Linebacker Preston Zinter Could Be A Secret Weapon On Notre Dame's Defense

Every season, without fail, there's a number of players who step up across college football who received little to no attention in the offseason leading up to the opening kickoff. Notre Dame has had some players fit this category in the past, especially at linebacker. In 2019, Asmar Bilal finished the season with 79 total tackles and 10.0 tackles for a loss in a year where the emergence of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was the talk of the offseason. 

In 2014, Joe Schmidt took on a bigger role on the defense and ended the season with 65 tackles and two forced fumbles in a season where star linebacker Jaylon Smith was drawing a lot of well-deserved attention in the offseason as he headed into his sophomore season. 

This year, Notre Dame's linebacker room is, once again, generating a lot of buzz and is considered one of the best in the country. Junior Drayk Bowen, sophomore Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, redshirt junior Jaylen Sneed and redshirt sophomore Jaiden Ausberry are at the forefront of that conversation. However, redshirt sophomore Preston Zinter might have a thing or two to say about the projected linebacker rotation heading into fall camp. 

The 6-2 236 pound Massachusetts native played in all 16 games for Notre Dame last season, mostly on special teams, but played in five games for the Irish on the defensive side of the ball. Zinter is an extremely athletic player that would be starting, or at least in the two-deep, in several previous linebacking corps for the Irish. With a deep room in front of him, it's valid to question his opportunities to get on the field, but his showing in the Blue Gold game this past spring provided an interesting opportunity for Zinter. 

This past spring game, new defensive coordinator Chris Ash rushed Zinter of the edge in a couple of scenarios. One play led to a pressure on the quarterback while the second play led to a Zinter sack of Kenny Minchey on fourth down ending a promising drive. Notre Dame utilizes their linebackers in multiple different ways, rushing the passer being one of them, 

Last season, Sneed and Viliamu-Asa both recorded sacks from rushing off the edge. This package was seen almost exclusively on third down, and I won't be surprised if Ash implements this into his defensive scheme as well. With Sneed and Viliamu-Asa needing to become more well-rounded linebackers with the departure of Jack Kiser, a role may potentially open up for Zinter. 

We've been saying it all offseason, Zinter is a player who is too talented to keep off the field and will be looking to force Ash's and Max Bullough's hand in fall camp to find him a role within this defense. It was a small sample size, but becoming a third down edge rusher may become his niche. It's a small chance he forces his way into the starting lineup barring injury, and this isn't a scenario where Zinter ends the season with similar stats to Bilal in 2019. However, he adds a unique skillset off the edge and could make some impactful plays for the Irish defense this season.