Friday Five: Notre Dame Defensive Line’s Versatility Remains On Display
Nose tackle Kurt Hinish confirmed a position shift for a teammate in his Tuesday media session.
In describing the nose tackle group, Hinish named three players. Himself, Howard Cross III and Aidan Keanaaina.
He did not list junior Jacob Lacey, his backup in 2019 and for part of 2020 until a shoulder injury slowed him (and Cross’ emergence cut into his workload). It was another hint Lacey isn’t tied to one spot anymore. The first one came when Lacey took snaps at three-technique in the Aug. 12 open practice. He hasn’t completely left nose tackle, though, and saw action there Thursday.
Add another movable piece to a defensive line full of them.
Versatility is a natural byproduct of a defense that switches between three- and four-man fronts. Most of Notre Dame’s linemen are not only playing multiple positions, but look the part.
“We have a lot of versatility because of what we do up front,” defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman said. “You don’t just sit there and play three-technique or sit there and play nose or play end. You’re moving. You’re doing different things.”
Rylie Mills shined from his usual interior spot and at big end in Thursday’s open practice. Starting defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, of course, moved from defensive tackle and is likely to see snaps there in sub-packages. Freeman said defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola has moved around.
Elsewhere, vyper Jordan Botelho has played off-ball linebacker. Big end Justin Ademilola has played vyper as well, and even broke up a pass intended for running back Kyren Williams when he dropped into coverage. Defensive end Nana Osafo-Mensah has played both edge spots, though most of his work has come at big end. Cross has played both tackle positions in his career.
Hinish and vyper Isaiah Foskey appear to be the only regulars in Notre Dame’s defensive line rotation who work exclusively at one spot.
Giving Lacey work at three-technique makes sense beyond schematic and skill set reasons. Cross isn’t going away. But neither should Lacey, who has played well overall and earned a freshman year role in 2019.
The depth chart at three-technique isn’t any less crowded with Ademilola and Mills. Adding a second position to Lacey’s plate, though, helps Notre Dame find ways to play him on its deepest unit. It has that multi-positional luxury with most of the other defensive linemen too.
"We're going to move guys around and they're going to be difficult to block," head coach Brian Kelly said.
2. More Offensive Line Continuity
As Kelly hinted Thursday, it’s getting harder to see anything other than Blake Fisher, Zeke Correll, Jarrett Patterson, Cain Madden and Josh Lugg as the starting offensive line at Florida State, barring injury.
That group has worked together for more than week. All told, it had a solid day Thursday. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees likes the cohesion he’s seeing – and offered another strong hint that Notre Dame is inclined to keep that group intact.
“The biggest thing has been the ability to play together,” Rees said. “When you start to get into a comfort level of who’s out there together, you start to see the combinations work at a higher level. You start to see the communication up front. Those things with offensive line play are so critical to success and can’t go understated.”
Someone will have to make a mighty impression to earn a look with the first team and pause that gelling process. Notre Dame appears comfortable enough with its current group. Perhaps that’s in part because no one has made a strong enough case to get an extended chance, but there’s continuity if nothing else. The coaching staff won’t overreact to one bad day either.
I’m not convinced Notre Dame’s offense will be operating at its ceiling when it plays Florida State. (I’m also not entirely sure what that ceiling is, but that’s another discussion). Finding a best five and sticking with it, though, is one way to make sure the opening night performance is as close to optimal or satisfactory as possible.
3. Rover
Kelly’s breakdown of the rover position when I asked him about it earlier this month caught my attention.
“We’re looking at a number of different options at that position, because we want to keep it on the field as much as we can,” Kelly said. “I’d say it’s very competitive and we think we have very good players at that position right now.”
Notre Dame had one rover who served all purposes in 2020. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah could play as an in-the-box linebacker on run downs. He could shift to slot corner or blitz on obvious passing downs. He was, of course, a standout in each role.
If the rover is an every-down or highly utilized position in 2021 — like Kelly suggests — it will have to be a committee that changes based on the situation. Jack Kiser has taken nearly all the first-team snaps in both open practices, but he’s not going to play man coverage like Owusu-Koramoah did. Perhaps that’s where former safety Paul Moala finds his niche if Notre Dame deploys the rover on passing downs.
Kelly even said Marist Liufau has worked at rover in camp. Liufau’s blitzing acumen would be a fit at rover in sub-packages too if Notre Dame replaces his primary spot, Will linebacker, with a nickel back. Isaiah Pryor impressed as a run defender in space in Thursday’s practice and is keeping himself in the picture, even though most of his work has come with the second team.
4. The AP Poll
I’ve noticed some angst about Notre Dame’s ranking behind Iowa State and Cincinnati in the initial AP top 25. The gist seems to be that it’s disrespectful to be ranked below those two. I won’t spend this section defending or agreeing with it, but I’ll push back on any suggestion the Cyclones and Bearcats aren’t talented.
Anyway, onto Notre Dame’s ranking in and of itself.
The Irish are a consensus top-10 team in the AP and coaches poll. The AP ranking is tied for the highest of the Kelly era. That distinction comes in a year of much transition. The 2021 team and all its unknowns is ranked a spot higher than the 2020 group, which had far fewer uncertain areas.
I look at the ranking as a nod to the Irish’s floor as a very good team. I think there’s also some (rightful) voter skepticism about their ceiling as an elite team, considering those in the top five had meaningful personnel losses too and didn’t suffer because they recruit at the highest levels. And, you know, given what has happened when Notre Dame has played those teams.
I don’t think there are many other teams who could lose what Notre Dame did (125th in ESPN’s returning production metric) at positions it did (quarterback, offensive line) and find itself in the top 10 of both human polls. Unless that team is named Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia or Clemson, all of whom sign top-five classes on a near-annual basis.
I took a deep dive and examined the preseason AP polls from 2016-20. Excluding those four recruiting powers, the only other teams to rank 100th or lower in returning production and earn a preseason top-10 AP ranking in that span: 2020 LSU (No. 6, the defending champion), 2019 Texas (No. 9), 2018 Oklahoma (No. 7), 2018 Penn State (No. 116), 2016 Stanford (No. 8) and 2016 Notre Dame.
Notre Dame doesn’t get the same preseason ranking treatment as the programs it’s annually chasing on the field and the recruiting trail. But it seems the voters view the Irish as the best of the rest at reloading despite lack of top-five classes.
5. A Tease For Next Week
The Aug. 27 edition of this column will contain five bold predictions for Notre Dame’s 2021 season.
To hold you over, here’s a bonus prognostication.
Liufau will finish in the top four in Havoc plays among Notre Dame defenders. (Havoc plays are sacks, tackles for loss, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, pass breakups and interceptions).
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