Notre Dame Football: Midweek Musings

Notre Dame has a pair of veteran players who are being overshadowed by others at their position, one on each side of the ball. But the play of these two veterans could go a long way towards Notre Dame once again competing for a playoff berth.

KHALID KAREEM, SENIOR, DEFENSIVE END: Fellow end Julian Okwara and defensive tackle Jerry Tillery got most of the attention last season, and they deserved it. Both were among the nation’s premier pass rushers at their positions a season ago.

Tillery is off to the NFL, having been picked in the first round by the Los Angeles Chargers. Okwara returns and is receiving much-deserved preseason All-American mentions in preseason magazines.

An overlooked player from last season’s defense is rising senior Khalid Kareem, who tied with Tillery for second on the defense last season with 10.5 tackles for loss. Kareem added 4.5 sacks and 37 quarterback pressures last fall.

Kareem ranks 17th among all returning Power 5 ends in quarterback pressures from last fall, and his 7.6-percent run stop rate according to Pro Football Focus ranks 13th among returning Power 5 ends with at least 200 run snaps.