SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Ridiculous became the word of choice for Howard Cross III.
That’s how the Notre Dame nose tackle described the reality of him being in his sixth preseason camp with the Irish. Months removed from multiple second team All-America selections, Cross has been limited in practices from a hamstring tweak this summer. Given his experience and importance to Notre Dame’s defensive line, the Irish have been careful about overworking him in early August.
“You just watch,” Cross said of pacing himself ahead of the season opener at Texas A&M on Aug. 31. “I’m angry every day about the fact that they’re like, ‘Hey man, just be careful with that.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, I want to go 100%.’ I’m ready to go.
“But again, this is my sixth camp, which is ridiculous, trust me. But I have to find a balance, even if I don’t want to, and just be ready. Because really, this all doesn’t really mean anything unless I’m OK for the first game. And I will be. So as long as I’m OK for that, then I’m good.”
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Both Cross and fifth-year defensive tackle Rylie Mills also missed some practices in the spring with academic obligations. But there’s little concern about their preparedness after opting to return to Notre Dame for one more season each.
“He can play,” defensive line coach Al Washington said of Cross. “That’s me. That’s more me. He can play right now. Blame me, because he goes hard. You watch him on the field? He’s as hard-playing of a player as you’ll ever see. To be smart about it and help him rest is (the plan).”
A strong mix of protection and pushing from the coaching staff will help Cross and Mills remain cogs in the idlee of the defensive line.
"At this time last year, we definitely knew we were coming into a big year for ourselves,” Mills said. “I wasn't planning on coming back at that time. I know he probably wasn't thinking about it. And I know for us, we decided to come back and we both committed to being the best version of ourselves.
“It's been great because the coaches have kept us accountable. We get into fall camp, and I know he's been out for a couple of days, but I know he's been out there coaching, helping the young guys, showing them what to do, and he'll still do drills he can do. I think it's been big for the two of us to be able to be one the same page and grow as close as we can. If we can do the same thing, it's hard to stop us."
Cross made the decision to return after inarguably his best season as a college football player. He recorded more tackles (66) than all but one of his Notre Dame teammates last season — linebacker JD Bertrand had 76. Cross also contributed seven tackles for loss, two sacks, four quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and two pass breakups.
Pro Football Focus gave Cross a defensive grade of 89.8 for his performance last season. Only four other interior defensive linemen received higher grades and three of them moved on to the NFL this offseason. Michigan’s Mason Graham, who was given a 90.0, is the only returning interior defensive lineman with a higher grade last season.
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Cross’ ability to generate pressure allowed him to be graded so favorably. PFF credited him with 39 pressures, which put him in a tie for eight in the FBS for interior defensive lineman. Yet Cross only recorded two sacks. Finishing those pressure opportunities is an obvious place for Cross to seek improvement.
“I counted like seven or eight or nine where I got in the backfield and then the quarterback juked me or something like that,” Cross said. “So basically, just finishing the pass rush. That’s a big thing for me this year. Finishing pass rush, staying square, making the tackle. Like, I missed two or three tackles. But finishing things, and keep making sure that I run and finish the play every single time.”
The 6-foot-1, 188-pound Cross focused on lowering his body fat and becoming even faster off the ball this offseason. He’s paid more attention to that than any preseason All-America honors or watch list mentions.
“Don’t care,” Cross said. “Not in a mean way; I’m a firm believer in that’s fantastic — I know Notre Dame football tags me in all this stuff and that’s fantastic, but it doesn’t mean anything. If you’re projected to be a first-team All-American, that’s great! We still have a month left until the season even starts. That doesn’t do anything for me.”
For the record, Cross was named to three preseason watch lists: Walter Camp Player of the Year, Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defender) and Outland Trophy (best interior lineman).
Cross knows that he and his fellow Irish defensive linemen need to prove what they’re capable of again this season. The expectations for Notre Dame’s defense are sky high, and those can’t be reached without a dominant defensive line.
“We can do it, but now you have to show it, and repeatedly show it,” Cross said. “That was my issue when I first started to figure out what was going on, which is I would have great moments, but I would have one or two atrocious games. I couldn’t figure it out, and then eventually I was like, ‘Hey.’ When I had that switch, I started consistently — consistency is what I’m trying to say. Consistency makes everything go right.”
Thanks to a consistent defensive line, Notre Dame finished last season ranked by PFF at No. 7 in the FBS in run defense and No. 8 in pass rush. Anything less than that will be a disappointment for Cross.
“We build off it,” Cross said. “But last year, the standard, that’s what the bare minimum should be. That’s what our mindset is.”
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