Defensive Linemen

Notes:

That’s a group you can get excited about.

Granted this is a group that didn’t exactly dominate last year - they were serviceable, but not much more - but returning experience and growth in the new system instills a bit of excitement in this Notre Dame fan. Especially with the potential on the edge in Daelin Hayes, Khalid Kareem, and Julian Okwara.

If these young men make strides during the spring, watch out. They have the natural ability to develop into disruptive forces that could, in tandem, decimate opposing offensive lines. Okwara is the most naturally-inclined pass rusher out of those three, while Daelin Hayes and Khalid Kareem act more as all-around run-stopper, pass-rusher combos. They won’t get after the quarterback like Okwara, but they’ll prove to be more stout against the run.

Also on the edge - for now - is Jay Hayes. Hayes had his best season to date in 2017, although it wasn’t anything to write home about. He was solid on the edge, but still has room for improvement. With his size physical traits, it wouldn’t be surprising if he cross-trained inside this spring, and eventually went full time on the interior.

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

On the inside, the three names to know are Jerry Tillery, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, and Jonathan Bonner. Bonner and Tillery were the starters last season, and Tagavailoa rotated in quite a bit as a true freshman. Bonner is a solid contributor, but unspectacular as a player. With that said, expect the Irish to lean on his experience and consistency. Tillery was a difference maker when his effort was there, although that effort was occasionally lacking. Tagavailoa flashed substantially this past season, and is definitely expected to develop into a bona fide leader for this defensive line down the road.

This “upper-7” (as I will refer to it) will likely rotate in and out with each other and receive the majority of the playing time. Behind the projected upper-7 on the depth chart are a plethora of names that are much more difficult to make projections for in 2018.

Darnell Ewell, Kurt Hinish, and Micah Dew-Treadway will likely be backups at defensive tackle. Ewell is a huge, athletic interior lineman overflowing with potential. If he can put everything together, he will be a force. Hinish had his moments as a freshman, but was clearly behind Tagavailoa. If he is to vie for playing time in 2018, he has to make moves this spring. Dew-Treadway will almost certainly - barring massive strides on his part - receiver limited playing time in relief of others. He is experienced, but has yet to truly push for significant playing time. I don’t expect that to change.

The backups on the edge will be Kofi Wardlow and Ade Ogundeji. Ade Ogundeji comes equipped with all the physical traits you could ask for in a defensive end, but the mental side of the game is the hurdle here. If he can get a better grasp on football and combine that with his natural ability, he will be a fantastic player for the Irish. Wardlow lacks Ogundeji’s size, but possesses the quick-twitch ability that you look for in defensive ends. Similarly to the Ogundeji, if he is to make an impact this season he has to develop the mental side of the game.

There’s plenty of raw talent along the defensive line for the Irish going into 2018. The short-term future looks as if it will be good. But as was mentioned earlier, this isn’t a group that dominated opposition in 2017. Progress will have to be made if they are to live up to that potential, and as always, that progress starts in spring.

The wonderful @phillykelly

Of the four linemen Notre Dame signed, Patterson impressed me the most. Not only in grading his film, but the potential he shows to translate his abilities to the college level. Lets take a closer look at Patterson and how he will factor in the future for the Fighting Irish.

STRENGTHS

Offensive line coaches begin their evaluations by looking at an athlete's feet and how he moves. This translates to both run and pass blocking ability. Good mobility is an asset for an offensive lineman that can't be coached — a kid either has it or he doesn’t. Patterson has it.

Patterson played in a more traditional offensive system in high school. He would line up in both two- and three-point stance, varying his overall foot placement depending on the play called, and would adjust his first step on the snap based on whether the QB was under center or in the gun. This is a small technique adjustment that people often miss when grading an offensive lineman. When the QB starts under center, a lineman’s first step has to be quick and mesh well with his power step to engage a defender at close range. Most defenses now adjust to a QB under center by aligning closer to the line of scrimmage.

Patterson comes out of his stance well, staying low when needed. He shows good balance in transitioning out of his stance to explode either down the line or up field to engage the defender. He exhibits appropriate knee bend, and uses this element to engage his body with the defender and complete his blocks effectively. A key component of his game is his “Pull” step, a gathering step 90 degrees toward the line of scrimmage. He shows tremendous ability to slide down the line in his pull to both kick out a defender and work to the second level and find the next defensive player in his lane.

Patterson's pass blocking is impressive as well. He does his drop step with authority. This sets him up well on the edge, stonewalling the defender and pushing him away from the interior of the pocket. His stance in pass protection is perfect; he doesn’t get too wide and moves his feet while blocking. This allows him to adjust to the defender's pass rush without compromising his position. He shifts well from a reach-punch technique to sell the pass and then angle to block down field on the release. This indicates the overall athleticism of an athlete. Patterson shows this athleticism over and over again in his film review.

WEAKNESSES

Patterson’s overall game is strong. Weaknesses are not as easy to spot as they are in some of the other evaluations I’ve done. For the most part, he is a complete offensive line prospect. The only two areas he will need to work on are the final aspect of his pass blocking and some leverage issues. In pass blocking, the only potential problem I can spot is that he has a tendency to give up ground toward the pocket when has to hold a block for a long time. The reason is that he tends to transfer his leverage from his base and lose strength as it works up his body. This issue tends to correct itself with proper strength training and coaching on setting his base more effectively.

FINALLY

Grading Patterson is fairly simple. What you see in his game is a very good, and at times dominating, offensive lineman.

Patterson is easily the best offensive line prospect in this class, and the one most likely to see playing time early in his career. He has just developed his overall game more than the other three linemen have.

The future could put him on either side of the line at the tackle position. The good bend in his lower body could possibly get him a look inside, but his strengths play to the outside. He plays with an aggressive streak, which is always a plus.

In Chip Long's offense, the linemen are required to have good movement and be able to adjust quickly off a combo block to work downfield. In Long’s RPO package, which we didn't get to see much of this past season for various reasons, the O-line has to get good, low leverage and hold their block or “bucket” step at a 45-degree angle, thus turning the defender away from the play-side read. Patterson exhibited an ability to do both.

I expect Patterson to be a starter for the Fighting Irish in one or two years. He is the headliner for Notre Dame's offensive line class in 2018.

As much talk as there has been about Notre Dame’s running game coming out of the 41-8 loss to the Canes, it’s Notre Dame’s run defense that springs the most interesting question for me.

It was pointed out that over the past two weeks against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Hurricanes, the Irish allowed 237 and 239 yards rushing - and now they take on the best rushing attack in the country in Navy. How can the Irish improve?

Just we have to have a better attention to detail. Our fits have got to be better. We've got to get off blocks. We've got to get back to that mentality of dominating those one-on-one matchups. You've got to win some matchups. We had guys in position to make plays. We've got to simply make the plays.

Look, they ran -- their first half running attack was one that we felt really comfortable that we should be more effective with. We've simply got to be better in our preparation and coach our guys better, go back and make sure that we're teaching him the fundamentals so we can make the plays necessary.

So there's no high science here. There's nothing that can't be prepared during practice for us to get back to playing the kind of run defense we need to play, simply stated.

High science. Last Saturday I felt like I was high and doing an odd science experiment with my emotions. *sigh*

The rest of the press conference is in the video below.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

As with every other game, some stats told the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Others, not so much. Let’s take a look.

The Fighting Irish Offense was 5-16 on third down. Ian Book went only 17-31 through the air for 146 yards and two interceptions. The fact that Notre Dame even threw the ball 31 times suggests that maybe things didn’t go swimmingly for the Irish in Chapel Hill Saturday afternoon.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

But that wasn’t the case. It turns out that when your outstanding running back stable, behind yet another game in which Josh Adams went over 100 yards in the first half, and with the help of the as-usual outstanding offense line play the way they do, you have room for error. The margin increases when you consider the depletion due to injury on the other side of the ball; the North Carolina Tar Heels were missing what seemed like a million players on defense, and more just kept dropping as the game went on.

341 yards rushing (Adams had 118 on 13 carries and one touchdown, Deon McIntosh led the Irish with 124 on 12 carries, Ian Book added 45 yards on 12 carries, and C.J. Holmes and Tony Jones Jr. chipped in 32 and 31 respectively) affords you the luxury to experiment and open up the play book with a pass-first quarterback making his first start. Thanks to the running game, Ian Book got plenty of chances.

Stat’s That Don’t

Which brings me to my next point. 17/31 for 146 yards isn’t bad given the weather conditions, but two interceptions to one touchdown and a QBR 27.7 tell me all I need to know. Ian Book should not be starting over Brandon Wimbush and you are completely out of your mind if you think otherwise.

Brandon Wimbush’s potential as a passer combined with his current abilities as a runner are going to outweigh Book’s potential as a passer and his limited ability on the ground any day. I think 14 more points against the Tar Heels is the difference between having a healthy Wimbush in the game vs. Book. Simply because, instead of two interceptions, you more than likely have 50-60 more yards on the ground from Wimbush and the opportunity for two more scores. I don’t think you see the pass-heavy play calling in those conditions if Wimbush is your quarterback.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s some more truthful stats: 265 yards of offense. Three turnovers. 13 first downs to Notre Dame’s 27. The North Carolina offense was shut down by an outstanding Notre Dame defensive effort. The defense continues to improve which is yet another luxury that will the passing offense to evolve regardless of who the quarterback moving forward is.

No one should be hanging their hats on any type of moral victory, but opening up the window on the 28th floor seems unnecessary as well. It sucked, and the fact that Notre Dame has lost so many of these close games in the Kelly era makes the whole thing that much worse.

We need a cookie an energy bar. Perhaps the Irish can give them a shot in the arm on Saturday against the...

BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES

Boston College has had their own problems over the past few years. Irish fans can relate as the Eagles have made poor coaching decisions over the past decade that has the program in a mess. While I would always think that a 7 win season with a bowl victory would be good enough for Eagles fans, it actually turns out that this is not the case.

Their fans are tired of the mediocrity - although they would take a mediocre offense over whatever the hell it is that they have been doing. A 34-10 loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons last week is a fair litmus test for what the Eagles will be this year.

WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DRINKING?

This game is in Boston(ish), right? So... why don't we pay a little homage to Boston's good friend in New York, and make a few classics.

Long Island Iced Tea

Mix ingredients together over ice in a glass. Pour into a shaker and give one brisk shake. Pour back into the glass and make sure there is a touch of fizz at the top.

Garnish with lemon.

WHAT SHOULD YOU BE EATING?

There is no need to get complicated this Saturday. At the same time, however, there is no need to be boring. Highlight the best thing you can find with some garnishments. Yes, you can do this with food too.

Lobster Rolls

• 2 lemons, halved
• Sea salt
• 3 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-pound live lobsters
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 6 top-split hot dog buns
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped celery leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt

Cook your lobsters y'all.

Don't hate me, boil me.

Roughly chop the lobster meat. Transfer to a bowl and chill 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the mayonnaise, 4 tablespoons melted butter and the juice of the remaining lemon in a large bowl. Add the lobster meat and toss to coat. Season with salt.

Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Brush the outside of the hot dog buns with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Toast the buns until slightly golden, about 1 minute per side. Divide the lobster salad among the buns. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter and sprinkle with the celery leaves and celery salt.

WHAT SHOULD YOU BE WEARING?

Both schools are "Under Armour" schools, so on Saturday... breakout that $253.00 outfit you bought after the win ver the Temple Owls, and tell those Eagles that your AD makes better statistical deals. (That's all I really got).

WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS GAME?

That's a hard question. There is nothing really good about this game. For Notre Dame, a win will prove almost nothing, while a loss would be near catastrophic. Quite simply - the Irish have to win this game (and by a fair margin) just to not feel as shitty as they do right now. The best thing? Notre Dame might have the same number of fans in attendance at this game as they did last week?

5 REASONS TO HATE BOSTON COLLEGE

1. 1993. [insert man setting an entire city on fire while drinking the cheapest gin]
2. Doug Flutie (both in the booth and the fact we have to watch that one fucking play over and over again each football season).
3. Mike Mayock, because he still won't let go of the most unimportant detail from a play 3 years ago and repeats its flaws over and over and over again.
4. 2002. Green puke everywhere.
5. That wicked ugly SUPER FANS shirt.

SHAMROCK STARS

Dexter Williams. By some miracle, Williams will actually be able to carry the football this week, and just trucks the Eagle defense. This of course will only mean that he will be guaranteed to get >2 carries next week against Michigan State, but at least for now, Brian Kelly hears the thunderous mob and appeases its members. #FreeDexterWilliams

Jerry Tillery. Tillery has looked really good this season, and he came close to a few really big plays last week against Georgia. I'm not 100% sure what Boston College is trying to do on offense (and neither do they) but I think Tillery will be a major disruption up front. Think Jarron Jones vs Miami. He's put in the work, and it's about to pay off.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

I don't like the game being moved from NOON to 3:00, but I understand why. At any rate, Notre Dame comes out focused and prepared and looking for blood. Look for a result somewhere in the middle of the Georgia and Temple games. IRISH 38, BC 13.

The quantity of sports journalism and sports commentary has increased exponentially in the last 20 years, while the overall quality has diminished. Hobbyists and students are responsible for the considerable majority of published sports content, and as writers they are an uneven lot. At least two thirds — and here I think I'm being conservative — of the sports articles that are put out these days wouldn't have gotten published 20 years ago.

One of the reasons for concern, as many posters have mentioned, is uncontrolled dissemination of "secret" information about formations, plays and the like. However, there are others.

There is an increasingly large portion of current commentary that is abusive, and often relentlessly so. A good op-ed writer will strike a balance between positive and negative commentary. But again, many of the people writing these days aren't particularly good writers. Many are out to make a name for themselves the lazy way, with one negative hot take after another, looking for whatever spin they can they can put on a sound or video bite that will bring attention to themselves.

So, it may not be just a matter of limiting direct access to those writers who can be trusted to be responsible, it may also be a matter of limiting the access to the information that responsible writers put out to other, less responsible, writers.

Suppose a program allows unlimited filming of practice, by any reporter invited. A reporter goes over the film and publishes mistakes a player makes, along with a few hundred words about how this player needs to pick up his game. That player might see 10,000 words written about what a terrible player he is by the following morning, with strings of comments from coast to coast bashing him, his team, his coaches, his fellow students and/or his university.

How much of this is too much? These are young men, some still teenagers. If we saw a group of 20- and 30-somethings verbally abusing an 18-year-old kid to his face, in public, would we say that the First Amendment guaranteed them the right, so go right ahead and abuse him, or would we tell them to back the hell off?

We need to think about the ramifications of all the negative commentary. Is it reasonable to attempt to limit the amount of filming of practice, not to "keep secrets" but to protect the players from abuse? Why do writers expect to be respected, if as a whole so many are disrespectful? It isn't fair to lump everyone together, it is true, but it is also true that conscientious writers as a group haven't done anything to differentiate themselves from those who are less so. How do the programs strike the right balance, if writers themselves haven't?

Perhaps an even larger problem is that news isn't fact-checked with the same care that it was 20 years ago. We need look no further than the recent incident involving Tim Brando for an example.

On May 12, Brando was a guest speaker on a podcast at LouisvilleSportsLive.net. On that podcast (at 17:30), he was asked why he believed that Notre Dame would eventually join the ACC in football. Brando responded "I've talked to a number of people … I just can't name them, but I've talked to a number of people at Notre Dame that I have full faith in, and they've indicated to me that the conversations have taken place." He then spent several minutes explaining (again) the reasons for his opinion that Notre Dame would eventually join the ACC.

Now, it seems pretty clear that Brando was implying that he had inside information that Notre Dame was in talks to join the ACC. However, he stopped short of actually saying so: he said that the conversations "have taken" place, not that they "were taking" place. Of course the conversations took place. And when they did, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the ACC came up with the arrangement that they have now. Whether they talked about it after that, he didn't say.

After the podcast, a tweet went out from LouisvilleSportsLive, saying "conversations have taken place about potentially joining the #ACC for football." That was enough for quite a few "news outlets." Titles such as "Notre Dame talking to ACC about joining in football: report" and "Report: Notre Dame in Talks to Join ACC Full Time" flew out over the blogosphere within a couple of days. Four days later, Jack Swarbrick made a public — and duly reported — statement that there was no truth to the rumor.

Of course, there was plenty of skepticism about this story all along, but the point is that a large number of outlets reported this as news, without checking the facts.

Now suppose, in a practice, Joe Linebacker goes down, holding his knee, and a writer tweets "Joe Linebacker is down, holding his knee." Within 24 hours, we will see any number of articles quoting this tweet, and saying that Joe is down with a knee injury. Never mind that Joe got up one minute later, was fine, and nobody tweeted that out. Twenty-four hours after that, after the coaches make a public statement that Joe Linebacker is just fine, the same outlets will report that fact with equal gusto.

What should a program do about this? Perhaps ask reporters not to report injuries until they're officially acknowledged? Perhaps ban Twitter posts during practice sessions? After all, Twitter seems to be the source of most of the knee-jerk comments in the world these days.

If a swarm of lazy writers will jump on any rumor bandwagon and report it as news, then might this be a reason for programs' recently more restrictive behavior? If so, then perhaps working with the programs to find ways to differentiate legitimate journalists from writers who don't hold themselves to professional standards would be productive. Writing op-eds about why it's such a bad idea for them to limit media access probably isn't.

The depth chart for Notre Dame football could use a few adjustments.

The depth chart for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team has remained pretty steady since the first couple weeks of the season. As the Irish get set to take on the Miami Hurricanes, I have to ask... should it? Should the depth chart get shook up a bit on a 2-5 team that's struggling to get a bowl bid at the very least?

It should, but it doesn't have to be a huge move. There is a subtle change that can and should be made, and its name is Chase Claypool.

We have all been a witness to what Chase Claypool can bring to the football field. He is an incredible athlete and plays as hard- if not harder, than anyone else out in the field.

In many ways, Claypool reminds me of Bennett Jackson and James Onwualu. Guys that started out on offense as wide receivers, but their aggressiveness was so bountiful, they eventually found a home on defense.

Claypool, as it has been suggested by others such as Tim Prister of Irish Illustrated, could make a very good safety.

However, for our purposes here today, I think Notre Dame needs to tap into that athleticism and aggressiveness, and find more ways to include Chase in the offense at tight end and h-back- even game plan around him.

It’s no secret that Notre Dame has been severely lacking in production at tight end this season. The loss of Alize’ Jones as an academic casualty for the semester and the shaky play from both Durham Smythe and Nic Weishar has made the once valuable position, basically just another body out on the field.

I think a guy like Claypool not only adds much more of a threat as a receiver than the other two, but also adds much more as a run blocker- even while giving up a few pounds.

Perhaps this is all folly, but in a season like this, calculated chances can pay off with huge payouts.

HASHTAG PLAY CHASE CLAYPOOL

A local standout reopens his recruitment

Earlier today, four-star Donovan Jeter announced he is no longer committed to Notre Dame. This is a pretty notable action for Pitt’s recruiting efforts. Donovan Jeter is a 6’5” 255 Defensive End/Tackle. He is rated as a four-star by all four major recruiting, and was considered to be one of Pitt’s highest priority recruits until he committed Notre Dame last month.

His commitment to Notre Dame was a bit shocking, truth be told. He was widely considered a Pitt lean by many for a variety of reasons. His brother is Sheldon Jeter, a senior on the basketball team. He is from nearby Beaver Falls High School in Beaver County, an area that has been considered a pipeline. Perhaps most importantly, he generally spoke highly of Pitt and Pat Narduzzi, especially in the months leading up to his Notre Dame decision.

Obviously Jeter reopening his recruitment should get Pitt fans on notice. I’m not sure it is a slam dunk to Pitt, though. His offer sheet is as impressive as it gets. He holds offers from schools like Alabama, Michigan, and Ohio State. In fact, he announced via Twitter today that Oklahoma had offered him. So obviously, the competition for Jeter will be pretty fierce. He also said on Twitter that Notre Dame is still in the mix as well.

It’s hard to say what will happen in the recruitment of Donovan Jeter from here on out, but it’s one worth monitoring. Jeter is one of the best players in the state and country for that matter, and Pitt had prioritized before, and knowing he’s back on the market he will be highly prioritized once again.

Kelly met with the media on Tuesday to answer questions about this week’s upcoming game against Stanford.

This seems like a common theme with Kelly in every Tuesday presser. Almost every week he saying they need to coach better. Maybe it’s the players who just aren’t getting it, but moreover maybe it is the actual coaching isn’t up to par. At the moment this is an all around poorly coached team.

It’d be one thing if Notre Dame was 2-4 and looked like a well coached team, but they aren’t. They are getting out-coached in almost every game. They are a bad 2-4. Stanford and Michigan State are both 2-3, but at least you can say that they are a well coached team. It’s hard to say that with the Irish.

Again Kelly pointing to the coaching not being up to snuff. On one hand fans want Kelly and the coaching staff to shoulder the blame for Notre Dame’s poor play, but at the same time it is kind of disheartening to hear the seventh year head coach say they aren’t coaching well enough. The Irish program is an a very tough spot at the moment.

A few weeks ago Kelly said that he would be a little more animated on the sidelines. When he said that we thought we would be seeing more of the purple-in-the-face Kelly, but we really haven’t. I’d have to agree that Kelly hasn’t crossed any lines lately. Of course he gets in the faces of his players at times, but what coach doesn’t do that from time to time?

I didn’t get to watch the press conference today like I usually do, so I didn’t see how this question came up. I wonder why this question was even asked. Where would they even move Zaire to? Defensive back? No, you’d rather have your younger guys get experience. Wide receiver? No, you’re already loaded at that position. Zaire got dealt an unfortunate hand last year, but he clearly does not have a spot on this football team at the moment.

This stat doesn’t bode well for a Notre Dame win on Saturday. It’s hard to think Stanford will drop a third straight game, I mean they haven’t done it in quite some time.

Other News and Notes

• Kelly said that he’s been working with the defensive backs more than any other position group. He loves the group eagerness and willingness to learn and be coached.
• Kelly said he’s doing everything to create a winning identity for this year’s team, as well as ‘17, ‘18 and ‘19.
• Kelly kept preaching that the offensive line will get better from week to week.
• Kelly denied that he had blamed players for losses in the past. He said the blame falls on everyone in the program.
• Stanford All-American running back, Christian McCaffrey, will most likely be a game time decision for Saturday’s game.

Brian Kelly is usually answering question about this week’s opponent during his Tuesday press conference, but still was being asked about last Sunday’s game.

Brian Kelly is a master of the press conference game, and as always, he played the field of questions almost flawlessly.

The Notre Dame staff has tirelessly been working on the 2018 class, and those efforts are starting to really show.