Notre Dame Defensive Line Depth Remains A Prime Strength
During his playing days as an outside linebacker at the University of Michigan in the mid-1990s, current 12th-year Notre Dame assistant Mike Elston said his greatest source of agitation came on the Friday nights before the game while not having a truly defined role in the game the following day.
That's part of why at Notre Dame he has made it a mandate to have a deep and consistent rotation along his defensive line — provided that effort is displayed throughout the week of practice and drop-off is not so precipitous that it negatively impacts the defense.
Last season was a prime example. Eleven of his defensive linemen played at least 141 snaps (or just over 10 per game), and only fifth-year senior ends Ade Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes had over 400, or an average between 35 to 40 per game. The threshold that Elston usually has for a defensive lineman is about 50 per contest in an effort to keep fresh legs over the course of an arduous season.
When Elston coached the linebackers from 2014-16, it wasn’t uncommon for linemen such as Isaac Rochell or Sheldon Day to average 60 or even more snaps in a game, and often by November that would take a physical toll.
With Elston, a strong two- and even three-deep rotation has become an identity of the unit, part of which has helped Notre Dame not lose a game in November for three straight years.
“If you work hard during the week and you can play winning football, we’re going to try to find a way to get you on the field,” Elston said. “Some guys can’t play at the level that the other guys can at this point in their careers, so they won’t play as much. I don’t want to take a guy off the field and we have a drop-off.
“If we can give them a rest and put a guy in that can go in and play the same level of winning football, then we’re going to do it — if they worked hard during the week.”
The day prior to contests, Elston provides a script to his unit that does not necessarily talk about a depth chart.
“On every meeting on Friday, we go through series one of the game,” he explained. “Here’s who’s going to run out there for series one, here are the four guys that if it goes over four plays that are going to rally — we call it our rally group.”
That’s when the next group runs into the game with hands spinning while yelling “rally, rally, rally” to indicate a change, which then continues as the game progresses.
“We go through who’s going to start the second series, who’s going to be the rally group,” continued Elston. “Sometimes Kurt Hinish, who is a starter, is in the rally group, and Howard Cross III will go out there and start the drive. I try to script it where the starters are going to get more reps, but if we’re even at the position (a la Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Jayson Ademilola at defensive tackle last year) and we finish the game and one guy had 49 reps and the other guy had 48, that’s a win, that’s good. There have been some positions where we played three guys.”
That’s not even including packages such as the nickel or dime defenses where specific roles are also defined.
“What that does is the culture that you create, the buy-in during the week, the effort and energy they put into the practices and the meetings, everybody’s bought in because they know they have a chance to play," Elston said.
“Now, if we come to Friday and you haven’t put in that work, then you’re not going to play. You’re not going to have that role that we talked about. It’s an accountability piece that’s great, but it’s also a reward that, ‘Hey, if I work hard and I can play winning football, Coach is going to try to find a way to play me.’”
Three levels of football are defined. One is developmental, which is what current early entrants such as tackle Gabe Rubio and ends Devin Aupiu and Will Schweitzer are experiencing right now — much like Ogundeji, who will be drafted by the NFL in the early to middle rounds this year despite barely playing, or not at all, his first two seasons.
The second is the “winning football” of which Elston spoke. That means players who are now ready to take on more expanded roles to continue Notre Dame’s standard of vying for the College Football Playoff, if not go beyond.
Current junior Isaiah Foskey began to reach that level last year as a sophomore while becoming a regular in the rotation, but was not quite primed for consistent “championship level” play, which is the final stage.
Individuals who might be taking the next step toward winning football this year include sophomore vyper Jordan Botelho and the two nose tackles backing up Hinish, junior Cross and sophomore Aidan Keanaaina, particularly the former.
“Howard Cross is just a dynamic accelerator, just speed off the ball, low pad level,” Elston praised. “He finds ways into creases and gaps. He’s always in the backfield, he’s quick with his hands, he’s got good speed and he’s got really good agility. He’s been a load to block.
“He’s going to have a break-out season. I’m excited for him and it’s been a really fun nose guard position this spring with Kurt, Howard and Aidan.”
The standout up front has been Tagovailoa-Amosa, who has shifted to strong-side end in new coordinator Marcus Freeman’s scheme. Thus, Jayson Ademilola has taken on the prime role at defensive tackle with sophomore Rylie Mills, while Justin Ademilola continues to play “winning football” behind Tagovailoa-Amosa. There is also plenty of cross-training going on at multiple positions.
“The move for him has been very beneficial,” Elston said of Tagovailoa-Amosa. “He’s trimmed down and leaned out in his weight, and looks really good with speed and agility off the edge. Probably the most productive guy up to this point throughout spring. He and the nose guard position … those four guys have been super productive.”
That doesn’t even include junior nose tackle Jacob Lacey, who has been a regular in the lineup since his freshman year but was slowed last year by a shoulder injury that was repaired this winter and left him sidelined this spring.
Vying to be in the rotation on the edge this year as well are junior NaNa Osafo-Mensah — sidelined last year with a preseason knee injury — and rangy 6-7 sophomore Alexander Ehrensberger. Former linebacker Osita Ekwonu also will now compete for action at the vyper position in which dropping into coverage might become more of the job description in Freeman's scheme.
Notre Dame’s defensive line is not just about depth perception. It’s a reality that should remain for years to come.
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