Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1007651
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2018 17 early action, with five earning starts as freshmen during the 4‑8 fiasco in 2016. A total of 12 players earned action that season, and their early opportunity paid off last year with eight earning at least one start during their sophomore campaigns. A fast emergence from the 2016 class was vital to Notre Dame's turnaround 10‑3 season in 2017. If the juniors can continue to sur‑ pass expectations, the Irish will once again have a chance to enter No‑ vember in contention for the College Football Playoff. DEFENSIVE END DEPTH No position is stocked more with 2016 recruits than defensive end. Notre Dame's top five returnees at end are all from the class. Junior Daelin Hayes started 12 games last season after acclimating with 122 snaps as a freshman. He was a five‑star recruit based on possessing tremendous athleticism in a big fame, but he couldn't stay on the field in high school mainly because of injuries. Hayes didn't have the breakout 2017 season some hoped for, but the fact he appeared in all 13 games and played 544 snaps without suffering any sig‑ nificant injuries was a crucial step. He finished the season with 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, four quarterback hur‑ ries and two fumble recoveries. That level of production isn't eye‑ popping, but Hayes was a reliable player who handled himself well in the run game and showed flashes as a pass rusher. His ability in cover‑ age despite weighing more than 250 pounds is his most impressive trait. With a year of experience in the system under his belt, it is expected that Hayes will be able to have an ap‑ preciably larger impact in 2018. The starter opposite Hayes will be classmate and fellow Michigan na‑ tive Khalid Kareem. He became a force off the bench last fall, racking up 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and six quarterback hurries while playing only 287 snaps. Both Hayes and Kareem are ex‑ pected to be playmakers for the Irish defense in 2018. For much of the re‑ cruiting process, it didn't seem like either would even end up at Notre Dame. Hayes was committed to USC for more than a year, and Kareem com‑ mitted to Alabama the summer be‑ fore his senior season. Flipping that duo has proven to be a crucial ac‑ complishment for the Irish. Fellow end Julian Okwara was Notre Dame's top third‑down pass rusher last season. He tallied 4.5 tack‑ les for loss, 2.5 sacks and seven hur‑ ries, with 47.2 percent of his snaps coming on third and fourth down as part of the nickel package. Notre Dame is counting on Ok‑ wara to become more disruptive on first and second down to become more well‑rounded. Adetokunbo Ogundeji is rangy and made tremendous strides during the spring. His strength gains and technique advancements have him in line to become a rotation figure. Kareem and Ogundeji playing well in the spring was a factor in 2017 starter Jay Hayes deciding to transfer to Georgia for his final season. Jamir Jones began his Notre Dame career as a linebacker, but a lack of depth behind his classmates at end caused the staff to move him during the spring. He played both drop and strongside end, and a possible top special teams figure. LOCKING DOWN THE OUTSIDE Cornerback Julian Love made his presence felt immediately, earning eight starts as a true freshman in 2016. His game took off last season, when he set program records with 20 passes broken up and 23 passes defended. Two of his three interceptions were returned for touchdowns, and the third pick was brought back to the 5‑yard line. The Westchester, Ill., native even earned a start at safety against Navy. He set career highs with 14 total tack‑ les and 10 solo stops in that 24‑17 Notre Dame victory. A strong spring resulted in junior Liam Eichenberg emerging as the team's starting left tackle. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN