Coach: Twin Impact Coming To Notre Dame

When he first started working with Jayson Ademilola‍ and Justin Ademilola‍, defensive line guru Peter Kafaf didn’t envision the New Jersey twins getting to where they are now, but after signing with Notre Dame on Wednesday, Kafaf is convinced the best is still ahead of them.

“They’re in great shape to go to the next level,” said Kafaf, who has worked with several elite defensive linemen in the New York/New Jersey area in recent years.

Kafaf even had the chance to meet with the twins’ future position coach, Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston.

“He shared some of the techniques that he likes,” Kafaf said of Elston. “We’re going to do a quick, little install of some additional techniques they’ll be doing. I think they’re ready for South Bend. I think they’re ready for the big-time.”

But it was a long time coming, according to Kafaf, who compared the Ademilolas’ trajectory to that of Rashan Gary, another elite New Jersey defensive lineman, who was the nation’s number one overall prospect when he headed to Michigan out of the Class of 2016.

“When I started working with them, I honestly didn’t see them getting to this level,” Kafaf acknowledged. “Rashan was just like polishing gold. You knew what you had.

“Jayson and Justin was like going from coal to gold. They really transformed themselves. Of any kids I’ve coached, they have come the farthest and I’m extraordinarily proud of them.”

Kafaf said Jayson in particular, “probably exceeded my expectations” more than any other player he's worked with.

After earning a trip to The Opening Finals in Oregon this past summer, Jayson shined, reaching the finals of the linemen competition.

“That’s pretty big stuff,” Kafaf said. “Quite honestly, from where he started – which was anonymity, he had a bunch of issues in his ability to move and his total approach wasn’t there and his intensity wasn’t necessarily there. For him to start as a kid who couldn’t get into his stance, he didn’t really know what he was doing and he was goofing off with his brother, I gave him maybe a 1-in-10 chance to end up where he ended up.

“Physically, he was there, but physically is only one box that you check. To watch him play at the level he’s playing now, from a technique standpoint, he’s right there with Rashaan Gary, from a technique and approach standpoint.”

Kafaf explained he wasn’t trying to make a complete comparison between the two.

“Rashan’s physical gifts are just freakish,” he said. “Like Quenton Nelson is a freak on offense, Rashan Gary is a freak on defense. He looks like a running back, he looks like a 290-pound running back.

“Not to take away from Jayson, but to let you know what I think of his approach with his hands and his approach to the game with his maturity, I’d put him right up there with Rashan.”

Justin didn’t make The Opening Finals, but that may have been as much about the setup of the camp as anything.

“His physical size didn’t allow him to compete at that level at Nike with the way they set those drills up,” Kafaf said. “When you go to Nike camps, the edge guys are 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4, 220, 225 pounds. They’re these tall, lanky kids and that’s not Justin. He’s a 6-2 kind of squat player.

“I think the way Notre Dame is going to use him is really going to fit his game.”

The twins were still underrated when they committed to the Irish the summer before their junior years, but at the time, Kafaf predicted they would blow up in a major way that fall. They did and they took even more strides as seniors at St. Peter’s Prep this past season.

“They performed pretty darn well this year, both of them,” he said. “They just matured, which happens going into your senior year. You expect that. What really stood out this year was their intensity and the way they always swarmed to the ball. That’s something that’s coachable, but not coachable. That was the number one thing that really stood out and I had nothing to do with that. That was all them. Just their ferocity of getting to the quarterback and getting to the ball. Wherever the ball was they went after it.

“Justin, in particular, at the linebacker position, his pursuit was excellence. What really stood out to me with him is his nose for the ball. He has an outstanding, outstanding nose for the ball. He never gives up on a play and he lays the wood. When he hits you, you’re hit. Justin’s attributes are his ferocity, the angles he takes and how hard he hits when he arrives.

“Jayson’s hands, I don’t know there was a kid who blocked him one-on-one. He just dissected everybody. Jayson will be ready to take the field. He’ll be ready to go when he shows up. He’ll definitely compete to be in that rotation.”

In fact, Kafaf expects both brothers to see the field for the Irish in 2018.

“To what degree? I’m not in the business of predicting from high school to college. I think they both have a very good shot of getting on the field.”