Notre Dame needs Max Redfield. The senior safety is one of the lone familiar faces on a defense short on experience and on a roster that only returns nine starters.
As Redfield enters his final season of eligibility, he’s still looking to play up to the lofty expectations that followed him from Southern California to South Bend. After the year’s first spring practice, head coach Brian Kelly was asked about Redfield, his development and what to expect from him come September.
“Max is an interesting young man,” Kelly said. “Anytime you come in with a lot of hype and praise and five-stars, there’s a lot of expectations. I think the game for him is one that he’s had to learn a lot about the position that he’s playing. He plays a position that requires a lot of football knowledge and he didn’t have a lot at the position and he’s gained a tremendous amount of football knowledge in a very short period of time.”
Like all learning curves, Redfield’s has always been smooth. On the field, his breakout performance against LSU in the Music City Bowl had preseason pundits like Phil Steele predicting an All-American junior campaign. But an early-season injury made 2015 a frustrating one, and a curfew violation that got Redfield sent home from the Fiesta Bowl only compounded the situation heading into the offseason.
Kelly acknowledged a hand in some of the struggles. After looking like a redshirt candidate, the Irish coaching staff blew a season of eligibility by starting Redfield in the Pinstripe Bowl against Rutgers.
“We had to play him and use up a year, which really wasn’t fair to him, in a bowl game situation, so he really should have another year with us,” Kelly conceded.
Press Notre Dame’s head coach a little bit harder and Kelly might also concede that never in a million years did they think Redfield would be the type of player to stick around for five years in South Bend. Nor did they think it’d take a full four years to develop Redfield into the cornerstone that this unit desperately needs on the back end.
While his athleticism has never been questioned, Kelly discussed some of the offseason priorities for the rising senior, namely some physical tweaks to Redfield’s game— lengthening his backpedal, smoothing out some of his movement skills. But the real work will likely come with the immediacy of the situation and an extra dose of maturity, as Redfield has only one more shot to prove his worth on the football field.
The light turned on for safeties Kyle McCarthy, Harrison Smith and Zeke Motta later in their very productive Notre Dame careers. On a day that’s built for optimism, Kelly seemed genuine in his belief that the same will happen with Redfield.
“The progress has been steady,” Kelly said. “It hasn’t been fast, but he’s at the cusp of really, I think, putting it all together for us.”