As Notre Dame prepares for its quarterfinal matchup with Georgia on New Year’s Day, the Irish pass rush will take center stage with the Bulldogs starting a backup quarterback. Notre Dame’s depth along its defensive line has been stretched thin this year – and was stretched even more thin with the loss of Rylie Mills – but that has given way for youngsters to step up. One of them is true freshman Bryce Young, the son of Hall of Famer Bryant Young, who has become one of the most prominent pieces of the Irish pass rush. Young’s rise has caught the attention of Georiga head coach Kirby Smart.
“He is an exceptional player,” the Georgia head coach said of the freshman standout yesterday. “I wasn’t aware of him until we watched a little bit of tape on both Indiana and Notre Dame before we knew who we were going to play. And I was like, Who is this guy, 30? He is long. He is athletic. He is twitchy,” he continued.
Once Smart looked into Notre Dame’s future star, he noticed that Young had impacted games on more than just defense. “Then when I dug deeper into special teams, I’m like, this guy is phenomenal on special teams – his reach, his athleticism.”
Throughout the season, Young has been a monster on special teams. He blocked field goals against Miami of Ohio and Georgia Tech and then blocked a punt against Army, setting up an early touchdown that helped the Irish jump out to a big lead.
Young made his initial impact on special teams, but injuries to Notre Dame’s top two edge rushers thrust Young into a more prominent role in the Irish base defense this season. He picked up the first-half sack of his career against Florida State and then the first solo sack in the first-round playoff win over Indiana.
Notre Dame fans have known that the future looks bright for Young, and Smart agrees. “He’s just going to be a phenomenal talent. To do what he’s done this early in his career shows you how talented he’s going to be,” said Smart.
For Notre Dame to advance past the quarterfinals, they will need a big performance from Young as defensive coordinator Al Golden looks to generate a pass rush that confuses first-time starting quarterback Gunner Stockton. Texas was able to force Stockton into a critical interception even though Stockton was able to guide the Bulldogs to victory in the SEC Championship. Georgia will likely try to lean on their running game, but at some point, they will need to put the ball in the air, and Notre Dame’s best chance at victory is forcing Stockton into mistakes. Young is someone who could help force them.
Even if Young isn’t a standout in the Sugar Bowl, it seems clear that Notre Dame has a future star pass rusher on its hands. No one should be surprised, given his genes, but his offer list out of high school suggested that some programs were skeptical that he had more than the pedigree. He’s already showing that he has the skill to do more than live in the shadow of his hall-of-fame father and Irish legend.
