Notre Dame Football: Top 5 spring 2019 breakout candidates

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1. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Rover

If the Irish have made one thing clear as it relates to their recruiting process over the last few years, it is that they place a significant value on an athlete’s versatility. After seeing captain Drue Tranquill move to linebacker to cover for the losses of Nyles Morgan and Greer Martini, senior Asmar Bilal will follow in his footsteps as he makes the switch from rover to inside linebacker.

However, with plenty of movement around the linebacker corps so far, don’t be surprised to see even more shifts as we get deeper into spring. With that said, it’s still possible to provide a decent amount of insight into where Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah stands on the depth chart and how he might fit into the gameplan come fall.

As just mentioned, Bilal is expected to fill the void left by last year’s standout linebacker Te’von Coney. This move led to what many expected to be an Owusu-Koramoah/Shayne Simon competition at rover, but the latter’s recent move to weakside linebacker has prompted some clarity for Owusu-Koramoah at rover.

Should Simon remain at weakside linebacker, Owusu-Koramoah’s greatest competition would likely come from converted safety Paul Moala. However, given the fact that Owusu-Koramoah was practically groomed to be Notre Dame’s next rover, all indications point to him being the latest successor in a strong line of Notre Dame rovers.