By John Brice
Special Contributor
To a man – Al Golden, Marist Liufau and, the culprit, Nolan Ziegler – the same sequence already has come to define Ziegler’s second spring as a Notre Dame linebacker.
Liufau, one of the Fighting Irish’s trio of senior ’backers, first mentioned it.
Saw firsthand Ziegler’s former uncertainty transformed into authoritative aggression.
“He’s definitely faster when he plays, and it’s because he’s studied and he knows his plays a lot more than when he got in,” said Liufau, among the Irish elder statesmen at the position with 27 career games.
“I think him coming downhill and playing physical and being in position to make a tackle. Not just a specific play but different things I’ve seen out of him this spring that just show his progress.”
Added Golden, Notre Dame’s second-year defensive coordinator: “Nolan’s done an unbelievable job. When I first got here, because I came in after him, it was kind of overwhelming for him and every day, it was just trying to keep his head above water. And now I just see everything slowing down for him. He’s done an amazing job on his body; he still has remained athletic, retained his twitch and he’s just gotten stronger and more powerful.”
Ziegler has displayed this transformation not in isolated moments through the first four practices of spring camp but much more regularly.
Having added some 25 pounds to his frame since his January 2022 arrival in South Bend, Indiana, the grandson of former Irish All-America linebacker Tim Sullivan, member of the program’s 1973 national title team, found comfort in his increased knowledge of the playbook and improved size after Notre Dame’s Wednesday practice inside the Irish Athletics Center, where the team added shoulder pads and an added element of contact.
“I’d say it’s night-and-day difference from last spring,” said the 6-foot-3, now-232-pound Ziegler, who made his collegiate debut with a tackle in last season’s win against Boston College. “Just learning what to do out there and when you can be comfortable out there and actually know why you’re doing it, you just fly around and play free.
“Love it, love the physicality; it’s just exciting to be able to build up your body in the weight room and be able to use it out there on the field.”
Happenstance isn’t the reason for Ziegler’s arrival at the intersection of first-year-player moving into Year 2 with an opportunity to help create valuable depth at linebacker, as well as work to earn roles on special teams.
Rather, Ziegler is deploying a vastly more intentional approach of which Golden’s been noticing all year. It’s also helping to redefine “football cool” in the Irish program.
“He’s way more serious now about football and I think the older guys hold him to a high standard, so I’m very pleased with his growth and development,” Golden said. “Let’s see if he takes off now, because he’s talented.
“Look, you know, if they don’t want it every day, it’s really hard to make them want it. It really is, and that’s Jack (Kiser), JD (Bertrand), Marist, those guys have created that culture in our room. I can take a bigger picture of that and there’s a lot more guys at other positions that are also creating that culture, where it’s cool to talk ball. It’s cool to ask questions about football. Like, ‘I got that wrong. Help me get it right.’ That’s a really great sign of maturity.”
Liufau has the receipts.
Text messages from Ziegler to Liufau seeking greater depth of knowledge are near-daily routines.
“All the time, he texts me questions,” Liufau said. “That is really important, because a lot of guys don’t say anything, but he seeks help. He wants to learn.
“Whatever time, he knows that he can text me any time of day. Just like the rest of the linebackers are open to each other.”
Eleven years since the first game he remembers at Notre Dame Stadium, a captivating, triple-overtime game against Pittsburgh that “we won, it was an electric environment,” Ziegler is taking strides to carve his own path where so many family members walked before him.
“Knowing everything and putting all the pieces together, why we’re doing what we do to take away what offenses are doing, knowing your assignment and where you’ve got to go, so you can play free,” said Ziegler, whose grandmother is a former Irish cheerleader. “I feel like it definitely helps out there, just recognizing what tendencies the offense might be doing versus what we’re doing. And learning from my mistakes on film, what I have to do better next time.
“It’s very helpful, to have three seniors out there being able to access anytime and having Coach Golden and Coach Max (Bullough) always available, it’s great.”