{"id":62515,"date":"2024-08-15T16:30:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T20:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=62515"},"modified":"2024-08-15T15:21:38","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T19:21:38","slug":"notre-dame-linebacker-jaylen-sneed-ready-to-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/08\/15\/notre-dame-linebacker-jaylen-sneed-ready-to-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Notre Dame Linebacker Jaylen Sneed Ready to Rise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Notre Dame junior linebacker Jaylen Sneed arrived in South Bend with lofty expectations. A blue-chip prospect out of Hilton Head, South Carolina, and a four-star recruit, Sneed is poised to show that he can translate his potential into tangible results on the field this season.<\/p>\n

As a sophomore last year, Sneed appeared in all 13 games as a reserve linebacker and on special teams. Used sparingly, Sneed recorded a modest 14 tackles, five solo. He added a sack and a tackle for loss. He finished the season with a pair of pass breakups, five quarterback hurries, and he also forced a fumble.<\/p>\n

Jaylen Sneed Seeking the Spotlight Alongside Jack Kiser<\/h3>\n

Notre Dame\u2019s linebackers are young, except for senior Jack Kiser<\/a>. The Irish lost linebackers JD Bertrand (Atlanta Falcons) and Marist Liafau (Dallas Cowboys) to the NFL, and Sneed is the second-most experienced Irish player at the position this year behind Kiser. Sneed has played in 17 career games. That is second only to Kiser, who has played in 52 games. A consistent contributor at linebacker and on special teams, Kiser played in all 13 games a season ago. He finished third on the team with 62 tackles. He tied for the team lead with 41 solo tackles. Kiser added 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and snagged an interception.<\/p>\n

Beyond Kiser, linebackers coach Max Bullough has a promising group. The room includes five-star freshman Kyngstonn Villamu-Asa, who has flashed in camp. Sophomores Drayk Bowen and Jaiden Ausberry both gained experience last season and will play larger roles in the defense this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have these seasoned guys that have played a bunch of snaps,\u201d Bullough shared with Rivals.com<\/em>. \u201cWe\u2019re going to roll them like we have because we\u2019ve got five guys we trust. And I can\u2019t wait to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Camp Mentality<\/h3>\n

To be competitive, the Irish will need Sneed to elevate his game this season. With Kiser anchoring the linebackers, Sneed\u2019s ability to step up and contribute significantly will be crucial to the success of Notre Dame\u2019s defense. He has all the tools to become an impact player for the Irish.<\/p>\n

In speaking with the press after Fall camp<\/a> practice earlier this week, Sneed addressed his mentality in camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust (working on) getting better,\u201d Sneed said from the podium during his press conference. \u201cWorking on playing with the team and working on playing with the other linebackers. I\u2019m honestly just excited to see what we can do. We\u2019re a young linebacking corps, but I think we\u2019re really, really good.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel my game is most improved with my hands,\u201d Sneed added. \u201cBeing able to use my hands to disengage with blockers, and engage, and getting off blocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the impact that coach Bullough has had in camp, Sneed said, \u201cHe is very intense, he is a funny guy, and a great coach, overall. He\u2019s been able to connect with me, and I\u2019ve been able to connect with him on a different level. I feel like all the guys in the room have connected with him. We\u2019re all getting better and growing closer together because of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sneed Ready to Shine<\/h3>\n

As a talented and promising defender, Sneed has the potential to be a key part of a formidable linebacker duo with Kiser.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t talk enough about how far Jaylen Sneed has come from year one, from when I got here, to right now,\u201d Bullough said of Sneed on Rivals.com<\/em>. \u201cHe\u2019s playing with knee bend, he\u2019s getting lined up, he\u2019s executing. He\u2019s communicating.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there was one person that I\u2019d say I can\u2019t be prouder of from when I got here to right now, it\u2019s No. 3,” Bullough continued. “It\u2019s No. 3, and he\u2019s going to have a big year.\u201d<\/p>\n

No better endorsement for Sneed than that. If Bullough is correct, the Irish faithful just might see Sneed rise to become the elite player that Notre Dame thought he was when he was South Carolina\u2019s Mr. Football coming out of high school.<\/p>\n

Kiser also sees a difference in Sneed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can just see the maturity coming with him,\u201d Kiser said of Sneed on Rivals.com<\/em>. \u201cAnd that\u2019s always been the issue. He\u2019s always had all the talent, but (he\u2019s adding) the maturity with it and the confidence. Competition creates a great culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo Credit: Greg Swiercz \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Notre Dame junior linebacker Jaylen Sneed arrived in South Bend with lofty expectations. A blue-chip prospect out of Hilton Head, South Carolina, and a four-star recruit, Sneed is poised to show that he can translate his potential into tangible results on the field this season. As a sophomore last year, Sneed appeared in all 13 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4854,"featured_media":62521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10906,11],"tags":[8404,9508,9143,8487,8063,33141,8713,33960,259],"class_list":["post-62515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cfb","category-independents","tag-drayk-bowen","tag-fbs-independents","tag-jaiden-ausberry","tag-jaylen-sneed","tag-jd-bertrand","tag-kyngstonn-viliamu-asa","tag-marist-lifuau","tag-max-bullough","tag-notre-dame-fighting-irish"],"modified_by":"Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4854"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}