Jaiden Ausberry Excels in Rover Role as Notre Dame Silences Navy Offense

How do you stop a pesky Navy offensive attack? 

Marcus Freeman believes it starts with playing football. 

“I've seen defenses play fit ball and you know that's not my philosophy,” said Freeman. “I want to play football.” 

Notre Dame has attacked Navy since Freeman’s arrival and it’s turned the rivalry into a one-sided affair. You don’t see players sitting out of the game because they are afraid of injuries or press conferences filled with concern. 

The Fighting Irish prepare all year to face the triple-option and there’s an excitement to face the unique offense. 

“I want to make sure our guys are being aggressive,” stated Freeman. “But we have to be sound. I think that was just kind of a philosophy that I've come to from my years at Cincinnati to my years here, that just playing one defense versus the triple option, I wasn't a huge fan. That's me.  That's my opinion. 

“I want to still be aggressive and play football. I don't want our guys parallel and just playing at the -- just playing football. Give them some different looks, be able to change up timing of the dive, pitch -- the dive QB and pitch phase. Again, I think keeping them off balance offensively is  something I believe in.” 

It’s worked.

Notre Dame held Navy to just 228 total yards in Saturday’s 49-10 win.

Linebacker Jaiden Ausberry was a key piece to the Irish defensive attack as he led the team with eight tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble. 

“All week as a defense, we talked about how they're going to show us a lot of window dressing, make us communicate, move around a lot, but once the ball's snapped, this is football,” said Ausberry. “You've got to play fast, play violent, that's what we talked about all week. I really used that in the game today, and that's something that I kept on me all game.” 

Ausberry got his first taste of the triple-option last year against Navy, where he made one tackle. A few weeks later, Ausberry made seven tackles against Army. 

On Saturday, the game was much slower for Ausberry, and it helped him make plays and lead the Irish defensive attack. 

“Last year was my first time playing it, so things were moving kind of a lot faster,” Ausberry explained. “I was looking at some things that I wasn't supposed to look at on some plays.

“This is technically my third time playing against it. This year, I felt a lot faster against it. I knew what was coming.” 

Notre Dame also reintroduced the rover position for the game, moving Ausberry from his usual Will linebacker spot to the perimeter.

“The rover in that defense is probably one of the most, if not the most important position, because you're playing to the field and usually when we play a team like Navy, they like to do their pitches or their quarterback runs to the field a lot,” Ausberry stated. “You’ve got to know when the guy's going to motion, you've got to bump, when you're going to go to the post, when you're going to communicate. 

“When they get in the gun, you got to know when you're checking it, when you got to go out there and cover the guy. I would say it's a really unique role, but it's a lot of fun playing it.” 

Notre Dame also finished the night with zero penalties, which was an emphasis following the performance against Boston College, where the Irish suffered self-inflicted flags. 

And while the coaching staff emphasized discipline, Ausberry made it clear that accountability comes from within.

“I would say not even the coaches, but I feel like the players, we all hold each other accountable,” said Ausberry. “You're not going to get by even for making the smallest mistake. Somebody is always going to call you out. Nobody takes it personal because we all know that we are always trying to make each other better.

“Everybody's trying to come together to achieve one goal and that's what a team has to do. I feel like everybody has been doing a great job of holding each other accountable and taking it the right way and using it to get better.” 

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