Notre Dame season preview: Can Jaylon Smith be better?

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With the start of Notre Dame preseason camp approaching fast, we’re looking at what to expect from each unit that’ll take the field Sept. 5 under the lights against Texas.

Depth Chart (MLB-WLB-SLB)

1. Joe Schmidt (Grad Student)
2. Jarrett Grace (Grad Student)
2A. Nyles Morgan (Sophomore)

1. Jaylon Smith (Junior)
2. Joe Schmidt (Grad Student)
2A. Te’von Coney (Freshman)

1. James Onwualu (Junior)
2. Greer Martini (Sophomore)

The linchpin here is Smith, who cross-trained at Sam (outside linebacker) during spring practice. When he slides outside, Schmidt — who won last year’s team MVP as a Mike (middle) linebacker — could slide over to Will (inside), with either the experienced Grace or talented Morgan stepping in at Mike.

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Somewhat lost in the shuffle of having so many talented middle/inside linebackers is Onwualu, who coaches like an awful lot. If he proves to be worthy of that praise, his role won’t be marginalized come the fall.

Biggest question: Can Jaylon Smith build on an impressive 2014?

Smith was a Butkus Award finalist, led Notre Dame with 112 tackles and nine and a half tackles for a loss, and was second on the team with three and a half sacks. He broke up two passes, forced a fumble and totaled seven quarterback hurries.

And yet, it seemed like Smith only scratched the surface of how good he can be.

Notre Dame’s goal in cross-training Smith at inside and outside positions is to keep opposing offenses from successfully gameplanning against him. If a team can’t plan on where Smith will be on a given play, it’ll be tougher to block him and run plays to side of the field opposite him.

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Smith in 2014 was still learning the nuances of playing Will under a first-year defensive coordinator too, and he said he’s more comfortable in the scheme and with his position. An improvement from the exceptionally athletic Smith would be a boon for Brian VanGorder’s group this fall.

Youthful impact

There’d have to be plenty of attrition for Notre Dame’s trio of four-star recruits — Te’Von Coney, Asmar Bilal and Josh Barajas — to see anything but special teams reps this fall. Of those guys, the early-enrolling Coney likely has the best chance of subbing in on defense.

But VanGorder and linebackers coach Mike Elston probably would rather avoid playing any of these guys after having to throw Morgan into the fire — with spotty results — as a true freshman last year.

Key stat

Only two Notre Dame linebackers — Manti Te’o and Darius Fleming — have totaled 10 or more tackles for a loss since 2008. If Smith can blow past that mark into the double digits, it’ll be a good indicator of the strides he’s made to make a greater impact on the Irish defense.

They said it

“Offenses game planning for me, they won’t really have a feel of what exactly position I’m in. I won’t be consistently at this spot or consistently at the other spot. So really, that’s an advantage. Then it also helps me, picking my brain and building my football IQ. Learning multiple positions, I know all of the linebacker positions now." — Jaylon Smith on playing multiple positions this fall

More unit previews: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | OL | DL

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