Notre Dame Football: Midweek Musings

Former Notre Dame defensive tackle Jerry Tillery is off to the NFL after an All-American 2018 season. Fellow starter Jonathan Bonner is also gone after exhausting his eligibility.

Outside of junior Kurt Hinish, who played 354 snaps last season, there are major question marks returning along the inside of the defensive line. Notre Dame lost 200 career tackles, 28 career tackles for loss and 15.5 career sacks at defensive tackle and it must replace that production with a group that returns just 55 career tackles, 6.5 career tackles for loss and just two sacks.

With all being said my next statement … or better yet, my prediction … might seem foolish, but here goes.

Notre Dame will get more production from the defensive tackle position in 2019 without an All-American than it got in 2018 with an All-American (88 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks).