Film Don't Lie | Jaiden Ausberry
Notre Dame has built a very good defense, but they aren’t settling for very good. They want to be great and are stacking up blue-chip defenders like Voltron. The latest is linebacker Jaiden Ausberry, a player who normally would have ended up in the SEC.
It’s a huge win to add him to Drayk Bowen and Preston Zinter at linebacker in this class. He’s a big time talent who could be a fit at Rover or Will for the Irish.
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 210
Projected Position: Linebacker
ISD Grade: 93 (4-star)
National Average Grade: 93.4 (4-star)
What he does best:
Ausberry plays fast. He’s a twitchy athlete who explodes in pursuit of the football. He can trigger and get downhill in a hurry and should be someone who makes plenty of tackles behind the line like on this play where he shoots the gap of the vacating guard.
Blitzing is a skill. Some players are just better at it than others. It helps if a player is explosive like Ausberry, but he is able to make plays as a blitzer because he knows how to slip blocks when he is in the backfield.
Ausberry has the traits to be a factor on all three downs. He shows good awareness in coverage and has the athleticism to match up with running backs in man to man.
What he needs to improve:
If he’s kept clean, he’s going to be able to make a lot of plays. His hands/block destruction needs to get better, though.
He’s a better player when asked to attack rather than read and react. There are plays where you see him diagnose things quickly and others where he takes a beat. I think part of the pause on some plays is him waiting to engage with the blocker. That is something he can and should get better with as he develops at Notre Dame.
What’s his ceiling?
I would put him in the same prospect category as Prince Kollie and Jaylen Sneed.
I don’t envision him as someone who will be plug and play as a freshman, especially given the linebackers that Notre Dame has recruited in front of him. He also has some physical development he needs to do once he gets to campus, but he’s yet another twitchy athlete to throw into the mix at linebacker.
The player he reminds me of is a former Notre Dame recruiting target, Cam McGrone. He was someone who relied on his speed and abilities as a blitzer to thrive as an inside linebacker for Michigan and Ausberry has the potential to be the same kind of playmaker for Notre Dame.
Who he could be:
Former Michigan linebacker Cam McGrone
Black Notre Dame Fighting Irish Backpack
