Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1039349
36 OCT. 29, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED the Midshipmen went 19-7 — Navy quarterbacks averaged 11.0 yards per attempt and had a pass efficiency rating of 163.08. Notre Dame matches up best against the Navy offense when it has cornerbacks that can not only come up and stuff the run, but when they can play effective man-to-man coverage. In juniors Julian Love and Troy Pride Jr. the Irish have that kind of talent at the position. Should the Irish defensive staff decide to play Love at safety against the Midshipmen — which it did last season — Donte Vaughn also brings that skill set to the defense. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. NAVY RUN DEFENSE Notre Dame ranked 38th nationally in rushing offense through the first six weeks of the season, but after totaling just 249 yards in the first two games on the ground the Irish offense averaged 231.3 yards per game and 5.3 yards per attempt over their next four contests. The arrival of Dexter Williams into the lineup after an unofficial four-game suspension was the true kick start for the Irish ground game. Williams rushed for a then-career-best 161 yards in his first game back, a 38-17 win over Stanford. He topped that mark a week later, racking up 178 yards — which included a 97-yard touchdown run in the third quarter — in the 45-23 win over Virginia Tech. Williams was the second Notre Dame back to top the 100-yard mark during the first half of the sea- son, with junior Tony Jones Jr. ripping off 118 yards in a 22-17 win over Vanderbilt Sept. 15. Sopho- more Jafar Armstrong almost got into that group, Senior Mike linebacker Taylor Heflin ranked second on the Midshipmen in total stops (29), and was first in both tackles for loss (3.5) and sacks (3.0). PHOTO COURTESY NAVY GAME PREVIEW: NAVY Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 81 Miles Boykin 6-4 228 Sr. 4 Kevin Austin 6-2 210 Fr. LT 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 308 Jr. 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-4½ 290 Fr. LG 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3½ 295 Sr. 69 Aaron Banks 6-6 319 So. C 53 Sam Mustipher 6-2½ 306 5th-Sr. 61 Colin Grunhard 6-0½ 280 So. RG 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-6 316 Jr. 76 Dillan Gibbons 6-4 313 So. RT 72 Robert Hainsey 6-4½ 295 So. 75 Joshua Lugg 6-7 314 So. TE 86 Alizé Mack 6-5 247 Sr. 84 Cole Kmet 6-5½ 258 So. WR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 180 Sr. 18 Joe Wilkins Jr. 6-1½ 185 Fr. WR 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 227 Jr. 87 Michael Young 5-10 192 So. QB 12 Ian Book 6-0 203 Jr. 7 Brandon Wimbush 6-2 222 Sr. RB 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 220 Jr. or 2 Dexter Williams 5-11 215 Sr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 53 Khalid Kareem 6-4 265 Jr. 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4½ 255 Jr. DT 99 Jerry Tillery 6-7 305 Sr. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 284 Fr. NT 55 Jonathan Bonner 6-4 295 5th-Sr. 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 295 So. DE 9 Daelin Hayes 6-4 265 Jr. or 42 Julian Okwara 6-4½ 241 Jr. Mike 4 Te'von Coney 6-1 240 Sr. 45 Jonathan Jones 5-11½ 227 Jr. Buck 23 Drue Tranquill 6-2 235 5th-Sr. 2 J. Genmark Heath 6-1 225 So. ROV 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 225 Sr. 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 222 Fr. CB 5 Troy Pride Jr. 5-11½ 190 Jr. 35 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 170 Fr. S 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0½ 205 Jr. 24 Nick Coleman 6-0 194 Sr. S 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 202 Jr. 14 Devin Studstill 6-0 200 Jr. CB 27 Julian Love 5-11 193 Jr. 8 Donte Vaughn 6-3 211 Jr. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 198 Sr. 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 200 So. P 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 214 5th-Sr. 42 Jeff Riney 5-11 181 Sr. KO 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 200 So. 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 198 Sr. H 12 Ian Book 6-0 203 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 54 John Shannon 6-2 235 Jr. 46 Matt Bushland 6-2 210 Jr. KR 87 Michael Young 5-10 185 So. 3 Avery Davis 5-11 204 So. PR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 180 Sr. 87 Michael Young 5-10 185 So. Special Teams