Ausberry Doing Anything He Can to Get on the Field
One of the big changes that Al Golden made when he arrived at Notre Dame was making “nickel” a bigger part of the defense. Rather than the Rover being the nickel defender who frequently plays out in space, the Irish would match personnel with a slot corner.
Maybe that was partly because they didn’t have someone like a Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah anymore to fill that role, but it was mostly because the Irish needed to be able to match up in coverage better. That meant less snaps for the linebackers in general and far less plays where the Rover would be on the field.
Jaiden Ausberry has been repping at Rover this spring. He’s also repping inside at Will and he’s been at the “Aztec” position in Notre Dame’s Spear package with Adon Shuler as well. The coaching staff has moved him around because they are looking to find a way to get him on the field more, which explains everything you need to know about the kind of spring he is having. “
So, Jaiden is a guy that, quite frankly, he's in the conversation of... he's put himself in a position both physically and mentally where he makes us as a coaching staff stop the film and say, 'Alright, how do we implement and use this guy?'” linebackers coach Max Bullough explained earlier this week. “And that's because of the way practices, because of the way that he's playing, because of what he's built himself up to in the weight room.
“So, my point is we had the conversation where we've got to find a spot for this guy in that field. Right now, to be honest, it's a few different spots, but he's done a great job with it.”
Ausberry is flashing. He’s making his presence known out there on the field. The next step is doing that play after play.
“He's just got to continue day in and day out to be consistent,” Bullough said. “We have one or two good plays. We can't have that third one be a bad one. “
And we'll go watch the tape today (Tuesday). I think it was better today, but to me, it's the consistency. And it's hard because he's playing different positions. But that's what we expect, and that's what he knows he has to do to play.”
Ausberry is making his mark this spring after redshirting in his first season. That’s not an easy thing for most players like him. He was a dominant player in high school and to go from playing all the time to working with the scout team can be a difficult transition. Ausberry isn’t an exception.
“At first, I was a little bit down,” Ausberry admitted. “I really didn't expect it, but then I started to really embrace the role and take it as every rep is an opportunity, especially going against our offense, going against Joe Alt and Blake Fisher, Audric Estimé. Just really embracing that and trying to maximize my full potential going against them.
“So, as the season went on, I started to really maximize those reps, and it actually started to be really fun. Like, I would always look forward to scout team, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, because that's when we’d be in pads. So, I really always looked forward to it as the season went on last year.”
That experience ultimately helped him. Coming in as an early enrollee last spring helped as well, even if it didn’t lead to him playing as a freshman. Everything is different in a good way this spring and things are beginning to click for him.
“I would say the game slowed down 100%,” Ausberry said of the difference between last spring and this one. “The plays are a lot easier. The game is moving slow. I feel like my techniques have gotten better. My mind is starting to really process the game better. So, I think I made a tremendous jump from last spring to now, which is really good.”
One of the players Ausberry tries to model his game after is Owusu-Koramoah. What made the Butkus award winner so special is that he could do multiple things at a high level and Ausberry is trying to fill a similar role by working at multiple positions.
That’s something Jack Kiser has stressed to Ausberry as well. Showing the versatility to play multiple positions is important for anyone who plays Rover in Al Golden’s defense.
”My big thing is I’ve been put into this position where if you’re a Rover on a nickel team, it’s hard to get on the field,” Kiser explained. “You don’t want to pigeonhole yourself into just being a Rover.
“(Jaiden) Ausberry has really taken that to heart. He’s trying to do anything he can to get on the field, whether that’s in sub-packages or even on third down, nickel or playing inside - whatever he can do. It’s important to have that mindset and not pigeonhole yourself into one position, especially when you’re a nickel team and that Rover doesn’t get on the field as much.”
Ausberry had to play multiple positions on defense in high school, so this isn’t something he isn’t used to. He’s doing everything he can to show the value he can bring to this Notre Dame defense and that’s important with the competition at linebacker.
He believes we’ll see a rotation of players and he wants to prove he can fit wherever the defense needs him.
“We're really versatile. We all can play all the positions. So, I really think they're going to be rotating us in a lot of spots. Especially me. They’ve got me at nickel, rover, inside, dropping at safety, so I think they could really rotate all.”
Whatever position it is, Ausberry just wants to be on the field. He’s giving himself a good shot of doing that this fall with a breakout spring.
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