Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 87 DEFENSIVE LINEMEN POSITION COACH Mike Elston enters his 21st year of collegiate coaching and his 10th at Notre Dame. This will mark his third season as associate head coach and his third back in charge of the defensive line, following two years as the program's re- cruiting coordinator and lineback- ers coach. Once he was named associate head coach in 2017, he switched back to the line, which he directed from 2010-14. In 2018, Elston's unit put together an outstanding campaign. Pro Football Focus ranked the Fighting Irish pass rush No. 4 in the country, behind only Ar- kansas State, Clemson and Ohio State. All told, Notre Dame's defensive linemen combined for 243 total stops, 46.5 tackles for loss and 26 sacks. Elston guided a resurgent Irish front four two sea- sons ago after inheriting seven linemen who had seen previous game action over their respective careers and combined for a total of just four career sacks. Those same seven players recorded 16.5 sacks in 2017. In addition, his starting quartet of Jerry Til- lery, Daelin Hayes, Jonathan Bonner and Jay Hayes all posted career highs in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks that year. In 2016, Elston oversaw a linebacker unit that produced four of the team's top tacklers. The four- some accounted for 286 of the team's 879 stops (32.5 percent) and also compiled 26 tackles for loss with 10 sacks. Elston's first linebacking corps in 2015 featured the team's top two tacklers in Jaylon Smith (114 stops) and former walk-on Joe Schmidt (78). Smith became the lone Power Five linebacker to eclipse 100 tackles in both 2014 and 2015 en route to All-America hon- ors and the 2015 Butkus Award, which is awarded to the nation's top linebacker. In his two years in charge of Notre Dame's recruit- ing efforts, the Irish brought in classes ranked among the nation's 13 best both times. In his previous stint as the program's defensive line coach, Elston mentored players such as Sheldon Day, who went on to be selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He also helped groom Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix, who in 2012 became Notre Dame's first pair of de- fensive linemen to earn All-America honors in the same season since 1989. In 2014, that duo also became the first pair of Irish defensive linemen to be selected in the top three rounds of the same NFL Draft since 1994. He also doubled as the special teams coordina- tor in his first two years in South Bend, and helped former walk-on kicker David Ruffer finish as one of three Lou Groza Award (the nation's best kicker) finalists in his first year. Elston, who played outside linebacker at Michigan from 1994-96, has worked for Irish head coach Brian Kelly every year since 2004, when he was hired to mentor Central Michigan's defensive line. He added the title of co-defensive coordinator the following year before he shifted his focus to linebackers and special teams coordinator in 2006. When Kelly left for Cincinnati in 2007, Elston fol- lowed as the recruiting and special teams coordina- tor, plus he coached tight ends. That arrangement lasted for two seasons, and then he shifted to de- fensive line coach, special teams coordinator and assistant head coach for the 2009 campaign. His other coaching stops include Michigan (1999-2000), where he also worked as a student as- sistant and video intern from 1997-98, and Eastern Michigan (2001-03). RETURNING PLAYERS JAYSON ADEMILOLA • DT So. • Jackson, N.J. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 285 • Played in 12 games during the 2018 season, and recorded 19 total stops, 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. • Compiled 56 tackles, 16 stops behind the line and eight sacks as a senior, while helping St. Peter's Prep to a 9-3 record and an ap- pearance in the Non-Public Group 4 state cham- pionship game. • Listed by NJ.com as a first-team All-New Jersey defensive tackle as a senior and second-team pick as a junior. • Tabbed as an All-USA New Jersey first-team de- fensive lineman by USA Today following his junior and senior campaigns. • Played in the U.S. Army All-American Game and registered one stop. • Regarded by 247Sports as a four-star talent, the No. 2 prospect in New Jersey, and the nation's No. 4 defensive tackle and No. 45 overall player. JUSTIN ADEMILOLA • DE So. • Jackson, N.J. Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 250 • Saw snaps in four games during the 2018 season. • Logged nine tackles, including two stops in the Cotton Bowl against Clemson. • Recorded 53 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, six sacks and five quarterback hurries as a senior, while helping St. Peter's Prep to a 9-3 mark and the New Jersey Non-Public Group 4 state title game. • Tabbed as an All-USA New Jersey second-team selection by USA Today as a senior. • Rated by Rivals as a three-star recruit, the No. 16 player in New Jersey and the No. 34 defensive end in the country. DARNELL EWELL • NT Jr. • Norfolk, Va. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 340 • Has flipped between offensive line and defensive line during his time at Notre Dame, and has yet to see game action. • Selected to the USA Today All- USA Virginia first team as an offensive lineman following his senior campaign and named to the 2016 Virginia High School League Group 4A All- State first team as an offensive lineman. • Rated by Rivals as a four-star talent, the No. 6 prospect in Virginia, and the No. 9 defensive tackle and No. 139 overall player in the nation. JA'MION FRANKLIN • NT So. • Ridgely, Md. Ht.: 6-1½ • Wt.: 308 • Played in one game during his first season at Notre Dame be- fore suffering a season-ending quadriceps tear. • Totaled 45 stops, 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, four forced fumbles, three passes broken up and one blocked punt that he returned for a touchdown as a senior at North Caroline High School. • Named the 2017 Bayside Conference Defensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches, and was tabbed as a first-team All-Bayside Confer- ence performer following his junior and senior campaigns. • Played in the Maryland Crab Bowl, which show- cases the top senior talent in the Mid-Atlantic region. • Listed as a three-star prospect, the No. 11 player in Maryland and the No. 34 defensive tackle in the nation by Rivals. DAELIN HAYES • DE Sr. • Belleville, Mich. Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 268 • Appeared in 12 games and made one start as a junior last fall, finishing with 31 total stops, five tackles for loss and two sacks. • Started all 13 games at drop end in 2017, and recorded 30 total stops, 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and two fumble recoveries. • Saw snaps in every game for Notre Dame in 2016, and contributed 11 tackles, one forced fumble and one pass broken up. • Suffered a shoulder injury that shortened his se- nior season at Skyline High School and forced him to miss the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. • Ranked by Rivals as a five-star talent, the No. 1 prospect in Michigan, and the No. 7 outside line- backer and No. 31 overall talent in the country. Year G-GS Solo Ast. Total TFL Sacks 2016 12-0 5 6 11 0.0 0.0 2017 13-13 17 13 30 6.5 3.0 2018 12-1 15 16 31 5.0 2.0 Totals 37-14 37 35 72 11.5 5.0 KURT HINISH • NT Jr. • Pittsburgh Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 295 • Has played in 25 games during his two years at Notre Dame, primarily at nose tackle. • Recorded 13 total stops, two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 2018. • Tallied eight tackles and 0.5 stops for loss in 12 games during the 2017 campaign. • Recorded 27 tackles and three sacks as a senior while helping Central Catholic High School to a 14-2 record and the Class 6A state championship game. • Named to USA Today's All-USA Pennsylvania first team and tabbed as a Class 6A All-State per- BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 87