SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Brian Kelly dropped an interesting nugget during his press conference Wednesday: Early-enrolling freshman Devin Studstill is taking first-team reps at free safety.
That would be the the free safety position long occupied by senior Max Redfield, the former five-star recruit who’s struggled to avoid the kind of big-play breakdowns that’ve plagued Notre Dame’s defense over the last two seasons.
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Whether or not Studstill actually mounts a playing time challenge to Redfield, who’s started 23 games since coming to South Bend in 2013, remains to be seen. We’re just a week into spring practice, after all.
But Kelly’s revelation of Redfield taking second-team reps behind Studstill came across as a combination of two things — One, sending a message to Redfield that his job isn’t secure and Two, praising the Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. freshman for the work he’s put in to date.
“He wouldn’t be out there working with the first group unless he had a natural ability to pick up what we’re sending him,” Kelly said of Studstill. “He’s been able to pick it up as a mid-year enrollee in spring ball. He’s making plays and getting lined up and getting guys in the right position. We’ve been very pleased.”
If Studstill sticks, this wouldn’t be the first time that Redfield would be demoted in favor of a freshman. In 2014, Redfield was replaced by then-freshman Drue Tranquill, who started against Northwestern and Louisville before tearing his ACL in the latter game.
Notre Dame’s defense allowed 30 plays of 30 or more yards in 2015 (85th in FBS), and while those all don’t fall on the safeties, the inconsistent Redfield-Elijah Shumate duo played a significant role in that final tally. Redfield started 11 games last year, missing the Georgia Tech game due to a wrist issue and the Fiesta Bowl due to a violation of team rules.
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Improved safety play is imperative for the success of a Notre Dame defense that’ll be without so many impactful and important players from 2015 (Sheldon Day, Romeo Okwara, Joe Schmidt, Jaylon Smith, KeiVarae Russell). Maybe it’s just annual spring practice optimism, but the way Kelly talks about Studstill’s football acumen, it sounds like he could be someone who very well could push Redfield over the next few months.
“He’s just a natural player,” Kelly said. “It comes easy to him. He’s just a natural player that has played safety and just flows easily to him. It’s not hard to him. He’s had no setbacks in terms of the learning curve. He had one mistake today, but it really comes easy to him.”