OXNARD, Calif. — There's a lot of rightful talk about the challenge to solve the equation at linebacker with the prolonged absence of DeMarvion Overshown due to his recovery from a torn ACL suffered last season, but what's often overlooked is other young, promising talent in the room — namely Marist Liufau.

Having gone from being a rookie third-round pick out of Notre Dame to the green dot in Mike Zimmer's defense when Eric Kendricks battled injury is nothing to shake a stick at, considering the level of learning and acumen required to pull it off, and the fact Zimmer isn't exactly known as a forgiving coach.

One year later, Liufau is dissecting plays in training camp with a precision usually reserved for cardiovascular surgeons, combining his speed, quickness and physicality with a rapidly growing veteran-level confidence.

"I think having a year under my belt, a lot of that helps with my confidence, for sure," he said. "And the game's slowing down because of that. Yeah, just feeling more comfortable at the NFL level."

That's showing up in a very real way in Liufau's second camp, as is the work he's done to level himself up physically.

"I worked a lot on my speed," said Liufau. "That was a big thing that I wanted to work on this offseason, and also my conditioning. Knowing [Matt] Eberflus' system, we're gonna be running a lot, and it emphasizes running through the ball, and so we got to be in the best shape to be able to dominate and play the kind of defense that we want.

"I got a lot of work on the hills. I did a lot of footwork drills. just to work on my feet a lot and my power while I'm driving. That's why I did a lot of hills."

Well, the hills have eyes, and they're all on what Liufau might do in his second season, having learned from one linebackers' guru in Year 1, and now learning from another in Year 2.

"It's helped me because [Eberflus] is very hands-on," he said. "Being a defensive coordinator, but also a linebacker guy, he's always in the room, always giving his feedback, and then, obviously, on the field, helping us out where he can. So I feel like they do a great job of developing us and especially the linebacker position, [Eberflus] being a linebacker guy.

" … You can tell [the linebackers' group] is kind of his baby, and where he focuses a lot of energy on, even though he's our defensive coordinator."

Overshown won't be returning anytime soon, though there's a solid chance it'll happen at some point this season but, in the meantime, the onus is on incumbent players like Liufau and Damone Clark — in tandem with newcomers Jack Sanborn and Kenneth Murray — to set the early tone for what Eberflus' return to Dallas will look like as coordinator of the team's defense.

It's a challenge Liufau is embracing with open arms, literally, considering he's looking to improve upon an impressive rookie campaign that saw him finish with two forced fumbles and 50 tackles in only nine starts.

He also had 1.5 sacks, a fumble recovery and three pass breakups — for added sauce.

"I love how we emphasize our play style," he said of Eberflus' scheme entering 2025. "Before anything else, we're emphasizing running to the football, being aggressive and really hustling."

Irish eyes are smiling, it seems.