Notre Dame's 2018 class will have plenty of opportunities to make its presence felt during fall camp. The class will be key to the Irish making another playoff run in 2019.
In a recent Cover 3 article we debated with freshman or true freshman would have the biggest impact on Notre Dame's 2019 success. Now we debate which sophomore will have the biggest impact on the field this fall.
LOU SOMOGYI, SENIOR EDITOR
Houston Griffith, CB: At this time last year, I thought any topic on defensive back Houston Griffith in 2019 would involve being wary of the “sophomore jinx.”
It hasn’t turned out that way — which might turn into a sophomore surge blessing instead.
The expectations were high for the top-rated Notre Dame recruit in 2018 (No. 43 nationally by Rivals), and they expanded in the spring of 2018 when he displayed attributes that had the staff eager to find him playing time. Unfortunately, that action occurred primarily at nickel, and the role that included covering the slot was a difficult transition for him.
Overall, Griffith’s 183 snaps on defense (about 14 per game) were the second most in the 27-man freshman class, behind only defensive tackle Jayson Ademiloloa’s 189, but senior Nick Coleman eventually took over at nickel later in the season.
Quite often a highly touted freshman has to go through a humbling phase, and Griffith appears to be the type who will come back the better from it. He reportedly is posting the kind of off-the-chart results in the strength and conditioning program that 2015-18 receiver Miles Boykin used to quietly do en route to becoming a third-round pick.
