Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 42 Nolan Ziegler, sophomore linebacker, Irish legacy

Listed measurements: 6-foot-3, 225 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: A sophomore, Ziegler has all four seasons of eligibility remaining.
Depth Chart: Ziegler may crack the two-deep at either or both of Will (weakside) linebacker and Mike (middle) linebacker. When Prince Kollie transferred to Vanderbilt, Notre Dame’s depth among linebackers took that notable of a hit. Only Ziegler and Jaylen Sneed are neither starters nor freshmen.
Recruiting: A consensus-four star prospect and the No. 24 outside linebacker in the class, per rivals.com , Ziegler was long likely headed to Notre Dame, given he is an Irish legacy and Catholic-school product from less than two hours away from South Bend. Nonetheless, Michigan, Iowa and Nebraska all chased the Under Armour All-American from Grand Rapids, Mich.

CAREER TO DATE
Ziegler saw action in just one game in 2022, logging a tackle against Boston College in the snow.

NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS
This sport, it does some good.

WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“Injuries will sap Notre Dame of some of its linebacker depth, a football inevitability, but as long as that does not escalate to the level of last season’s August and September — in which the Irish lost multiple veterans for the entire season before typical wear and tear had even begun to tire others — then Ziegler should remain out of the rotation in 2022. If anything, he is at the deepest linebacker position on the roster, behind both (Marist) Liufua and Kollie with longtime Will linebacker JD Bertrand available to make his way back to his old position, from middle linebacker, if the need arose.

“That does not mean Ziegler will automatically preserve a year of eligibility, though. A former safety growing into a linebacker’s body may be the ideal player to cover kickoffs and punts. Ziegler could see special teams action in 13 games this season.”

2023 OUTLOOK
An early enrollee in 2022, Ziegler is now a pseudo-veteran among the Irish linebackers. There is the trio of fifth-year starters in Jack Kiser, JD Bertrand and Marist Liufau. Then there is a trio of early-enrolled freshmen in Drayk Bowen, Preston Zinter and Jaiden Ausberry. Between them, only Ziegler and Jaylen Sneed.

The freshmen played well enough this spring to play a role in Kollie’s transfer, but so did Ziegler and Sneed. Ziegler should be the first man off the bench for both Kiser at Will and Bertrand at Mike.

The question then becomes, how often will either of them come off the field? Barring injury, not often. And even with injury, Bertrand played much of the 2021 season with a miserable wrist.

But some work should come Ziegler’s way.

DOWN THE ROAD
There is a world in which both Kiser and Bertrand return for sixth seasons in 2024. Liufau could, as well. Whether that is this world or not is a wonder for December. But if they do, that should not push Ziegler away.

He arrived in South Bend to wear the same digits his grandfather wore on the 1973 Irish national championship team. Ziegler’s want to play for Notre Dame is without many peers. Unless a couple of those freshmen outright leapfrog him, he will almost assuredly wait for that chance.

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. 17 Brenan Vernon, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 13 Holden Staes, sophomore tight end, up 20 pounds in a year
No. 12 Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience
No. 4 Rhode Island transfer safety Antonio Carter gives Notre Dame desperately needed backline depth

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