Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2018 33 Tommy Kraemer (right guard) to play up to their potential. Should Wimbush falter or get in- jured, the pressure on the line be- comes greater because of how green the running back corps is. Playmakers Must Emerge It is imperative for the skill play- ers to improve dramatically on their 2017 seasons. None of the return- ing running backs are proven, but there is much intrigue at the position. Sophomores Jafar Armstrong and Avery Davis bring big-play potential, and junior Tony Jones Jr. is a steady all-around back. Senior Dexter Williams has dem- onstrated he can rip off big runs as well, but he has not proven he can be an every down back. Freshman C'Bo Flemister has shown impressive athletic traits early in camp as well. At least two players from that group must become legitimate fac- tors in the offense. Getting more consistent produc- tion from the wide receivers and tight ends is even more vital. Wimbush wasn't an accurate passer last season, but he also had minimal help from his targets. Notre Dame's wideouts rarely made contested catches prior to the bowl game, and College Foot- ball Film Room had the Irish pass catchers with 31 drops last season, which is a disturbingly high number. If the pass catchers can carry over their strong bowl game performance into the fall, Wimbush will have the help he needs on the outside. DEFENSE Clark Lea Must Be As Good As Advertised Notre Dame will enter the 2018 season with a defensive coordinator that has never called a game at the college level. While that is a trou- bling aspect to consider, remember that the last time Notre Dame won a national championship (1988) it had a first-year defensive coordinator that also had never called a game at the collegiate level. Asking Clark Lea to be Barry Alva- rez might be unfair, but the pressure for Lea to make a quick transition is strong. Lea has a defense that returns nine starters and a total of 12 players with at least three career starts. The new defensive boss has much future NFL talent to work with, and playmakers return on all three levels. It will be up to him to get the most out of his players schematically and from a motivational standpoint. Lea is a sharp football mind and he's been previously involved in put- ting together game plans. The most important factors will be how he ad- justs once games start, how he han- dles when plans are not going well early on, and how he responds to an offense making in-game changes. The Defense Must Consistently Attack Notre Dame played really sound defense through the first eight games of the 2017 season, and it was in- strumental in the team's rise in the polls. Through eight contests, the Irish ranked 10th in scoring defense and had not allowed an opponent to score more than 20 points. A primary ingredient to its success up to that point was the unit's abil- ity to attack opponents and disrupt offenses. Through eight outings, the Irish tallied 50 tackles for loss and 19 sacks — dramatic improvements over the previous season's totals. Its ability to be disruptive was a focal point of the defense's ability to force turnovers. Through eight games the Irish ranked 13th in turnovers gained (18), and forced more turnovers in that stretch than it had the entire 2013, 2015 and 2016 seasons. In the final five contests the de- fense yielded 25.8 points per game due in large part to its inability to continue pressuring. Notre Dame re- corded only five sacks and two turn- overs in the final five games. Playing championship defense will require Notre Dame to be disruptive throughout the season, not just in stretches. The Run Defense Must Improve Former coordinator Mike Elko in- herited a 2017 defense that was com- ing off its worst three-year stretch of run defense in school history. Notre Dame allowed 177.2 rushing yards per game in the 30 contests Brian VanGorder coordinated. A team cannot contend for a title if it cannot stop the run, and Notre Dame was abysmal at that prior to Elko's hire. In his first season in charge, Elko brought about improve- ments, with the Irish holding oppo- nents to 154.5 yards per game on the ground. An effective run defense is one of the more crucial barometers of foot- ball prosperity. Over the last decade only one national champion — Ohio State in 2014 — allowed more than 130 rushing yards per game. The Buckeyes surrendered 141.3 yards per game on the ground that season. Only two other champions — Clemson in 2016 and Florida State in 2013 — have given up more than 110 rushing yards per game. SPECIAL TEAMS Dominate The Field Position Battle The Fremeau Efficiency Index has three categories that measure field position, which is where the offense and defense start a series. Notre Dame ranked between 92nd and 106th nationally in those three catego- ries, which means the offense tended to start further back and opponents tended to start closer to the end zone. Last season, the national cham- pion Alabama Crimson Tide ranked between third and ninth in those categories. There is a simple philosophy in play here: The closer you start a pos- session to the end zone, the greater your chance is to score. The further your opponent starts a possession from the end zone, the greater your chance at limiting touchdowns. Winning field position means cov- ering well, maximizing opportunities in the return game, eliminating huge mistakes and occasionally forcing big mistakes by the opposition. ✦ First-year defensive coordinator Clark Lea will need to get up to speed in a hurry to maximize his unit's talent. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH DIGITAL MEDIA