Where Notre Dame Was & Is: Linebackers, led by a trio of veterans and little change

The second line of Notre Dame’s defense may be where this spring practice preview series’ title meets its match. The Irish linebackers’ “was” is the same as their “is.” Notre Dame returns every linebacker from its 2022 depth chart with the exception of Bo Bauer, who missed the season’s last eight games due to injury, anyway.

A trio of fifth-year seniors will lead the Irish again, but there should be more trusted depth this season after rising junior Prince Kollie and rising sophomore Jaylen Sneed both flashed in 2022.

WHERE NOTRE DAME WAS Losing Bauer to a knee injury suffered in practice in October did more damage to the Irish on a psychological level than on the field. In four-plus games, Bauer had racked up only nine tackles, though also starting the Irish punt block party with the first such deflection on the season.

Bauer was the veteran and the emotional leader of Notre Dame’s defense. Personally and anecdotally, Bauer’s investment was never more clear than in the immediate aftermath of the Irish upset of Clemson in early November. As the field filled with overjoyed fans, Bauer leaned on his crutches with his back against an elevated camera stand, limiting his exposure to a backside collision. As a handful of teammates passed by him in the celebration, memorably including both Salerno brothers, they paused long enough to pat Bauer on the shoulder.

But he could not dive further into the celebration or relish in an on-field contribution to the defining win of Marcus Freeman’s debut season. Tears were not falling down Bauer’s cheeks, but his eyes were glassy even if his smile was wide.

Without Bauer both that day and most of the season, Notre Dame leaned on JD Bertrand nearly as much as it did in 2021. The