Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 1 Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Ohio State transfer defensive end

Listed measurements: 6-foot-4 ½, 255 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: A fifth-year graduate transfer, Jean-Baptiste has only this season of eligibility remaining. He would have it regardless of the universal pandemic eligibility waiver, given Jean-Baptiste played in only four games in 2020. Then again, the Buckeyes played only six regular-season games that year.
Depth Chart: Notre Dame will want to have a heavy defensive line rotation since it enters the preseason lacking any clear-cut star, and it will have that luxury at “Big” end with Jean-Baptiste and fifth-year Nana Osafo-Mensah working together. Which will emerge as the starter will be one of the more intriguing thoughts of preseason practices, even though both will certainly play plenty.
Recruiting: A four-star recruit and the No. 30 outside linebacker in the class of 2018, Jean-Baptiste held scholarship offers from Texas A&M, Virginia Tech and Nebraska coming out of high school. Four years later, back in the recruitment phase, he narrowed his choices to Notre Dame, Mississippi and Texas, none of which chased him back then.

Jean-Baptiste called his more recent decision a “gut-wrenching” one, opting for the Irish, partly because they were the only one of those programs to have reached a College Football Playoff, let alone two.

CAREER TO DATE
Jean-Baptiste struggled to crack the starting lineup at Ohio State, its defensive line annually one of the best position groups in the country, yet he did consistently play after moving from linebacker to defensive end early on in his Columbus career.

2019: 7 games; 14 tackles with 1.5 sacks.
2020: 4 games; six tackles with two for loss including one sack and one fumble recovered.
2021: 9 games; 12 tackles with two for loss including 1.5 sacks.
2022: 13 games; 19 tackles with 4.5 for loss including four sacks.

QUOTES
Part of the “gut-wrenching” aspect of his decision this winter was Jean-Baptiste was also considering jumping to the NFL, or at least trying to. A handful of sacks last season plus strong testing times may have drawn some notice.

“At the time, it was still like, ‘Alright, do I really want to come back to college football or do I just declare?’” he said in the winter. “... I could have declared this year, but then I felt like I was leaving so much more behind.”

WHAT WAS PROJECTED WHEN JEAN-BAPTISTE COMMITTED TO NOTRE DAME
“At 6-foot-5 and about 250 pounds, Jean-Baptiste may seem too lean to be Notre Dame’s ‘Big’ end, but that should be his initial destination in South Bend, presumably opposite rising senior Jordan Botelho at Vyper.

“The Irish need new starters at both positions to replace Justin Ademilola and Isaiah Foskey, respectively. Rising senior Rylie Mills worked some as a ‘Big’ end, but he may be wanted back on the interior to supplement the suddenly shallow position there, as well. Thus, Jean-Baptiste’s edge-rushing skills should fit well opposite Botelho’s natural aggression.”

RELATED READING: DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste working to be an answer for Notre Dame

2023 OUTLOOK
It would be unfair to call Jean-Baptiste a pass-rush specialist. Defensive linemen do not contribute as seniors at Ohio State if they are that one-dimensional. But it is the stronger half of his game, and given Osafo-Mensah’s overall physicality, passing-specific downs may be where Jean-Baptiste makes his biggest impact for Notre Dame this season.

Think back a few years. Khalid Kareem would move inside to tackle on third-and-longs, allowing the Irish to have him, Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji all charging the passer with their ears pinned back. At 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, Kareem could handle tackle duties on clear passing downs, demanding enough respect from the offensive line that at least one of Ogundeji or Hayes would face a single blocker.

Osafo-Mensah is listed at 6-foot-3 ⅛ and 260 pounds. He could serve a similar role, allowing Jean-Baptiste and Botelho to rush from the edges.

That is hardly manufacturing a pass rush; that is simply using the personnel available. And Notre Dame would not have it available without Jean-Baptiste’s transfer. Behind him and Osafo-Mensah at “Big” end are only freshmen Brenan Vernon and Armel Mukam. As much as both have already elicited offseason praises, expecting either to contribute during a difficult October stretch would be overly ambitious.

Jean-Baptiste will play beyond those passing-specific moments, simply to be sure neither he nor Osafo-Mensah wears out. But look for a handful of sacks to be what is remembered from Jean-Baptiste’s single South Bend season.

DOWN THE ROAD
Some metrics considered Jean-Baptiste to be a prolificly effective pass rusher last season, small sample size aside. If he proves that true in 2023, then he just may hear his name called in the NFL draft yet.

NOTRE DAME 99-TO-0
The summer countdown begins anew, Rylie Mills to Deion Colzie
No. 99 Rylie Mills, senior defensive tackle, moving back inside from end
No. 98 Devan Houstan, early-enrolled four-star defensive tackle
No. 97 Gabriel Rubio, junior defensive tackle, one of three Irish DTs with notable experience
No. 95 Tyson Ford, sophomore defensive tackle, up 30 pounds from a year ago
No. 93 Armel Mukam, incoming freshman defensive end, former Stanford commit
No. 92 Aidan Keanaaina, a senior defensive tackle now ‘fully healthy’ after a 2022 torn ACL
No. 91 Aiden Gobaira, sophomore defensive end, former four-star recruit
No. 88 Mitchell Evans, the next starter at ‘TE U
No. 87 Cooper Flanagan, incoming freshman tight end, four-star recruit
No. 84 Kevin Bauman, senior tight end coming off a torn ACL
No. 83 Jayden Thomas, junior receiver, probable No. 1 target in 2023
No. 79 Tosh Baker, senior tackle, again a backup but next year ...
No. 78 Pat Coogan, junior interior offensive lineman
No. 77 Ty Chan, sophomore offensive tackle, former four-star recruit
No. 76 Joe Alt, first-team All-American left tackle
No. 75 Sullivan Absher, incoming freshman offensive lineman
No. 74 Billy Schrauth, sophomore left guard, likely starter
No. 73 Andrew Kristofic, fifth-year right guard, likely starter
No. 72 Sam Pendelton, early-enrolled freshman offensive lineman
No. 70 Ashton Craig, sophomore interior offensive lineman
No. 68 Michael Carmody, senior offensive lineman
No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter
No. 64 Joe Otting, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 59 Aamil Wagner, sophomore offensive tackle
No. 56 Charles Jagusah, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 56 Howard Cross, fifth-year defensive tackle, multi-year starter
No. 55 Chris Terek, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 54 Blake Fisher, junior right tackle, second-year starter
No. 52 Zeke Correll, fifth-year center, third-year starter
No. 51 Boubacar Traore, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 50 Rocco Spindler, junior offensive guard
No. 47 Jason Onye, junior defensive tackle on the verge of playing time
No. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka, sophomore defensive end, former linebacker
No. 42 Nolan Ziegler, sophomore linebacker, Irish legacy
No. 41 Donovan Hinish, sophomore defensive tackle following in his brother’s footsteps
No. 40 Joshua Burnham, sophomore linebacker-turned-Vyper end
No. 38 Davis Sherwood, junior fullback/H-back, former walk-on
No. 34 Drayk Bowen, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, baseball infielder
No. 32 Spencer Shrader, South Florida transfer kicker
No. 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah, fifth-year defensive end
No. 29 Christian Gray, early-enrolled freshman cornerback coming off a knee injury
No. 29 Matt Salerno, sixth-year receiver, former walk-on
No. 27 JD Bertrand, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, possible captain
No. 25 Preston Zinter, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, subtle recruiting win
No. 24 Jack Kiser, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, most efficient defender
No. 24 Jadarian Price, sophomore RB, reportedly recovered from an Achilles injury
No. 23 Jaiden Ausberry, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, four-star recruit
No. 22 Ben Minich, early-enrolled freshman safety, four-star recruit
No. 22 Jeremiyah Love, incoming freshman running back, four-star recruit
No. 21 Adon Shuler, early-enrolled freshman safety coming off shoulder surgery
No. 20 Benjamin Morrison, sophomore cornerback, preseason All-American
No. 19 Jaden Greathouse, early-enrolled freshman receiver, Blue-Gold Game star
No. 18 Steve Angeli, sophomore quarterback, competing for the backup role
No. 18 Chance Tucker, junior cornerback
No. 17 Brenan Vernon, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 17 Rico Flores Jr., early-enrolled freshman receiver, four-star recruit
No. 16 Micah Bell, incoming freshman cornerback, speedy four-star recruit
No. 15 Ryan Barnes, junior cornerback
No. 14 Bryce McFerson, sophomore punter facing a challenge for a second straight year
No. 14 Braylon James, early-enrolled freshman receiver, four-star recruit
No. 13 Holden Staes, sophomore tight end, up 20 pounds in a year
No. 13 Thomas Harper, Oklahoma State graduate transfer safety/nickel back
No. 12 Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience
No. 12 Jordan Botelho, senior Vyper defensive end
No. 11 KK Smith, incoming freshman receiver, speedster
No. 11 Ramon Henderson, senior safety
No. 10 Sam Hartman, Wake Forest graduate transfer quarterback, QB1
No. 9 Eli Raridon, sophomore tight end coming off a second ACL tear
No. 8 Kenny Minchey, early-enrolled freshman quarterback, former Pittsburgh commit
No. 8 Marist Liufau, fifth-year linebacker, second season as a starter
No. 7 Audric Estimé, junior running back, bellcow, workhorse
No. 7 Jaden Mickey, sophomore cornerback coming off big and small life lessons
No. 6 Clarence Lewis, senior cornerback with more experience than most realize
No. 5 Tobias Merriweather, sophomore receiver subject to lofty comparisons
No. 5 Cam Hart, fifth-year cornerback, coming off another shoulder injury
No. 4 Rhode Island transfer safety Antonio Carter gives Notre Dame desperately needed backline depth
No. 3 Jaylen Sneed, sophomore linebacker coming off a notable role in the Gator Bowl
No. 3 Gi’Bran Payne, sophomore running back
No. 2 DJ Brown, sixth-year safety, possible two-year starter
No. 2 Chris Tyree, senior running back-turned-receiver

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