Film Don't Lie | Bodie Kahoun

By Jamie Uyeyama

May 15, 2023

6,894

Notre Dame football might want to start a Former Safety Club because their linebacker room is filled with several who would qualify as members. Marist Liufau, Jack Kiser, Nolan Ziegler, and Jaylen Sneed are already on campus as former high school safeties and the coaching staff just added two more to the group with Teddy Rezac‍ committing last week and Bodie Kahoun‍ committing this morning.

Kahoun went through a big physical transformation over the last year where he grew two inches and gained 30 pounds. In the process he started out as a safety for his high school last fall, but switched to inside linebacker and really took off as a football prospect when that happened. A high-level lacrosse player who once was committed to Ohio State, Kahoun has not lost any of his athleticism after putting on the weight and it’s a big reason why he’s an intriguing prospect.

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 220

Projected Position: Inside linebacker

ISD Grade: 90 (4-star)

National Average Grade: 89.3 (3-star)

What he does best:

He can flat out run. His speed really pops on film and he can be a sideline to sideline player who thrives spying the quarterback.

via GIPHY

Kahoun has big time acceleration and has awesome potential as a blitzer.

via GIPHY

One thing I love about lacrosse players as football players is that they have built in reactive athleticism. He’s twitchy with strong change of direction skills. The other thing I love about lacrosse players as football players is that playing with a physical edge is natural for them. It’s evident that Kahoun brings that to the table.

via GIPHY

What he needs to improve:

I mentioned he made the move during the season from safety to inside linebacker and he looks like someone who is new to the position in terms of his recognition and instincts. He’s a raw athlete out there playing so he’s late to see things develop.

Block destruction against bigger players and being able to play fast against the inside run game where split second decisions are critical are the areas where I’d want to see him make significant progress as a senior.

Kahoun’s ceiling will be determined by how he well he is coached and how he well he takes to coaching.

What’s his ceiling?

It seems pretty obvious that Notre Dame has prioritized speed and athleticism at linebacker and it’s probably the right call based on the prospects at the position this cycle and with over half of the ball linebackers in the most recent NFL Draft being former safeties or other skill positions.

Kahoun has impressive reported testing numbers (4.57 40, 9’3” broad jump, 35 inch vertical, and 4.2 short shuttle). Those are not verified, but the athleticism shows up on the field. It’s just raw athleticism right now and needs to be refined.

Physically he has an ideal profile to be a Mike or Will linebacker at Notre Dame and he reminds me a lot of Jack Kiser. He was another really good athlete who had to make an adjustment to the play the position, but Kahoun will have a head start compared to what Kiser had by playing linebacker in high school and starting out inside, where Kiser was a safety and started out at Rover for Notre Dame.