Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 3 Jaylen Sneed, sophomore linebacker coming off a notable role in the Gator Bowl

Listed measurements: 6-foot-1 ⅛, 217 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: A sophomore, Sneed has all four seasons of eligibility remaining thanks to prudently playing in only four games last year.
Depth Chart: Sneed will enter preseason practices as the No. 2 Rover behind fifth-year Marist Liufau. More pertinently, Sneed should get the most playing time of the backup linebackers, particularly among him and classmate Nolan Ziegler.
Recruiting: Sneed long considered Oregon as well as Notre Dame, the Irish having a built-in advantage for the Under Armour All-American, Butkus Award finalist and No. 46 overall prospect in the class, per rivals.com, in that Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has known Sneed’s high school coach, BJ Payne, for decades.

RELATED READING: Notre Dame completes quartet of four-star linebackers with commitment from Jaylen Sneed

CAREER TO DATE
After 2022’s preseason practices, Freeman set Sneed down and told him a hard truth: He would not play most of the season, if at all. Behind Liufau, JD Bertrand, Jack Kiser and Bo Bauer, the Irish had proven linebackers. With Prince Kollie the first reserve off the bench, there was a touch of known depth.

“Me and Freeman had a conversation early after fall camp and he told me that I was going to redshirt my freshman year,” Sneed said this past April. “That was kind of hard to take, but he knows best. I just wanted to keep grinding. … It made me better because I wanted to grind because I wasn’t playing.”

Bauer was hurt early in the season, dooming some of that depth, and Sneed showed enough improvement to play in the last four games of the year, highlighted by making five tackles in the snowy blowout of Boston College.

2022: 4 games; seven tackles with an assisted tackle for loss.

Sneed then starred in the 2023 Blue-Gold Game, making seven tackles in that glorified scrimmage, a number that does stand out because, at least when compared to an actual game, there are very few one-vs-one snaps in an intrasquad scrimmage limited by a two-hour practice time and then limited further by playing nearly the entire roster to close spring practices.

QUOTES
Sneed and Ziegler are not outright competing with each other. Sneed projects as a more dynamic, edge player with some focus spent on getting into the backfield, while Ziegler may be a more prototypical linebacker, in the form of Bertrand and Kiser. But they are the only linebackers on the Notre Dame roster between the early-enrolled freshmen and the fifth-year veterans, so most mentions of Sneed lead to a discussion of Ziegler, and vice versa.

“Sneed made a lot of progress, as well,” Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden said in mid-April. “It was great to see Sneed back out there. Zieg’s off-the-field approach in terms of his preparation and studying the game has made a big difference for him.”

WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“Kiser’s knack for making plays makes him Notre Dame’s clear starter at Rover, and he has proven to be durable over the years, most notably remaining available against South Florida in 2020 when much of the defense was not.

“Botelho’s presence among the linebackers this spring underscored the Irish need to get him on the field. He is too physically talented to not play, even if neither defensive end nor linebacker seems to perfectly encompass his skill set.

“That puts Sneed in a tough position if wanting to be in the rotation as a freshman. Obviously, that is not an absolute necessity, but with someone as talented as Sneed, it cannot be ruled out.

“Coverage is where linebackers usually struggle initially in college. They simply are not asked to do it that often in high school, as Sneed wasn’t, but proving himself on the camp circuit erased that worry.

“At the least, Sneed should find a niche defensive package he can contribute to. Perhaps that is goal-line situations. Maybe it is third-down specific. Any such gig will create half a dozen opportunities each week for him to leave an imprint on the game.

“Add in certain special teams duties, and Sneed should play in most games this season and end with 10-plus tackles.”

2023 OUTLOOK
The Gator Bowl victory against South Carolina offered a unique look at Sneed. With defensive end Isaiah Foskey already preparing for the NFL draft, Notre Dame needed to find a different way to manufacture pressure on Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler. Much of it came from Jordan Botelho, bothering Rattler on 10 out of 40 pass-rush snaps.

But Sneed also took 17 snaps with most of them focused on charging downhill.

The Irish knew South Carolina would throw far more often than run, so that created a defensive play-calling luxury, but it still showed a faith in Sneed to get the job done and not be out of position in doing so.

A strong spring should have buttressed that confidence, and he should now be in a position to play a couple hundred snaps in 2023.

Kollie has since transferred to Vanderbilt, where he may start this fall, but looking at his 2022 stats could provide an insight into Sneed’s coming production. As the fourth linebacker playing behind that veteran trio, Kollie made 19 tackles with 2.5 for loss.

Look for Sneed to sniff 20 tackles with a greater share of them in the backfield considering his role in the Gator Bowl. Those stats could start piling up in the opener against Navy. For one thing, Sneed first took the field against the Midshipmen. For another, he could spend added time this preseason preparing for the triple-option.

DOWN THE ROAD
If at least two of the three veterans head to the NFL after this season — all could return in 2024 thanks to the universal pandemic eligibility waiver — then Sneed should start next year. A trio of early-enrolled freshmen impressed this spring, but spring praises of high-school seniors are usually a bit heavy, and Sneed has a full year’s headstart on them.

Sneed arrived in South Bend as a touted recruit, and with Freeman’s expertise among linebackers, that evaluation should be weighted a bit more. Two years of starting duty from Sneed would prove it right, with a third available if wanted thanks to 2022’s prudent redshirt.

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

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