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Notre Dame Career Starts By Unit

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Captains Alex Bars (71) and Sam Mustipher (left) make the offensive line the top unit in starting experience again.
Captains Alex Bars (71) and Sam Mustipher (left) make the offensive line the top unit in starting experience again. (Bill Panzica)
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Football begins with line play. From that perspective, there might be reason to be encouraged about Notre Dame in 2018. Among the nine position groups on the team, the top two with the most experience are the offensive and defensive lines.

One stat we do like to point out on occasion, though: Notre Dame’s most recent national champs in 1988 had four career starts returning along the offensive line and none along the defensive line.

Still, for the second year in a row, offensive line, defensive line and linebacker will be represented 1-2-3 among the nine position groups on offense and defense. Here are the most career starts entering 2018, by position:


1. Offensive Line: 65 —Alex Bars (27), Sam Mustipher (25), Tommy Kraemer (10), Robert Hainsey (3)

Despite the graduation of the top two offensive linemen taken in the 2018 NFL Draft with left guard Quenton Nelson (No. 6) and left tackle Mike McGlinchey (No. 9), the return of third-year starters Bars and Mustipher as fifth-year seniors keeps this unit relatively old.

During the abysmal 2016 campaign, only 27 career starts returned here, but there were also a couple of position switches. This year there are two again: Bars moving from right guard to left guard and Kraemer from right tackle to right guard.


2. Defensive Line: 54 —Jerry Tillery (28), Jonathan Bonner (14), Daelin Hayes (12)

This unit would have edged ahead to No. 1 had fifth-year senior Jay Hayes, who started all 13 games at strong side end last season, not opted to leave in the middle of spring to transfer to Georgia, where he will be immediately eligible in 2018 because of graduating from Notre Dame.

Tillery and Bonner also are switching positions from last year, with Bonner moving to nose guard and Tillery to the three-technique.


3. Linebacker/Rover: 45 —Drue Tranquill (29), Te’von Coney (16)

Last year’s No. 1 and No. 3 tacklers — Coney had 116 (13 for loss) and Tranquill 85 (10.5 for loss) — provide a veteran, proven presence, but they too are moving into new roles, with Tranquill shifting from the hybrid rover to Buck linebacker, while Coney transitions from Buck to the graduating Nyles Morgan’s Mike position, where greater responsibility will be thrust on him to make the defensive calls. Depth is a prime question mark.


4. Safety 36 — Nick Coleman (14), Jalen Elliott (13), Devin Studstill (9)

Notable here is that the new starter at the end of spring at free safety was Alohi Gilman, who started 12 games as a Navy freshman in 2016 before transferring, thereby sitting out the 2017 season per NCAA transfer rules. (We include only starts at Notre Dame.)

Including Gilman, there probably is not another FBS team in the country with four safeties who have at least nine career starts. It is a position that is expected to make appreciable improvement in the Fighting Irish attack.


5. Cornerbacks: 35 —Julian Love (21), Troy Pride (7), Donte Vaughn (4), Shaun Crawford (3)

Similar to defensive line, this unit would be bolstered even more had fifth-year senior Nick Watkins and his 10 career starts (nine last year) not opted at the end of spring to transfer elsewhere (to be determined), where a starting gig and the ability to showcase his skills would be more likely.


6. Tight End: 15 — Alize Mack (11), Nic Weishar (4)

Recent fourth-round pick Durham Smythe started all 25 games the past two seasons, but Mack (academically ineligible in 2016) also had six starts last season in offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Chip Long’s alignment that often relies on multiple tight end alignments. Look for that to continue this season either with fifth-year senior Weishar or sophomores Cole Kmet and Brock Wright.


7. Quarterback: 13 — Brandon Wimbush (12), Ian Book (1)

Last season marked the second time in head coach Brian Kelly’s eight seasons at Notre Dame the Irish had no career starts returning at quarterback. The other was his first in 2010 with Dayne Crist.

This time, Wimbush returns as the incumbent, while Book will be much more prepared as well after leading the fourth-quarter comeback win in the Citrus Bowl with two touchdown passes.


8. Receivers: 12 —Chase Claypool (8), Freddy Canteen (2), Miles Boykin (1), Chris Finke (1)

Last year at this time all 22 returning career starts were from the “S Troop” of Equanimeous St. Brown (12), CJ Sanders (7) and Kevin Stepherson (3). They all were in line to return in 2018, but St. Brown opted to turn pro after his junior year, Sanders will use his fifth season elsewhere after barely playing last season, and Stepherson has been dismissed because of repeated arrests. Michigan graduate transfer Canteen's future is also murky after tearing a labrum last season in a career that has been beset by injuries.

Claypool’s 34 career receptions are the most on the current roster, just ahead of tight end Mack’s 32.


9. Running Backs: 1 — Tony Jones (1)

Like St. Brown at receiver, Josh Adams took his 1,430 yards rushing last season to the NFL after his junior year, but went undrafted. That leaves the junior Jones as the lone running back with any career start, and he has 232 career yards rushing.

The top returning career rusher is quarterback Wimbush with 899, while senior Dexter Williams has 641 in three seasons.

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