Tag: Jack Kiser

Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts named third-best safety in college football

Time for him to go out and prove it.

Notre Dame figures to rely on its defense once again to win football games in 2024. It’s hard to dispute that given that there’s some future NFL talent on that side of the ball. Among that talent is safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag], who many currently project to be taken as high as the third round in the 2025 draft.

Big Game Boomer, college football’s list aficionado on social media, has released his list of the top 50 safeties in college football entering the upcoming season. Let’s just say Watts will be the best safety on either side of the ball at least during every regular-season game for the Irish this year:

Big Game Boomer already had reserved spots on his respective position lists for [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag], [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag], [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] and [autotag]RJ Oben[/autotag]. Most recently, he has put transfer Jordan Clark on his nickel/slot corners list:

So yeah, this defense is gonna be good. Let’s hope the offense can support it.

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Benjamin Morrison third, Jack Kiser ninth on respective position lists

Does this excite you?

Despite the hopes for Notre Dame’s offense, it appears the defense once again will the program’s primary strength in 2024. This is not only because that’s how the program traditionally has been, but some real quality talent is on that side of the ball. College football diehards have taken notice of that.

Big Game Boomer is known on social media for making lists, particularly relating to college football. The time has come to list the top 50 players at each position entering the upcoming season.

Big Game Boomer released the list for linebackers Sunday, and a familiar name for Irish fans ranked highly:

The next day, the list for cornerbacks came out, and another Notre Dame name was even higher up:

Morrison isn’t a surprise as he’s widely expect to be picked early in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft. Kiser could be drafted on the second or third day depending on how well he builds his stock this season. Either way, Irish fans have reason for excitement.

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Veteran Notre Dame Linebacker Seen as 2025 NFL Draft Sleeper

A rising, or Kising star for Notre Dame.

If it feels like linebacker [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag] has been on Notre Dame’s football roster forever, it’s because he practically has.

Kiser was part of Notre Dame’s 2019 recruiting class, meaning he played three seasons under Brian Kelly before the last two for Marcus Freeman.  He’s back for his sixth and final year this year thanks to the Covid-19 exemption, and one NFL draft analyst thinks it couldn’t be anymore perfect of timing for him.

“Kiser has made a living at Notre Dame off “right place, right time” football. He’s instinctive and active and has filled up the stat sheet thanks to that ability. The 6-1, 223-pound senior had 62 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble and an interception last season from his middle linebacker spot.

“Kiser is all over the place for them” said an AFC North area scout who has evaluated Notre Dame. “I love his read-and-react ability. The hip flexibility is my biggest question, but he has pretty good speed in space.”

“The 2024 linebacker class didn’t produce a first-round pick. Kiser will be hoping to change that in 2025.” – Matt Miller, ESPN

Miller named Kiser as one of 14 players he views as potential sleepers in next year’s NFL draft.

Kiser will have a slight position role in 2024, moving from rover to the weakside linebacker which will amount to more field time for him.  With more field time comes more production and with more production hopefully comes higher draft stock.

Personally, and this isn’t a knock on Kiser in any way as his veteran presence will be important, but with what Marcus Freeman and company have brought in talent wise at the linebacker position, Kiser will have to continue to play at a high level just to stay on the field as Notre Dame’s linebackers are quickly turning into one of the best in the country.

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Notre Dame’s JD Bertrand named First-Team Academic All-American

The captain is quite smart.

[autotag]JD Bertrand[/autotag] was a captain at Notre Dame the past two years. Somehow, that didn’t take the linebacker away from his studies enough for his grades to suffer. In fact, he absolutely thrived in the classroom, and now, he’s been recognized for that.

Bertrand has been named a First-Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators. He’s the 37th Irish player to be so honored and the first since [autotag]Drue Tranquill[/autotag] in 2016 and 2017. Other Irish honorees over the years include [autotag]Mike Golic Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag], [autotag]John Carlson[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Theismann[/autotag].

Bertrand was recognized by virtue of earning a 3.62/3.74 GPA. He also was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team alongside [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag] and [autotag]Davis Sherwood[/autotag]. There are some smart players on the Irish indeed.

Bertand’s current focus is preparing for the NFL draft. Whoever picks him, if anybody, will be getting someone with intelligence and leadership qualities. Hopefully, those will be on full display at the next level.

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Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser will return in 2024

Good news.

Amidst all the talk of Notre Dame players leaving via the transfer portal, it’s nice to hear about someone coming back for once. [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag] announced on social media Wednesday that he is returning to the Irish for the 2024 season. While it wasn’t the most flashy such announcement ever made, the important thing is the Irish are getting the linebacker for another season:

Kiser already has surpassed his career high this season with 59 tackles, good for third on the team. He also has one sack, one tackle for loss, one interception and one forced fumble. The 10 tackles he had against Central Michigan are a career high.

With the Irish already looking different for both the Sun Bowl and the 2024 season, a little continuity on the defensive side of the ball should help. After all, somebody needs to help let the incoming freshmen and transfers know what playing for Notre Dame is all about.

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Notre Dame statistical leaders through 11 games

Hopefully, these players can end the regular season on a high note.

Notre Dame has one game left in the regular season against Stanford. Good luck finding a way to watch it on the Pac-12 Network, but that’s a topic for another day. Right now, let’s focus on who is most likely to help the Irish beat the Cardinal.

Statistically, here’s who is likely to factor in whether the Irish can get revenge for last year’s defeat in South Bend:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through 10 games

Here’s who to look for against Wake Forest.

Notre Dame has two games left to improve the quality of the bowl it will play in. That might not mean much given that the New Year’s Six bowls are out of play, but it still is something to shoot for. The first of these contests comes against Wake Forest.

Here are the players statistically leading the Irish going into their home finale, one of which knows the Demon Deacons very well:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through nine games

Here’s who to watch for in the next game.

Notre Dame is riding high after winning its past couple of games. Now, it will visit a Clemson team that looks nothing like it did the past few years. The Irish have to feel pretty good about their chances. Wouldn’t you?

Here are the statistical leaders for the Irish heading into November:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through eight games

In case you forgot after the week off.

Notre Dame has had an extra week to enjoy the blow it dealt to USC’s season. Now, it’s back to business with Pittsburgh coming to South Bend. With the gauntlet portion of the schedule behind the Irish, this hopefully will be the easiest game they’ve had to look forward to in a month.

For those who need refreshing after the week off, here are the Irish’s major statistical leaders:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through seven games

Having lost two of its past three, Notre Dame officially has little left to play for. Before it can enjoy its first of two bye weeks, it must first deal with yet another ranked undefeated in USC. This could get worse before it gets better. Alas, the …

Having lost two of its past three, Notre Dame officially has little left to play for. Before it can enjoy its first of two bye weeks, it must first deal with yet another ranked undefeated in USC. This could get worse before it gets better. Alas, the Irish must carry on because the schedule dictates such.

Here’s who leads the major statistical categories for the Irish: