Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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18 APRIL 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Avery Davis and sophomore Hous- ton Griffith have moved to corner. • Sophomore nose tackle Ja'Mion Franklin had major surgery on his quadriceps last fall that may sideline him from extensive work until the summer. Fellow nose tackle and ju- nior Darnell Ewell also was among the walking wounded the first day of spring drills. • Two early enrollee freshmen, defensive tackle Hunter Spears and linebacker Jack Kiser, are both side- lined. Spears had ACL surgery last November and Kiser had a torn la- brum repaired in February. • The center position especially was in recovery mode early this spring, with fifth-year senior Trevor Ruhland (shoulder), walk-on junior Colin Grunhard (undetermined) and sophomore Luke Jones (ankle) all suited up the first day but recover- ing from injuries. ✦ PRIME POSITION SWITCHES Jarrett Patterson Left Tackle To Center This was the biggest surprise on offense the first day of spring — and the fact that he came out with the No. 1 unit. Fifth-year senior center Trevor Ruhland has had multiple shoulder surgeries, while sopho- more Luke Jones is recovering from an ankle injury and freshman Zeke Correll will need much more ballast in the britches. According to head coach Brian Kelly, this isn't just a stopgap measure for the 6-4½, 300-pound Patterson, who red- shirted as a freshman last year. Consis- tency with snap technique is an adjust- ment, and the more seasoned guards will help him with the line calls. "One thing that really stood out last year was assignment correct, emotionally stable in the sense that every single day you got the same kid, and we like that at the center position," Kelly said. Ruhland is most valued as a util- ity player who can rotate at cen- ter or guard (where he started five games last season). "Quite frankly, he's got some things physically that make it diffi- cult for him to play maybe 72 plays [in a game]," Kelly said of Ruhland. "So he's going to be an important part moving forward for us, but I think play in and play out, we're re- ally grooming Jarrett to be in there for the long haul." Asmar Bilal Rover To Buck Linebacker The graduated Drue Tranquill made this same move from 2017 to 2018 because the Buck is a more ac- tive position in coordinator Clark Lea's alignment. Because of so many nascent fig- ures at linebacker, the fifth-year se- nior Bilal was downshifted there to provide some experience. His foot- ball instincts will need to improve if he is to secure a starting role against young competition. Houston Griffith Safety/Nickel To Cornerback The top freshman recruit in 2018, now listed at 5-11¾, 205, worked last spring at corner as an early en- rollee, but became more effective when moved to safety. He dabbled at nickel (starting one game) before the graduated Nick Coleman took over. He now will be given another opportunity to test his cover skills at the position consensus All-American Julian Love vacated. "He's so much more confident in our defensive structure," Kelly said. "He's extremely physical, he's had a great offseason. Of all the defensive backs, he's probably physically done more than anybody else in terms of changing his body, strength, speed." Avery Davis Running Back To Cornerback The 5-11, 200-pound Davis was re- cruited as a quarterback in 2017, but shifted to running back last spring out of need. He saw limited time at running back last fall, though, car- rying just 22 times for 78 yards and catching five passes for 30 yards. So, with running back featuring five other candidates this spring, Davis will be making his third posi- tion switch in as many seasons. "I think he can play at the next level at [cornerback]," Kelly said. "He's got power, he's got hands and he's got a football acumen that's re- ally high. … He ranks right up there with speed numbers with Troy Pride. "Then it's explosiveness, strength. He's going to stick his nose in there, he's a real good tackler for us. He can play inside and out, nickel or corner. We don't have a lot of those guys." This spring, Kelly noted that the corners will also be more simplified as "left and right" corner instead of boundary and field. "We don't want to overload young players, so there will be some right-left going on as well," Kelly said. "We want to have an open mind in skill set." Chase Claypool X To W Receiver What this means is he will move to the boundary side of the field where top pass catchers Miles Boykin (2018) and Equanimeous St. Brown (2016- 17) lined up in previous years. Range and physicality are impor- tant on this shorter side of the field, and the 6-4, 229-pound Claypool, also a standout on special teams coverage last year, fits the job description that Kelly said he expects to be "seamless." Fifth-year senior Chris Finke will remain in the slot (Z), while the X spot that Claypool manned last year will have the most competition for playing time. Additional Notes: Junior Dar- nell Ewell has been shifted back to nose tackle, where he worked as a freshman before shifting to offen- sive guard last spring … Sophomore cornerback D.J. Brown also has been cross-training at safety. Sophomore Houston Griffith has been given an opportunity this spring to replace consensus All- American Julian Love at cornerback. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN