One of the driving forces of Notre Dame’s 12-1 season in 2018 was the play of the defensive line. A unit that showed flashes in 2017 became a dominant force, and line coach Mike Elston got big news the past week as junior ends Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara announced their plans to return for the 2019 season.
Getting those two players back, and the return of classmates Daelin Hayes and Adetokunbo Ogundeji means Notre Dame has chance to have the nation’s premier defensive end unit next season.
That group will have a chance to carry the defense next season as the Irish look to replace All-American defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, All-American cornerback Julian Love, and a pair of playmaking linebackers in Drue Tranquill and Te’von Coney.
RECAPPING THE 2018 SEASON
Elston took the defensive line job back over in 2017, and the Irish showed good improvement up front despite being a relatively young group. We saw the unit make major strides in 2018 as both run defenders and pass defenders.
This graph shows the dramatic jump in production from the end position in 2018:
