Kiser, who leads Notre Dame with 85 tackles from his linebacker position this season (2022 Mr. Football Drayk Bowen of Andrean is third with 70 tackles), returned for a sixth season in large part due to his relationship with coach Marcus Freeman, who came to Notre Dame in 2021 as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under then-coach Brian Kelly. When Kelly left for LSU after the 2021 season, Freeman was hired as his replacement.

Jack’s father, Aaron Kiser, called the connection between Jack and Freeman “a special, unique relationship.”

“He’s a big reason Jack returned,” Aaron Kiser said. “I think they had the same vision, and they wanted to help each other try to achieve it. It’s a special, unique relationship that some people may not know. That’s been big for the program.”

Aaron Kiser and his wife, Deborah, have been able to follow Jack’s journey at Notre Dame about as closely as possible. They missed two games during the COVID season when fans were not allowed to attend but have missed only two others: a road game at Stanford last year over Thanksgiving weekend and the 2023 game in Dublin, Ireland, against Navy.

“It’s been fun to see him achieve what he set out to do,” Aaron said. “He’s had some personal (accolades), but it’s always been about the team. He was always going to be about the team. His dream was to make the national championship game or win it and that’s a great goal. It’s been fantastic to see him go through this process and get the reward from it. I don’t think it’s sunk in to him or us yet how special this journey has been.”

Kiser was voted Mr. Football in 2018 in a controversial vote by the Indiana Football Coaches Association over runner-up David Bell of Warren Central. Though Kiser had plenty of accolades in high school, including back-to-back state championships at Pioneer as a junior and senior and a boatload of career stats (7,364 rushing yards and 139 rushing TDs on offense and 424 tackles and 20 interceptions on defense, for example), social media was a firestorm when Bell did not win the award.

Bell, a beloved football and basketball player on the Eastside who won state titles in both sports, helped to squash the negative vibes.

“I really didn’t like how they discredited Jack,” Bell said later. “He had a phenomenal four years there. He won state quite a few times and he’s a heck of a player. I played with him in 7-on-7, so I know what he is capable of. I had a lot of people texting me like, ‘Who is Jack Kiser?’ He’s a dude. I mean, you can’t take that away from him. He’s going to Notre Dame on a full scholarship and hopefully he does good there.”

Bell went on to star at Purdue, where he was a consensus All-American wide receiver in 2021, and drafted in the third round by the Cleveland Browns in 2022. He suffered a hip injury early this season and was placed on season-ending injured reserve.

Looking back, Berry said the way Bell handled it “as an 18-year-old with so much maturity,” helped everyone move on. The fact Kiser has also gone on to have such a distinguished college career, capped with at least an appearance in the national championship game, has obviously also helped.

“You can define Mr. Football however you want, whether that is the MVP of the best team in the state, or the player you think is the best or whatever you want it to be,” Aaron said. “I think the coaches who picked him saw him as someone they appreciated and wanted to be on their team. I don’t think that was a slight to David at all because he’s obviously that, too. The unique thing that did happen later was NIL did change, which was right in the beginning of when David and George Karlaftis (first round pick to Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 out of Purdue) went to the NFL. But I don’t know if it’s been so much about validation (for Mr. Football), but just the ability to perform.”

Pioneer’s Jack Kiser wins 2018 IndyStar Mr. Football

Pioneer’s Jack Kiser wins the 2018 IndyStar Mr. Football.

Clark Wade, Indianapolis Star

Kiser, 24, has an undergraduate degree and Master’s degree in accounting. He has spent much of this academic year networking and finding potential new areas for his post-playing career, his father said. “He’s had a chance to connect with a lot of people who have been generous with their time and mentorship,” Aaron said. “It’s really opened his eyes to what direction he might be able to go.”

But first, Kiser would like to see how far he can go in football. The 6-2, 230-pound linebacker is projected as a potential fourth- to sixth-round pick by most publications in April’s draft. His background as a special teams player should help his value.

“It’s been all over the board,” Aaron said of the draft projections. “His production has been pretty good, but some people call him a little bit of ‘tweener’ for his position. He’s hopeful one team will like him and want him.”

Kiser got engaged to longtime girlfriend Meghan Chan in July. The engagement was part of Notre Dame’s in-house documentary, episode 2 of “Here Come the Irish” on Peacock, which featured the Kiser family. It was filmed in New York, where Chan is working. Kiser was in New York for Notre Dame’s annual media trip.

Jack and Meghan, a Purdue grad, plan to get married in June.

“It was really such a great opportunity to have a moment like that captured for everybody,” Kiser told the South Bend Tribune in September after the episode aired. “And then the other thing is, not that we thought about it, but it’s being shared with all the people we really care about, too. They can see the moment and live in the experience.”

The Kiser family plans to drive down to Atlanta on Sunday to watch the conclusion of Jack’s college career on the sport’s biggest stage. Jack told his parents to “be ready to party” when he sees them at the team hotel after the game.

“I think they are a confident bunch,” Aaron said. “The one thing about Notre Dame that is very unusual is that they are not star driven. They are very balanced, which I think is a big reason they’ve had the success they’ve had.”

Kiser will certainly have the support of his family and friends. Walker, a lifelong IU fan, said it was an easy decision to who to root for in the first round CFP game when Notre Dame played IU.

“I truly love my Hoosiers,” Walker said. “But I’ve been a Jack Kiser fan since Day 1.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.