Listed measurements: 6-foot-⅛, 215 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: An early-enrolled freshman, Ausberry has all four seasons of eligibility remaining.
Depth Chart: Ausberry is unlikely to crack Notre Dame’s two-deep this season, despite a shallow room at linebacker. Expect scout-team duty from him for 2023.
Recruiting: A consensus four-star and Under Armour All-American, Ausberry was the No. 13 outside linebacker and No. 206 overall prospect in the class of 2023, per rivals.com. Perhaps more notable, he is from a town in Louisiana called Baton Rouge, as in, the home of LSU. Ausberry always leaned toward leaving his hometown, despite the local wants.
Alabama, Michigan and Texas A&M were all also included in his list of finalists.
Big win for Marcus Freeman and Al Washington landing four-star LB Jaiden Ausberry out of Baton Rouge.
— Matt Freeman (@mattfreemanISD) August 4, 2022
How close is Ausberry's high school to LSU's Tiger Stadium?
A 4-minute drive. pic.twitter.com/KHiOOBDlyY
WHAT WAS SAID WHEN AUSBERRY SIGNED IN DECEMBER
“Ausberry’s fast and decisive play could make him an inside linebacker, a thought somewhat prompted by all three of these [December linebacker signees] being considered outside players. …
“Ausberry is long enough to get his arms around a ball carrier as quickly as his chest hits him. That fast style will presumably need to be fine-tuned in coverage, but that is to be expected of nearly all high school linebackers.”
RELATED READING: Notre Dame beats LSU for four-star linebacker Jaiden Ausberry out of Baton Rouge
QUOTES
“I’ve been really learning all three of the (linebacker) positions, Rover, Mike and Will,” Ausberry said late this past winter. “Hope to potentially become a three-down ‘backer, but right now, I think they’re looking at putting me at Rover.”
Studying three roles in the playbook was certainly part of why he wanted to arrive at college a semester early.
“Coming here early, getting a head start on school, getting the playbook early, I think that’s really going to help me play early my freshman year.”
Ausberry also said he did not realize how big the Notre Dame campus was; he saw only so much as a recruit, thought it was that small. Obviously, the football recruiting operation focuses on the football facilities and the Stadium, but one wonders how little else.
2023 OUTLOOK
Ausberry had a strong spring, something that can be said for all three early-enrolled freshman linebackers and at least a small part of the reason junior Prince Kollie opted to transfer to Vanderbilt. They were already threatening him for future playing time.
Notre Dame does not have a set of reserve linebackers, so Ausberry could certainly find his way into that role, nominally, for 2023. The reality is, the Irish have three proven veterans and a couple more veterans at nickel back (namely, senior Clarence Lewis, Oklahoma State transfer Thomas Harper and perhaps sophomore Jaden Mickey). Unless the Rover is someone as fleet a foot as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, the defense used most often will be the nickel.
Thus, Notre Dame has three proven veterans for two linebacker spots and therefore needs a set of reserves that much less.
Ausberry should still see some defensive action in a couple blowouts (looking at you, month of September), but meaningful defensive action may evade him this year.
However, a significant special teams role could still use up a season of eligibility.
DOWN THE ROAD
Ausberry’s most distinct competition for future snaps at Rover should be current sophomore Jaylen Sneed. Both could also move inside, absolutely, but on the surface, they will duel over that position either in the spring of 2024 or the spring of 2025, depending on if Marist Liufau opts for a sixth season in 2024 and if he remains on the outside as he does so.
If that is Ausberry’s future, he could be a key to unlocking vital versatility in Notre Dame’s defense.
ND transitioned to more of a nickel defense as their base, but they weren't that when they had a JOK type of athlete at Rover. Jaiden Ausberry with some JOK vibes in the B-G game today
— Jamie Uyeyama (@jamieuyeyama) April 22, 2023
NOTRE DAME 99-TO-0
The summer countdown begins anew, Rylie Mills to Deion Colzie
No. 99 Rylie Mills, senior defensive tackle, moving back inside from end
No. 98 Devan Houstan, early-enrolled four-star defensive tackle
No. 97 Gabriel Rubio, junior defensive tackle, one of three Irish DTs with notable experience
No. 95 Tyson Ford, sophomore defensive tackle, up 30 pounds from a year ago
No. 93 Armel Mukam, incoming freshman defensive end, former Stanford commit
No. 92 Aidan Keanaaina, a senior defensive tackle now ‘fully healthy’ after a 2022 torn ACL
No. 91 Aiden Gobaira, sophomore defensive end, former four-star recruit
No. 88 Mitchell Evans, the next starter at ‘TE U
No. 87 Cooper Flanagan, incoming freshman tight end, four-star recruit
No. 84 Kevin Bauman, senior tight end coming off a torn ACL
No. 83 Jayden Thomas, junior receiver, probable No. 1 target in 2023
No. 79 Tosh Baker, senior tackle, again a backup but next year ...
No. 78 Pat Coogan, junior interior offensive lineman
No. 77 Ty Chan, sophomore offensive tackle, former four-star recruit
No. 76 Joe Alt, first-team All-American left tackle
No. 75 Sullivan Absher, incoming freshman offensive lineman
No. 74 Billy Schrauth, sophomore left guard, likely starter
No. 73 Andrew Kristofic, fifth-year right guard, likely starter
No. 72 Sam Pendelton, early-enrolled freshman offensive lineman
No. 70 Ashton Craig, sophomore interior offensive lineman
No. 68 Michael Carmody, senior offensive lineman
No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter
No. 64 Joe Otting, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 59 Aamil Wagner, sophomore offensive tackle
No. 56 Charles Jagusah, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 56 Howard Cross, fifth-year defensive tackle, multi-year starter
No. 55 Chris Terek, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 54 Blake Fisher, junior right tackle, second-year starter
No. 52 Zeke Correll, fifth-year center, third-year starter
No. 51 Boubacar Traore, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 50 Rocco Spindler, junior offensive guard
No. 47 Jason Onye, junior defensive tackle on the verge of playing time
No. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka, sophomore defensive end, former linebacker
No. 42 Nolan Ziegler, sophomore linebacker, Irish legacy
No. 41 Donovan Hinish, sophomore defensive tackle following in his brother’s footsteps
No. 40 Joshua Burnham, sophomore linebacker-turned-Vyper end
No. 38 Davis Sherwood, junior fullback/H-back, former walk-on
No. 34 Drayk Bowen, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, baseball infielder
No. 32 Spencer Shrader, South Florida transfer kicker
No. 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah, fifth-year defensive end
No. 29 Christian Gray, early-enrolled freshman cornerback coming off a knee injury
No. 29 Matt Salerno, sixth-year receiver, former walk-on
No. 27 JD Bertrand, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, possible captain
No. 25 Preston Zinter, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, subtle recruiting win
No. 24 Jack Kiser, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, most efficient defender
No. 17 Brenan Vernon, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 13 Holden Staes, sophomore tight end, up 20 pounds in a year
No. 12 Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience
No. 4 Rhode Island transfer safety Antonio Carter gives Notre Dame desperately needed backline depth
