What Drew Jaguars' LB Coach to Jack Kiser

For Jacksonville Jaguars linebackers coach Tem Lukabu, the team's new-look unit should be the perfect mix.

On one hand, Lukabu has several experienced veterans in the room like Foyesade Oluokun, Devil Lloyd, Chad Muma, and Ventrell Miller.

On the other hand, he also has a pair of rookie linebackers who are entering the NFL as balls of clay ready to be molded.

Amongst those two linebackers is Notre Dame Fighting Irish product Jack Kiser, who the Jaguars drafted with the No. 107 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Kiser racked up plenty of starts for Notre Dame's defense over the years, but what about his game exactly stood out to Lukabu? The Jaguars' defensive assistant answered that question at the end of OTAs earlier this offseason.

"Jack Kiser, first and foremost, is super high-level intelligence, a problem solver, good communicator," he said.

"And by the way, he was able to still get people down on the ground and, you know, and be athletic and be a high-quality football player. So that combination is not a given."

Kiser likely won't be leaned on early on in his career thanks to the depth the Jaguars have at the position, but he will have time to develop and potentially have a chance to carve out a larger role as contracts expire.

But Kiser also has so much experience that he might not even need all that long to develop -- he will just need his chance.

"He also did it on a championship team. So, you know what he was able to do during his time there was impressive, and I think it translated to what we do in our league," Lukabu said.

A team captain in the 2024 season and named the Notre Dame Man of the Year, Kiser was a core piece of Notre Dame's culture and should fit right in with what the Jaguars are trying to build on and off the field.

Kiser set the record for the most games played in a Notre Dame uniform in program history (70 games) and led the Irish with 90 tackles and made 16 starts last season.

Named the 2023 Notre Dame Special Teams Player of the Year, Kiser recorded 275 career tackles, 16 tackles for loss, six sacks, four interceptions, 11 pass deflections, six forced fumbles, and a blocked kick.