Notre Dame LB Jaylen Sneed Showing Growth & Ready for Matchup with South Carolina
Jaylen Sneed arrived at Notre Dame last January with big expectations as he was a composite five-star prospect with athleticism and speed.
The South Carolina native needed to add weight and strength to his game, which is exactly what Sneed has done over the last year with Matt Balis.
Entering the Gator Bowl, Sneed is checking in at 220 pounds compared to the 197 pounds he arrived at last winter.
“I want definitely to be around 225, 230-ish next year. I mean working with Balis, one of the best strength coaches in the world, in the nation. He's just gotten me so much stronger. I've gotten way more powerful in my punch, able to go off the edge if I want to, able to long-arm defenders when I need to.
“It just made me a lot more physical guy, because it makes me feel stronger and like I can do it.”
Sneed admits he thought he would have gotten a few more snaps early, but when he didn’t, it only fueled his fire to make sure he did everything to get on the field.
“It was definitely tough, being an early enrollee,” explained Sneed. “First coming in and being a highly recruited guy, I did think I was going to play a little bit toward the beginning of the season, but I didn’t. It just made me want to work harder and keep becoming better because I knew that one day, I'd be able to play on the field.”
Things started to click mid-fall for Sneed and the defensive staff started to roll him out there a bit more as he played in the final three games of the season, including extended playing time against Navy.
“Definitely, about the week before Navy,” stated Sneed. “Like it all clicked for me. Me and (James Laurinaitis) were working together every day. It just started clicking and then I played in that Navy game, and I never looked back from there.”
Sneed is also quick to point out that learning from Laurinaitis has been crucial to his growth, but also priceless as the former Ohio State linebacker has been there and done that.
“I mean 10-plus-year NFL vet,” Sneed said. “I mean, there's a lot you can say about that, but just him just being there. He's like a brother to us really. Not really like hard on us. He just wants us to learn as much as we can and just teaching and always willing to help with anything — extra hours, extra film, anything.”
It’s been a year of growing from Sneed and now he’ll have a chance to show that mental and physical growth against the school his sister attends.
“I feel like I'm getting a lot more opportunities,” stated Sneed. “I'm a lot more comfortable with the defense. I feel that Coach (Al) Golden believes in me, he trusts in me. He always wanted me to be the player that I can be and it just took time.”
As for that matchup against South Carolina, Sneed has heard plenty of trash talk from his friends and family this month as he’ll face his home state’s team.
“I feel like it’s a great opportunity I get to play a hometown school,” smiled Sneed. “All my friends and family are pretty much fans of them. I can’t wait to go kick some butt.”
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