Linebackers Drue Tranquill and Te'von Coney accounted for a combined 209 tackles in 2018 and both were considered leaders of the defense. Once they left, the position group was filled with uncertainty. Even returning graduate senior linebacker Asmar Bilal, also a 2018 starter, wasn't considered a lock heading into this season.
Many assumed linebacker would be the weakest position on the team.
Instead, players like junior linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, listed at 6-feet-1-inch and 216 pounds, became a defensive revelation for a Notre Dame in 2019 after hardly playing in previous seasons.
Even more impressive is that Owusu-Koramoah only improved as the season progressed, putting together the best game of his young career in the Camping World Bowl on Sunday. Blue and Gold Illustrated's Mike Singer and Vince DeDario even voted for the junior linebacker as MVP of the bowl game.
He led the game in total tackles (9), TFLs (4) and sacks (3). He also forced a fumble and recovered it.
This performance also led an excellent defensive effort against Iowa State, as many of the Cyclones' feature offensive players performed below their usual standards.
IRISH DEFENSE OVERALL GRADE
By looking at the Pro Football Focus grades for each regular defensive rotation player and the number of snaps they played, the defense averaged a 66.4 rating.
This is pretty low given the fact that Iowa State produced its lowest-scoring total since its opener of the 2018 season. There were some miscues in the secondary and a few missed tackles but, as a whole, this was a quality performance from the Notre Dame defense.
In my book, this was an A Minus performance from the Irish defense.
Defense Overall PFF Grade: 66.4 - "Average"
LINEBACKER
Standout: Rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah — On the defensive side of the ball, the junior linebacker earned the top PFF grade of the game with a good overall rating of 82.9.
Given his three sacks, it should come as no surprise that his performance includes a ridiculous 95.3 PFF pass-rush grade, which is on par with some of the highest ratings senior defensive ends Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem received this season.
