'13 IN ATH Jaylon Smith (Notre Dame Man & Graduate)

[NDhoosier]

I deleted the game from my DVR as well, no way I could stand watching that again. It would hurt the same after I realize all the missed opportunities we had.

 

[rikkitikki08]

Jaylon is going to get better and better as the season moves along, he had a solid game. Made some pretty great open field tackles that would have helped Michigan gain 5 or 10 more yards. Kid has a hell of a future. Just Remember that was his second college football game ever, for the most part Saturday night you couldn't tell

 

[stlnd01]

He played significantly better than several teammates who have a lot more games under their belts.

 

[autry_denson]

He played significantly better than several teammates who have a lot more games under their belts.

Agreed - his athleticism stood out on saturday in a big way. Just watched the first half again and noticed multiple plays in which he appeared on the TV screen quickly and either made the play or entered into the play out of nowhere. Smith's reactions were exciting to see - the inability of the rest of the D to react to Gardner's improvisations scares me (even if we don't see another quarterback who plays that well on the ground and in the air all year).

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

How many tackles did he have?

 

[Irishbounty28]

I just watched the game again today, and thought that he played pretty well. Made some mistakes as would be expected from a freshman, but overall is ridiculously athletic.

One thing I noticed was during the first half when Gardner audibled at the goal line, and ran in for the touchdown on the option. During this play you could see Jaylon reacting to the adjustment and trying to inform the other players on defense to adjust. It looked to me as if he understood what look they were getting and what to do. Just something I noticed watching a second time, is he looks to have a great mind for the game as well.

 

[scUM Hater]

Just trying to think back to Manti's first two games he started and how he looked compared to Jaylon. Any thoughts?

 

[md_bennett]

Manti looked out of place a lot year 1 but also didn't start until half way through the year. But I would say that had more to do with inept defensive coaching at the time than talent. I would say Jaylon looks better at this stage but still has a long way to go - even discounting the different position argument. He is going to be a great one if he stays healthy and hungry.

 

[Irishbounty28]

Just trying to think back to Manti's first two games he started and how he looked compared to Jaylon. Any thoughts?

I think they have such different roles in their positions it is hard to compare. Similar production otherwise.

Manti first two games:

Nevada - 2 solo, 0 asst, 2 total
Michigan - 1 solo, 1 asst, 2 total, 1 tfl

Jaylon first two games:

Temple - 0 solo, 1 asst, 1 total
Michigan - 4 solo, 1 asst, 5 total, 1 pd

As was stated above Manti didn't start until the Washington game that first year.

His first full game stats were as follows:

Washington - 2 solo, 8 asst, 10 total
USC - 4 solo, 4 asst, 8 total

 

[NDdomer2]

Notre Dame football: The Jaylon Smith file | The Journal Gazette

 

[NDFAN22]

Obviously he has a long way to go but I have been pleased in just the short amount of time this year.

 

[Luckylucci]

For a freshman he's playing well. However he lost contain and should have been able to make a play on D. Williams first rushing TD after Rees's second INT.

 

[md_bennett]

For a freshman he's playing well. However he lost contain and should have been able to make a play on D. Williams first rushing TD after Rees's second INT.

I think he would tell you the same thing. When I watched the replay he wasn't really "losing contain" so much as a blocker got just enough of a hit on him to make him lose his balance and he had to spin around. A nice recovery, but just not in time to catch up.

 

[Wild Bill]

He got beat on that TD. In the 3rd quarter they ran a similar play. He took out the block and made the play. Kid plays his heart out and he's improving with each snap. It'll be fun to watch him play the next three or four years.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

He got beat on that TD. In the 3rd quarter they ran a similar play. He took out the block and made the play. Kid plays his heart out and he's improving with each snap. It'll be fun to watch him play the next three or four years.

You mean three years... Right?

 

[Wild Bill]

You mean three years... Right?

I'd guess three too.

Three or four, whatever is best for the kid.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Love the way he looks to this point. Especially when he makes mistakes and corrects them in the same game as noted above. It would be great if he could turn into the spark plug this D needs. Don't be afraid to show that excitement when you make a good play.

 

[IrishLion]

Love the way he looks to this point. Especially when he makes mistakes and corrects them in the same game as noted above. It would be great if he could turn into the spark plug this D needs. Don't be afraid to show that excitement when you make a good play.

This is the most awesome thing to see when Jaylon plays. As you guys say, he doesn't make the same mistake twice. He may overrun one tackle, or look out of position at some point early in the game, but you will never find yourself asking why Jaylon messed something up a second time.

Not to pile on other players, but some examples might be asking multiple times why BJax doesn't turn his head to look for the ball in coverage, or asking why Grace is taking a poor angle and looking at the ground while he runs. I can point to multiple occassions each game where these guys make these mistakes. So far, Jaylon doesn't make these obvious mistakes very often, and rarely repeats them.

 

[Irish#1]

For a freshman he's playing well. However he lost contain and should have been able to make a play on D. Williams first rushing TD after Rees's second INT.

I also seem to remember a certain ILB that made some mistakes his freshman year once he got some reps. I think he turned out okay.

 

[ACamp1900]

I also seem to remember a certain ILB that made some mistakes his freshman year once he got some reps. I think he turned out okay.

Vernaglia played his freshman year??

 

[Luckylucci]

I also seem to remember a certain ILB that made some mistakes his freshman year once he got some reps. I think he turned out okay.

I hear ya, for a freshman and playing against the competition he is I have been very happy. However, we've been talking for the last few weeks about why our defense isn't as good as last year and its small details or one single play like that. The harsh truth was that resulted in 7 pts for Oklahoma. I fully expect him to correct those mistakes and get better every week.

 

[Cackalacky]

Vernaglia played his freshman year??

You are thinking of McDonald.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

My quick analysis of jaylons play last night...

He's going to be a freak.

He runs like a corner and he seems to be getting better and better at reading and reacting to plays properly.

I'm excited to see how good he's going to be before it's all said and done.

 

[Cackalacky]

Should have gotten the game ball if he did not.

 

[OCIrish]

I don't know about game ball, but he played by far his best game in an Irish uniform!!!! His closing speed is just something you cannot teach, his instincts are great, his biggest problem, is his reaction......he'll get there, though!!!

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Kelly said it all. (This is what I like about Kelly.) Combining two questions from the post game. Kelly started answering both one way, then changed direction. (Yes there are plenty of things I don't like.)

About the defense. ASU was a downfield team, and TKelly, though a dual-threat quarterback, he is really a drop back, pocket kinda guy. This allowed the defense to do it's pass rush thing. [This means our D matched up better against ASU's O, than OU, or MSU.] In other words, in the scheme of things, ND's D productivity has been less an effort or play calling thing for the last couple of weeks, than a we have QB's that get the ball out of their hands in 1.75 seconds. So instead of offer that as an excuse, he waited until the boys established that they were back, and explained it.

What did he say about Jaylon? He said that in just a handful of games Jaylon has become such a force that ASU felt the need to put a receiver or running back, out there in addition to his regular man, to crack back on him, to keep him from setting the edge. Look at ASU's patterns. They were running them with one man less (than say OU), most of the time. That extra man was being kept in to crack back on Jaylon. There were two plays where he really got caught inside and didn't seal the edge. The went for some yards. But even though he got caught inside, there were more stunning plays where he absolutely evaded the block, and ran ASU's speed and skill into the ground. Particularly with the play against Kelly, you could see Kelly reacting to the closing speed of Jaylon. I saw Smith do this to Whitmer's quarterback last year in a high school game. I bet if that kid was watching, he was probably pretty glad he threw it away and found a piece of sod to hide behind, too!

 

[50milesSE ND]

All I can say is I feel fortunate to get this great kid!

 

[Irishnuke]

Should have gotten the game ball if he did not.

Shembo

 

[Redbar]

Was all over the Jumbo screen yesterday evening, really had a coming out party in Dallas. Jaylon was all over the field, he has grown so much in just a handful of games, I'm really excited to watch his college career up close. Special guy.

 

[rtrn2glory]

Should have gotten the game ball if he did not.

did you not notice brindza in the kicking game? one bad field goal attempt and the rest of the night was brilliant kicking, punting, and kicking off.

hands down game ball if not him TJ Jones