For Notre Dame to rebound from last year’s 4-8 campaign this fall, the Fighting Irish are going to need a lot of players to step up and become breakout stars this year. A very young team in 2016, Notre Dame now several players up and down the roster who could do just that. How much the Irish improve on those paltry four wins this year will largely be determined by how many of them take that step forward.
We will be profiling these players over the next few weeks starting today with perhaps the most pivotal player on the defensive side of the ball – sophomore defensive end Daelin Hayes.