Incoming Safety Jalen Elliott Preparing To Contribute Early For Irish
Todd Lyght was asked multiple times during spring practices if he thought there was an incoming freshman that could aid the back end of the Notre Dame’s defense. The defensive backs coach rattled off name after name, but he continued to circle back to one signee in particular.
“First guy I think about is Jalen Elliott,” Lyght said. “He’s a warrior and he’s going to be able to come in and be able to help us right away.”
Elliott, who spent the past few years staring as a quarterback and cornerback at Chesterfield (Va.) L.C. Bird, wasn’t pegged by many as a prospect that could step in and help Notre Dame this upcoming season, but according to Lyght the four-star recruit will be given every chance he can to carve out a role for the Irish when he steps foot on campus in June.
Lyght said he believes that Elliott is the type of defensive back that can give the secondary some position flexibility and allow for guys like Drue Tranquill to move around in certain situations.
“Absolutely,” Lyght said when asked if Elliott could contribute at strong safety as a freshman. “You know Jalen was a quarterback, but when he ran the ball he punished defenders. So when I saw that on tape I knew immediately [that] he could be a box player because he always stepped to contact and delivered the blow when he was carrying the ball, and he showed that same type of commitment and ruggedness when he played on the defensive side of the ball.
“Jalen right now is just under 200 pounds,” Lyght added. “He’s probably 197 or 198. When he shows up to camp we want him at 203 or 205, so he doesn’t have far to go. He looks really lean right now, but he’s all muscle. He’s probably working at five or six percent body fat. So we just want to just beef him a little bit more so he can get in there and mix it up in the box and play big for us.”
Elliott was in South Bend last weekend for the Blue-Gold Game. He said that he always believed Lyght when he told him that he would be given a chance to work his way onto the field early in his career, but it wasn’t until he saw early enrollee Devin Studstill taking reps with the first-team defense that things started to click.
“It was good to see him getting that opportunity and a chance out there because it shows that the coaches weren’t lying when they said that you could come in and compete for a job,” Elliott said. “Hopefully, I’ll be given that same chance and can make the best of it and play.”
Lyght thinks Elliott has the potential to do just that. Elliott said that while he was in town for the spring scrimmage he had a chance to watch film with Lyght and fellow incoming freshman cornerback Julian Love. The two signees impressed Lyght in the chalk talk type of setting.
“We gave some of the young guys some material to study — not a lot, but a little bit,” Lyght said. “I was really surprised with how much they studied and how much they knew with the terminology, [and] with some of the defensive schemes that we are running.
“So they [Elliott and Love] are are working right now already, so when they come in they are going to be full tilt and hit the ground running.”
In addition to the off the field work, Elliott said he is working out six days a week with a trainer in Virginia.
“The coaches say they like that and to keep doing that, but they just want me to keep running,” Elliott said.
That won’t be a problem if Lyght finds a way to get him in the safety rotation.