Notre Dame's 19 For '19: 6/5, Safeties Jalen Elliott & Alohi Gilman

WHY JALEN ELLIOTT & ALOHI GILMAN ARE RANKED NOS. 6-5 IN THIS COUNTDOWN.

Try as we did, it is virtually impossible to separate these two in production, impact, experience and leadership — all of which will remain essential in 2019.

The line (Jerry Tillery), linebacker (Drue Tranquill and Te’von Coney) and cornerback (Julian Love) all lost linchpins from last season, but safety remains intact with this tandem which is 1-2 on this year's team in the most career college football starts. Elliott has started all 26 games the past two seasons, while Gilman has 25 starts, although 12 of them were as a Navy freshman in 2016.

At this time last year, safety and running back were deemed, on paper, to be the two Achilles heel in Notre Dame’s quest for its first bid in the College Football Playoff’s five-year history. Instead, the dramatic upgrade at safety became a prime impetus in the Fighting Irish achieving that goal.

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