he's an instant leader. He doesn't have to fake anything or anything, it's just who he is. Being a sixth-year guy, he's been through it all. He has so much experience. And the big thing is he wants to be here. He chose here because he sees the potential in this team and he knows what we can do and how special this locker room is. So just to be around him, it makes you really excited for what we might be able to see on Saturdays."

The Irish open the season Aug. 26 against Navy in Dublin, Ireland.

"It'll be sweet," Kiser said. "I'm not really sure what the timeline is in terms of I think we get out there Thursday morning or Thursday afternoon. So that's kind of disappointing we won't be there longer but it'll be special. I think they said some 40,000 US citizens are going to Ireland so it'll be really cool to see the US and Ireland come together and see the Irish fans out there. It'll be special and we're excited for it."

It'll be a business trip as usual for Notre Dame.

"When we go to road games, we get there Friday, go straight to the hotel and then we bus from the hotel to the stadium, play our game and we go from the stadium straight to the airport," Kiser said. "There's no sight-seeing, there's no experiencing the town or any of that. We're very business but at the same time we kind of have to be. We have to treat it as we're professionals and that's the way we have to do it."

Kiser already has two degrees from Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. He earned a bachelor's degree in business analytics in his first three years. He earned a Master's degree in accounting this May and was ranked No. 1 out of 84 graduate students with a 4.0 GPA and earned the MSA Dean's Award.

"I've always taken academics really seriously and this past year it just worked out to where I was able to find that really good balance," he said. "I think part of it too was everybody else was worried about finding jobs and what they're going to do after they graduate and whatnot, and I already knew I had a fifth-year left in me so I wasn't really panicking on that front. But at the same time I worked really hard and I was rewarded for it and I'm very honored to be able to say that I was rewarded for my work. It was really neat to be recognized for that."

Kiser usually takes summer classes but didn't have to this year. He'll also take about half as many classes as he usually takes in the fall.

"I'll take three classes this fall just to stay eligible," he said, adding that the classes won't go towards another degree. "If I'm done playing here than I'm done taking classes so I'll be done in December. However if I did play that sixth year then I would have to take three more classes to stay eligible again.

"There's been fall semesters when I've been taking 18 credits and so it's nice, it's kind of a weight off the shoulders you can say to kind of be a professional football player for once. It's super cool, super nice."

Kiser has aspirations of playing in the NFL, whether his college career ends after this season or next.

"Most definitely. That's been a dream of mine since I was a little kid playing underneath the bleachers at my brother's Friday night games," he said. "So just to have that opportunity, hopefully it comes and I get a chance to make something happen and a chance to make that dream come alive. But at the end of the day all I'm hoping for is an opportunity and a chance and if works out, great, and if it doesn't, I can say that I did everything I could. So I'm certainly excited to see where that path will lead and I think that goes hand to hand with whether or not you come back for a sixth year or not because at the same time you love the game of football and you don't want to throw it away for nothing. I think that's all in that evaluation of whether that sixth year is going to be used or not."