First Impressions: Notre Dame's Freshman Defensive Early Enrollees

As spring practice has officially started for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, here are the impressions that have been made from the early enrollees on the defensive side of the ball.

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As Notre Dame has navigated through two weeks of spring practice, Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish have begun to integrate new talent to replace the departing players from the program.

Last week, we heard from the newcomers on the offensive side of the ball, but this week, defensive newcomers had the chance to be approached by the media.

While Notre Dame's defense will be going through enough changes as is, with Chris Ash replacing Al Golden as the Irish's defensive coordinator, the defense is still projected to be one of the nation's best next season. With tremendous depth across the linebacking room and edge rushers, being able to win playing time will be a tall task for many of these freshmen early enrollees.

Let's break down which freshman can see the field the earliest in their careers with the Blue and Gold.

Defensive Back (3)

By position group, the defensive back room has the best odds to crack playing time early in their careers.

The freshman with the highest probable odds is JaDon Blair. Blair made substantial improvements in the weight room early on through this process and has already put on substantial weight during his few months in South Bend.

Coming from the son of an NFL player, Blair's knowledge of the game and natural instincts will allow him to shine. Couple that with the fact that Virginia Tech transfer Jalen Stroman is out for spring practice, Blair has the opportunity to fight up the depth chart with more opportunities.

Accompanying Blair in the safeties room is Ethan Long. Long, the product from Milford, Conn., will also have a chance to showcase his talents with the more reps given this spring practice. The two prospects will be toying it out with fellow safeties Luke Talich and Kennedy Urlacher to see who will be the next man in after Stroman, to accompany Adon Shuler.

The lone cornerback early enrollee Cree Thomas spoke about his connection with All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison, in which they attended the same high school. Thomas is coming into a loaded cornerback room that is returning both starters, Leonard Moore and Christian Gray. Yet, depth is a bit of an issue for the cornerbacks, and after seeing the number of injuries last season, Thomas is training as if his number will be called next year.

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Linebacker (1) and Defensive Line (1)

The final two defensive early enrollees for the Fighting Irish are Madden Faraimo and Davion Dixon.

Both these prospects physically look the part of a certified Division I football player, with Faraimo checking in at 224 pounds and Dixon checking in at 323 pounds.

Faraimo is likely to slide into the hole left by senior captain Jack Kiser and looks to make an instant impact for the linebacking room.

While Notre Dame rotated five players last year, it should be interesting to see how Ash and linebackers coach Max Bullough allocate defensive snaps next season.

Dixon is sidelined for spring practice with a right pectoral injury but is taking mental reps and trying to assimilate himself into the Notre Dame defense. With an interior defensive line that is arguably the biggest question mark on that side of the ball, Dixon could potentially be an answer once the Homestead, Fla. native gets healthy.