by J.T. Toth
Photo courtesy of UHND.com.
At Draft 412, the NFL draft talk never ends. We will keep you ready for the next set of gridiron stars—from today and all the way until draft night 2024. We will bring you mock drafts, player profiles, individual team needs, and everything else you may need related to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Today’s Spotlight - Notre Dame, Linebacker, Jack Kiser
Name- Jack Kiser
Pos- Linebacker
Team- Notre Dame
HT/WT- 6’1” 232 lbs.
Born- N/A
Home – Royal Center, IN
Kiser played high school football at Pioneer High School in Indiana. He was a two-way star during his high school career, he threw for 3,771 yards, ran for 7,364 yards and totaled 11,257 total yards on offense. On defense, he had 424 tackles, 20 interceptions, 9 forced fumbles and 2 blocked punts. In 2018 he was named IndyStar Mr. Football and committed to Notre Dame.
As a freshman in 2019, Kiser played in 4 games, mostly on special teams for the Fighting Irish. In 2020 he played in 11 games on special teams and as a reserve on defense. He ended the season with 20 tackles and an interception.
Kiser started 8 games and played in 13 total in 2021. He showed off his athleticism by returning both of his interceptions for touchdowns and collected 45 tackles. This past season, Kiser started 6 times and played in 13 games total, he was used in more situations and had 2.5 sacks and was 2nd on the team in tackles with 59.
In his first 4 games of 2023, he has been a tackling machine, leading Notre Dame in tackles with 26 and also has a sack and a forced fumble.
Kiser is an athletic and fluid linebacker that gets from sideline to sideline with ease. He is tough as nails and physical enough to navigate through offensive lines to find the ball carrier. Kiser is quick enough to stunt and put pressure on the interior lineman at the college level. He plays with a non-stop motor and with a hard nosed demeanor, never really being out of a play. In zone coverage, Kiser does an excellent job of getting to the space he needs to in a timely fashion and reads the quarterback’s eyes well when in zone.
On the downside, Kiser is an undersized linebacker on the second level who may struggle with the faster, larger linemen of the NFL. He can get over zealous in his pursuit of the ball and take himself out of the play. Kiser does not play the best angles in pursuit and needs to add some tools to his toolbox to be considered a 3 down player. At the next level, he projects as a weak side linebacker only due to his lack of size and strength.
Strengths
Non stop motor
Zone coverage
Willing run stopper
Speed/ athleticism
Weaknesses
Size
Skillset
Pursuit angles
Limited role
Final Analysis
Jack Kiser is on a Notre Dame team that is getting a ton of exposure and if he can take advantage of this, he may improve his late round draft stock.
Draft 412 Draft Prediction - Round 7