DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste Embracing Fresh Start at Notre Dame
Notre Dame needed to increase depth and talent on the defensive line entering the 2023 campaign. The Irish, like most teams, went portaling and hosted a few transfer prospects following the season.
In the end, Javontae Jean-Baptiste signed with the Irish after spending five years in Columbus with Ohio State.
Part of the pull to Notre Dame was Jean-Baptiste was familiar with defensive line coach Al Washington and graduate assistant Nick Sebastian as they were at Ohio State during his time with the Buckeyes.
Washington, who coached linebackers at Ohio State, only coached Jean-Baptiste in spurts, but the trust built in Columbus has only gotten stronger over the last 10 months.
“I’d say Coach Washington just wants the best for me so he’s pushing me in every little way,” Jean Baptiste said. “He’s just trying to push me over that extra couple of percentages just to let me know that like you’ve got to go. Sometimes you can do something good but it could be done better. You cannot get complacent where you’re at. You always have to (have) a hunger to get better.”
Some might have classified the New Jersey native as a pass rush specialist during his time at Ohio State, which Jean-Baptiste embraces, but also wants to be known as a defensive end who can also play the run.
“The tag really doesn’t bother me,” explained Jean-Baptiste. “I guess you could say I’m kind of an incomplete player. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m just out there to play ball and whatever somebody says about me is whatever they say.”
Defensive coordinator Al Golden certainly doesn’t believe Jean-Baptiste falls into just a pass rush specialist category. In fact, Notre Dame has put him in multiple positions where Jean-Baptiste has shown he’s someone who can also get physical in the trenches.
“He's also done a lot to dispel that,” Golden explained. “It's easy to say someone's raw someone's talented or someone's a pass-rush specialist. That's what all those taglines suggest, but we haven't seen that. We've seen a kid that's trying to do the tough things really well. Certainly, he plays 9-technique for us, but we ask him to play 6-technique, which is tougher. That’s head-up on the tight end. So, he's shown toughness there.”
The fresh start at Notre Dame might have been what Jean-Baptiste needed to simply reset. The season is at the halfway point and Jean-Baptiste has already been more productive than any year at Ohio State. On the year, the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder has recorded 26 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and has been credited with six hurries.
There are similarities to Ohio State, but it’s a room of different personalities and the larger role at Notre Dame has tapped into all of his skill set.
“Being able to be around the guys in the room and just to know we went through this off-season (together), and to see them and how they’re playing around me gives me full confidence to play to my best ability,” said Jean-Baptiste. “I know they’re going to do their job and I can depend on them to do their jobs, so why not do mine to the fullest.”
Through six games, there is no denying Notre Dame has one of the best defenses in the country. Sure, there are areas the Irish need to get better if they want to make noise at the end of the year and that’s the goal of the defense.
“I wouldn’t say there’s anything missing from this defense,” stated Jean-Baptiste. “I would say that we just need to keep pushing the envelope and just keep getting better. Not getting complacent about where we’re at right now. Just knowing that if everyone just keeps that constant pursuit, running to the ball, attack the football more and just bring 11 guys to the ball, we’re going to be a great defense at all times.”
And that’s the other reason Jean-Baptiste ended up in South Bend. He wanted to be part of a brotherhood.
Why? It makes everything that much easier and Jean-Baptiste is enjoying playing the game.
“It’s definitely fun,” Jean-Baptiste said of the Irish defense making plays. “It’s kind of like once you see somebody make a play, then you get excited for them. That gets you going and then you make a play and now you’re excited and it’s just like when you have a defense that kind of has a swagger and energy about it, it can kind of be very infectious and contagious, not just for the defense, but the whole team. If the defense can get pumped and get going, then that means everybody could.”
When it comes to the last 10 months, Jean-Baptiste has no regrets and he’s come to embrace everything at Notre Dame.
“Spending this year at Notre Dame has definitely been fun,” Jean-Baptiste stated. “The experience I get, the people I get to meet, the community that’s around me is definitely something that’s (been) an eye-opening experience. You get to see so much and there’s a warmth around here, being around everybody, it’s not too big. Some people may say it’s not a lot of people, but that’s what makes the most out of the opportunity coming to Notre Dame.”
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