Tag: Marist Liufau

Quick look at 2024 NFL draft landscape at linebacker for Packers

The Packers need linebackers. The best avenue for adding at this point? The 2024 draft.

Brian Gutekunst went to the market to sign a veteran linebacker to pair with Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie. Unfortunately, Green Bay’s general manager discovered that the linebacker aisle was picked over, like the toy aisle the day before Christmas. 

With the linebacker market barren, the Packers will likely need to trade for a veteran or use the draft to bolster the linebacker room at 1265 Lombardi Avenue. Let’s take a look at some linebackers that the Packers could target in the 2024 NFL draft.

Potential Target at 25

Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M

Cooper is an explosive mover and a true difference-maker. He can impact the game as a run defender, as a blitzer, or in coverage. If Cooper were to land in Green Bay he’d be the best linebacker on the roster, and no that’s not a shot at Walker. It’s a credit to Cooper. 

Cooper may be viewed as a bit of a reach in the first round, but the same thing can be said about Eric Stokes, Quay Walker, etc. Cooper would be a home run pick at 41, but Gutekunst may see the value in taking the impactful linebacker with the 25th overall pick. 

Day 2 Targets

Cedric Gray, UNC

Gray was all over the field this past season for the Tar Heels. He recorded 121 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and five sacks. The UNC linebacker works his way through the trash against the run and has the movement skills to hold up in coverage.

Junior Colson, Michigan

Mr. Always in the Right Place at the Right Time, Colson would be a steady presence in the middle of Green Bay’s defense. Colson is comfortable dropping in space and does a good job of reading the quarterback’s eyes. He has the range as a run defender to shut-down outside runs and is a reliable tackler. He is quick to diagnose and beats blockers to the spot. 

Payton Wilson, NC State

Every team could use a Payton Wilson. If he had a clean bill of health (two leg injuries), he’d be in the Potential Target at 25 tier with Cooper. The NC State product is the complete package at linebacker. He’s a physical, downhill defender against the run and he has the movement skills to hold up in coverage.

Day 3 Targets

Edefuan Ulofoshio, Washington

From walk-on to captain, Ulofoshio had quite the journey during his time at Washington. The Alaska native is all heart and his motor is always running. He trusts his eyes and is quick to react to meet ball carriers in the hole. The Husky linebacker shows good instincts in coverage.

Jordan Magee, Temple

Magee isn’t a hulking linebacker, but he has the functional strength to destroy blocks and disrupt the action. He’s a smart player that is quick to read and react. The Temple linebacker gets good depth on his drops and looks comfortable moving laterally. Magee logged 307 snaps on special teams during his collegiate career and could carve out a role in that regard immediately as a rookie. 

Marist Liufau, Notre Dame

Liufau plays like his hair is on fire and is relentless in his pursuit of the ball carrier. He has the sideline-to-sideline quickness and is comfortable dropping into space.

Trevin Wallace, Kentucky

Wallace is an outstanding athlete with the sideline-to-sideline range to chase down ball carriers. A former track athlete, Wallace is the type of prospect that Gutekunst has a history of targeting. If his instincts ever catch up to his athletic traits, Wallace could develop into quite the difference-maker at the next level.

Curtis Jacobs, Penn State

A team will roll the dice on the Penn State linebacker’s athletic traits. With his quickness and his experience on special teams, it’s a safe bet that he could develop into a core player on special teams. Jacobs is a twitched-up athlete with the movement skills to hold up on coverage. 

JD Bertrand, Notre Dame

Bertrand is a cerebral player who trusts his eyes and is quick to read the action. He’s a downhill player, who does a good job of sifting through the trash to locate the ball carrier. With his instincts, relentless motor and special teams experience, Bertrand would be a solid addition to Green Bay’s linebacker room. 

NFL Draft: Notre Dame’s Marist Liufau would help Ravens fill LB void

the Ravens should consider Marist Liufau of Notre Dame, as a middle round pick to help shore up Inside Linebacker depth.

For every significant free agent departure in March, a new need is created to address at the draft in April. Jonathan Queen has left the Baltimore Ravens for the divisional rival Pittsburgh Steelers, leaving a new void at inside linebacker.

Queen will be tough to replace, as he was the only player in the NFL with 15+ QB pressures (18) and five pass breakups last season. He’s never missed a game during his four years in the league, and this past season, he set a new career high in tackles with 133.

This isn’t the most robust class for ILBs, and Baltimore likely won’t find the heir apparent to Queen in the draft, but they could rebuild depth at the ILB position during the middle rounds of the draft. With that in mind, the Ravens should consider Marist Liufau of Notre Dame.

As it is currently the season of Lent, it’s worth noting just how fitting it is that a guy named Marist played his college ball at the nation’s most well-known Catholic program.

And Notre Dame has an established pipeline to Baltimore. It may not be as extensive as ND’s pipeline to the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers, but it’s substantial.

Three former Fighting Irish are on the roster: S Kyle Hamilton, C Sam Mustipher, and LT Ronnie Stanley. Hamilton could be on his way to becoming the best overall safety in football.

Stanley was once potentially in that conversation before a rash of injuries caused his quality to drop considerably. Mustipher is a player who has shuttled between the active roster and the practice squad.

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, many people will soon be getting a little more Irish, and perhaps the Ravens could as well by taking Liufau in a middle round next month. Walter Football ranks him the #2 overall prospect at his position, but he still often grades out as a late day two, early day-three prospect.

Inside linebackers are typically not valued as highly as their outside counterparts, mainly because today’s NFL pays a premium for pass rushers, and most OLBs (or at least the good ones) possess that skill set.

 

10 players to watch on Reese’s Senior Bowl National team’s defense

From Penn State CB Kalen King to UCLA OLB Laiatu Latu, these 10 players from the National team at the Senior Bowl are ones to keep an eye on

One of the most important events on the National Football League calendar is the Senior Bowl. Held the week after the conference championship games, it is the true beginning of the NFL draft cycle.

Not only do scouts and analysts like us get to see over 100 draft prospects in one place competing against each other, but it’s also an opportunity for analysts and personnel alike to get together and have discussions about a number of topics.

As we look forward to this year’s Senior Bowl, managing editor Tyler Forness will be there in person to break everything down.

During the week, these 10 players on the National Team’s defense are worth keeping your eye on.

Who is missing from Notre Dame in Sun Bowl via opt-out?

These names could be in the Sun Bowl, but they won’t be.

It’s become increasingly common for college football players to opt out of inconsequential bowl games for one reason or another. With the College Football Playoff field tripling in size next year, that could solve the problem a bit, at least as far as the number of team this practice impacts. This is the future of college football, even if you don’t agree with it.

With Notre Dame facing Oregon State in the Sun Bowl, several Irish players are missing, either having entered the transfer portal or choosing to focus on preparing for the NFL draft. That means many of the Irish’s leaders in each major statistical category will be absent, so it’s not worth listing a bunch of names that won’t play.

Instead, we’re going to list the percentage of each major statistic that will be missing from the Irish during the final game of the season because of opt-outs. Hopefully, this won’t discourage you from watching the game too much:

Notre Dame football senior linebacker will skip Sun Bowl to prep for NFL

The Irish won’t see a fan favorite linebacker suit up again

It has become commonplace in college football for players to opt out of the bowl game and prepare for the NFL. Notre Dame is no different.

The Irish saw their third-leading linebacker tackler, [autotag]Marist Liufau[/autotag] decided that it is in his best interest to opt out of the Sun Bowl and prepare for the [autotag]NFL draft[/autotag].

I have been a big fan of the Hawaii native’s game, he plays like his hair is on fire, going 100% every single play. Sometimes it’s not the best, but you can’t teach the intensity that Liufau brings every single snap. Over the course of his Notre Dame playing career, he racked up 117 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble and 3 recovered.

As much as we hate not being able to see Liufau in the Blue and Gold one more time, we wish him the best at the next level.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

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Notre Dame linebacker declares for NFL draft

All the best in the NFL!

Notre Dame will be down a linebacker in the Sun Bowl (Dec. 29) as Marist Liufau has declared for the NFL draft and chosen to opt out of the game.

Liufau played in all 12 games this season, recorded three sacks, and totaled 44 tackles.  He had a career high 51 tackles a season ago.

Liufau certainly has a high motor and improved this past season but can at times be his own worst enemy when trying to do to much.  That said, he’s an impressive athlete and a talented player that Notre Dame will have to replace for the Sun Bowl and for 2024.

The good news is the linebacker recruiting has been lights out in recent years.

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:

The potential cheap shot of Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson has been found

Was this the hit TreVeyon Henderson referred to as a ‘cheap shot?’

If you listened to [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] running back [autotag]TreVeyon Henderson[/autotag]’s interview following this weekend’s win over Wisconsin, he mentioned he took a cheap shot against Notre Dame.

Thankfully, internet sleuths went back and may have found the play Henderson was referring to. The clip was found by [autotag]Josh Poloha[/autotag] of Eleven Warriors, and he believes it was this hit that the Buckeye took against Irish linebacker [autotag]Marist Liufau[/autotag].

It’s almost impossible to know if this was really the hit that Henderson mentions, but it is a viscous one nonetheless. You be the judge, take a look at the video shared on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

Do you think this was the hit? Or was it another one?

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

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: