Notre Dame Football: Nyles Morgan Key to Stopping Arizona State

Ready or not, here comes Nyles Morgan. Notre Dame's freshman middle linebacker, just months after being one of the crown jewels of the Irish's 2014 recruiting class, holds the key to beating Arizona State this weekend.

After spending most of his freshman season playing special teams, Morgan will now be thrust into the middle of the Irish defense. After senior Joe Schmidt's ankle injury ended his season, the former blue-chip recruit's bright future will get a test earlier than many expected. 

"Look, Nyles has been here 12 weeks. He's had 12 weeks of coaching, and Coach VanGorder is extremely confident in Nyles' ability to go in there and play," head coach Brian Kelly said on Tuesday. "We think we've got a guy that can go in there. His traits are pretty clear. He's extremely athletic. We'll put him in a position where he can help us win a football game on Saturday."

Morgan's week has been a crash course in football. That comes on the heels of some tough coaching that wasn't exactly for the faint of heart. 

"He's been unbelievable. We have been so hard on him," Kelly said. "I think we said to him about three weeks in, you're either going to quit or you're going to be one of the best players that's ever played here, because we're hard on him, really hard on him, and he just keeps coming back asking for more, and that's the kind of kid he is."

Morgan displayed that same type of resilience this week. With a game plan installed for one of the most difficult offenses on Notre Dame's schedule, Morgan has been up to the task. So much so that Kelly said Morgan was going to continue handling the play-calling duties Schmidt managed from the middle linebacker spot. 

"Nyles handled pretty much all of the communication. He did a great job this week, and he’ll be the guy making the calls out there," Kelly said Thursday evening. 

"He had a really good week, and he’s extremely confident. Look, he’s not gonna be perfect. Certainly there’s gonna be a hiccup here or there, but he’s got a pretty good understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish and I think he had an excellent week."

Transitioning that success from the practice field to Sun Devil Stadium will now be the biggest question. And while Morgan flashed some great moments against Navy's triple option, he'll go from the demands of Ken Niumatalolo's offense to those of 32-year-old rising star Mike Norvell, the brain behind Arizona State's attack. 

Last year, the Irish defense harassed Taylor Kelly, sacking him six times and intercepting him twice (one a pick-six by inside linebacker Dan Fox that sealed the victory) in a 37-34 win. This season, after playing scheme-heavy football under the guidance of Brian VanGorder, don't expect the Irish to dumb things down on Morgan's account. 

"We have not simplified what we’re doing. I don’t think you can go into a game like this against that offense and play vanilla," Kelly said. "If you do, it’s gonna be a long day. They’re just too good. They have a ton of answers. We have to be who we are. We would not have gone down this road unless we thought Nyles was capable of doing the job. We have great confidence."

Eric Gay/Associated Press

That confidence comes from knowing the type of athlete the Irish now have on the field at middle linebacker. While Schmidt has been the MVP of this defense and its leading tackler, Morgan has physical abilities that the senior linebacker can't match.

Paired with Jaylon Smith on the inside, the Irish have two linebackers to match up with one of the Pac-12's most dynamic offenses. Throw in converted wide receiver James Onwualu and the Irish defense won't get beat because they're shy on athletes. 

After relying on Schmidt's football IQ to not just put him in the right place but also many of his teammates, expect VanGorder to use the middle linebacker differently. And with Smith capable of utilizing his blazing speed to make up for some of Morgan's mistakes, expect VanGorder to turn his freshman linebacker into a destroyer—leaving the nuance to his teammates, while Morgan does his best to wreak havoc. 

After seeing Schmidt's limitations in the blitz game, Morgan could help a pass rush that's sitting 85th in the country in sacks. 

"There's some things that we know that we can't do with Nyles that Joe could do, but I know Coach VanGorder is pretty excited about some of the things that he couldn't do with Joe that he can do with Nyles this week," Kelly said. 

Saturday afternoon, the future will merge with the present at middle linebacker. And if the Irish want to continue their pursuit of a spot in the College Football Playoff, they'll need Morgan to be up to the challenge. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.