Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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68 MARCH 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING cruiters by Rivals for his 2019 efforts on the trail. His position group landed five players and — for the second time in the Rivals era that dates back to 2002 — four of them received four-star rankings. A fifth, Texas defensive end NaNa Osafo-Mensah, earned an in- vitation to play in the All-American Bowl in January. Furthermore, Elston also played a role in the recruitment of Notre Dame's highly rated offen- sive line haul. "Notre Dame is still the team that comes to mind when you think of a program that can recruit nationally, and Mike Elston flexed those muscles in compiling his five-man defensive line class," Rivals' Josh Helmholdt said of Elston's effectiveness. "From Isaiah Foskey in California to How- ard Cross in New Jersey, the defen- sive linemen headed to South Bend in 2019 represent a cross-section of the country. "In each case, Elston had to out- recruit the local schools as well as na- tional programs, and none of the five he signed had fewer than a dozen offers. Foskey and Cross, along with defensive tackle Jacob Lacey out of Kentucky and Hunter Spears from Texas, are four-stars, so Elston has infused his position group with tal- ent as well as depth." This also will be Elston's 10th straight year as an on-field assistant at Notre Dame. No one since 1980 has stayed so long at the university in such a capacity. Former offensive line coach Joe Moore (1988-96) had a nine-year stint. The school record for longest con- secutive years as an assistant was set by 1964-80 defensive line coach Joe Yonto, before new head coach Gerry Faust moved him to administration in 1981. Yonto also was the defensive line coach in Lou Holtz's first two seasons (1986-87) for 19 total. Linebackers coach George Kelly also served 17 consecutive years from 1969-85 before new coach Holtz also moved him to administration. Others with double-digit tenures include 13 years by defensive backs coach Paul Shouts (1964-76) and tight ends/of- fensive line coach Brian Boulac (1970- 82), and 11 by running backs coach Tom Pagna (1964-74). FAST FORWARD In each of the first two years of the December early signing period (the 2018 and 2019 cycles), Notre Dame signed 21 recruits. In 2018, six more were surprisingly added in February, while this year only one (California defensive end Isaiah Foskey) supplemented the group. Hereafter, it's more likely that about 95 percent of the class, if not higher, will sign in December, much like this year. It has become a hit with many coaching staffs, particularly at Notre Dame. "For schools like ours the early signing date is good, because the guys that want to be at Notre Dame want to get it done," Irish recruiting coordinator Brian Polian told Notre Dame's Fighting Irish Media. "We don't have very many prospects that are going to take the thing all the way out because they enjoy the re- cruiting process so much, like to be part of the drama. "I think the guys that pick Notre Dame know exactly what they're looking for, know exactly what they're getting into, and the fact that they can make that decision official Business As Usual With Redshirting The new redshirting rule in 2018 that allows a freshman to play in any four games without losing a year of eligibility has not affected the Notre Dame coaching staff in how it handles the rookie class. Among the 27 freshmen last year, seven burned a year of eligibility: Wide receiver Kevin Austin on offense, and then on defense/ special teams tackle Jayson Ademilola, line- backer Bo Bauer, rover Shayne Simon, nickel Houston Griffith, cornerback TaRiq Bracy and safety Paul Moala. Eight saw sparse playing time without burn- ing a year, while 12 were withheld from action. "I don't think it's changed the landscape of college football," head coach Brian Kelly told Fighting Irish Media Feb. 6. "I think it helps guys stay engaged a little bit, but you know who can play and can't play, and who's going to get redshirted and who's not going to get redshirted. "It's a nice carrot for the guys that they know they can get a couple of games in, and then you can kind of figure out there are maybe one or two guys that can help you later in the season. I think it's a good rule, but I don't think it's one of those headline grabbers from 2018." — Lou Somogyi In his first year as a coordinator, Clark Lea led a unit that finished No. 6 in pass efficiency defense, No. 9 in the Fremeau Efficiency Index in defense and No. 13 in scoring defense. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA