SOUTH BEND — A full month has passed since Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman walked up to linebacker Jaylen Sneed and reminded him this is already his third spring practice in the program.
“Here we go,” Freeman told him. “It’s your time. Let’s go.”
The former five-star recruit from Hilton Head Island, S.C., seemingly got the message.
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Defensive coordinator Al Golden, speaking after Saturday’s closed scrimmage, gave solid marks to Sneed for his work this spring.
“Mature, settling in, fun to be around,” Golden said. “Serious and focused. Much more consistent. It’s slowing down for him. Starting to see him do a lot of things well. He’s talented, and he’s starting to turn it into skill.”
Now listed at 6-foot-1 and 218 pounds, Sneed is coming off a 14-tackle season that included his first career start (against Navy in Dublin, Ireland) and his first career sack. The latter came in the October trouncing of USC and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.
After carving out a niche in third-down subpackages, Sneed could be asked to do much more as a redshirt sophomore.
“We’ve got to get him to his peak here pretty soon,” Golden said. “He’s got length. He’s sudden. He can cover in space. He can blitz. On third down, he can move around. Is he covering the back? Is he rushing the quarterback? Is he a spy? Can he drop from wherever he’s aligned?”
Golden shook his head and smiled.
“What I’m describing is hard,” he said. “If one person can do that, that’s pretty good. And he can. I love his attitude right now. Physically, he’s grown. Mentally, he’s grown.”
Former NFL linebacker Max Bullough, promoted from graduate assistant to Sneed’s position coach this offseason, has been demanding more from Sneed as well.
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“For him, and he knows this, it’s just: ‘How can I maintain a high level of focus?’ ” Bullough said in late February. “When he’s locked in and he’s focused and he’s in the meetings paying attention, in practice not worrying about school or anything, he’s great.
“He’s in a great stance, he’s got great eye control, knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s a really smart kid.”
Making that jump from tantalizing reserve to game-changing weapon will require another level of dedication and attention.
“To him, it’s 100% can I maintain that level of focus throughout the duration of whatever it is?” Bullough said. “Whether it’s school, whether it’s whatever; it doesn’t matter. When you come out here, it is what it is. For him that’s his biggest thing, day after day: Consistency.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and is on social media @MikeBerardino.
