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Notre Dame vs. Navy snap counts, participation chart: Defense

IMG_7504by:Jack Soble08/27/23

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Notre Dame freshman cornerback Christian Gray attempts to tackle a Navy ball carrier with sophomore Vyper Junior Tuihalamaka giving chase. Notre Dame beat Navy 42-0 on Saturday in Dublin, Ireland. (John Crothers, Blue & Gold)

As Notre Dame flies home from Dublin, Ireland, its defense gets some much-needed rest after a job well done defending Navy’s triple option.

Here are the snap counts and run/pass splits for the Notre Dame defense in Week 0. All data is via Pro Football Focus.

Notre Dame defense

PlayerPositionSnapsStart?Run D
Snaps
Pass rush
Snaps
Coverage
Snaps
Marist LiufauLB45*3717
JD BertrandLB41*3632
DJ BrownS37*3511
Jack KiserLB34*3013
Rylie MillsDT31*2830
Howard Cross IIIDT31*2830
Benjamin MorrisonCB302802
Nana Osafo-MensahDE30*2460
Cam HartCB29*2504
Ramon HendersonS282107
Jaylen SneedLB27*2205
Jaden MickeyCB272205
Xavier WattsS27*2502
Jordan BotelhoVYP272430
Javontae Jean-BaptisteDE252230
Jason OnyeDT231860
Christian GrayCB211407
Clarence LewisNCB201307
Gabriel RubioDT191540
Junior TuihalamakaVYP141220
Joshua BurnhamVYP141040
Thomas HarperNCB121011
Antonio Carter IIS7412
Donovan HinishDT5320

Notes

• Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman was not kidding when he said preparing for Navy is vastly different than preparing for any other opponent. Case in point: the Irish came out in a 4-4-3 defense, with sophomore Jaylen Sneed as the fourth linebacker.

• 24 of the 26 defensive players on the depth chart got on the field for the Irish. The exceptions were freshman linebackers Drayk Bowen and Jaiden Ausberry. Keeping them on the bench in a 42-3 game was an interesting choice, but perhaps Notre Dame just liked the way its graduate starters were playing.

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• We’ll see if this holds true against a non-Navy opponent, but Notre Dame rotated cornerbacks Cam Hart, Benjamin Morrison and Jaden Mickey pretty evenly. Even freshman CB4 Christian Gray exceeded 20 snaps.

• Ditto safeties DJ Brown, Ramon Henderson and Xavier Watts, although Brown led the group by a margin of 10 snaps. Rhode Island graduate transfer Antonio Carter II was a distant fourth, with only seven.

• Expect Oklahoma State graduate transfer Thomas Harper to play more going forward, as Notre Dame becomes a nickel-heavy team against literally anyone else.

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