Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1037156
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 15, 2018 19 The performance has also helped dispel the myth that "Notre Dame can't sign top defensive linemen, es- pecially at end." Junior drop end Daelin Hayes was a five-star recruit, and classmates Khalid Kareem at strongside end and Julian Okwara at drop end were four- stars. Kareem, Okwara and Hayes are premier athletes with power, and the trio combined for 25 run stops, 41 quarterback hurries, eight quar- terback hits and three sacks during the 5-0 start. Meanwhile, senior tackle Jerry Tillery was ranked by Rivals as the No. 145 player in the 2015 recruit- ing class, and Pro Football Focus had him as a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft in its most recent mock draft. Tillery has been Notre Dame's anchor up the middle this season, registering seven run stops, 12 quar- terback hurries, three quarterback hits and seven sacks through the team's first five games. That inside-out production against the pass game has proven to be espe- cially problematic to Irish foes. REASONS FOR UPGRADE The arrival of strength coach Matt Balis prior to the 2017 season has played a significant role in the jump in production by the defensive line. Notre Dame's front four players show the size, power and explosive- ness of an elite unit. The arrival of Mike Elko as defen- sive coordinator prior to the 2017 season was another important factor. Elko brought with him an aggressive 4-2-5 defense that used the line to attack opponents. The change was dramatic from the Brian VanGorder (2014-16) system that used the line to set up opportunities for the lineback- ers to make plays. Making disruptive plays like tack- les for loss and sacks was at the heart of Elko's defensive philosophy. "Nowadays offenses have got- ten so good at developing five-yard plays, four-yard plays and being pa- tient in taking those plays, that when you really study it, the drives end with negative plays," Elko told Blue & Gold Illustrated prior to the 2017 season. "It's that one tackle for loss that makes it second-and-13, or it's changing the second-and-six to third- and-nine — that's when drives end." When Elko left after the 2017 sea- son for Texas A&M, his replacement — Clark Lea — took that philosophy and elevated it a notch. He was aided by a relatively green 2017 line turn- ing into a more seasoned and physi- cally stronger unit in 2018. LINE GAMES There have been some schematic adjustments under Lea as well, with more "line games" this season. A line game is when defensive linemen essentially switch after the snap. For example, a defensive tackle might work outside against the of- fensive tackle after the snap, and the defensive end will then loop inside, with the goal of creating a mistake by the offensive line. Notre Dame has had a great deal of success with these types of stunts, and when they are working it makes it even more effective when the line- men quickly shoot the gap right in front of them at the snap. Opposing linemen don't know whether they are going to face a quick, hard rush from the man in front of them or if they are going to have to deal with an athletic end that can zip by them. The ability to effectively and con- sistently attack the backfield has made the Irish defense far more stout against the run and even more dis- ruptive against the pass. Through five games, the Irish de- fense has yielded 27.5 rushing yards per game less than last fall, and oppo- nents are averaging over a half yard less per rush. Three of Notre Dame's first five opponents were held to less than 100 yards on the ground. After intercepting 10 passes and breaking up another 52 in 2017, the Irish defense is currently on pace for 16 interceptions and 75 passes bro- ken up, and the improved pass rush is at the top of the list of reasons for those improvements. ✦ Senior Jerry Tillery (No. 99) was tied for the national lead in sacks with seven through Sept. 29, but he was not a one-man band. After five weeks, Notre Dame was the lone school in the country to have four defensive linemen with at least 10 quarterback hurries, and Pro Football Focus ranked the Irish as the No. 1 pass-rushing unit in the land. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL