Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 103 DEFENSIVE BACKS POSITION COACHES Former Irish All-American and NFL player Todd Lyght is in his fifth year at Notre Dame, and his third as the cor- nerbacks coach after two seasons overseeing the entire secondary. Last season, Notre Dame fin- ished sixth in team defensive pass efficiency rating (105.58) and 44th in passing yards allowed per game (207.9). The Fighting Irish made improvements in both categories from the prior season, when they ranked 46th in the country for team passing ef- ficiency defense (121.88) and 53rd in passing yards allowed per game (214.7). Of the 64 passes that Notre Dame broke up in 2018, starting cornerbacks Julian Love (16) and Troy Pride Jr. (10) combined for 26. Love was selected with the sixth pick of the fourth round in this year's NFL Draft by the New York Giants. In 2016, Lyght deftly directed a unit that dealt with more than its fair share of injuries and attrition (via suspension and dismissal). His crew required 24 starts from true freshmen, led by nine from safety Devin Studstill and eight from Love. Still, the Irish surrendered just 196.4 yards per game (21st nation- ally) and 14 touchdowns through the air (tied for 25th). During his first season in charge of the secondary, the Irish ranked 23rd nationally in pass efficiency de- fense (123.96 rating), 24th in passing yards allowed per completion (13.96) and 27th in passing yards surrendered per game (197.1). Lyght was hired to be the cornerbacks coach at Vanderbilt in 2015 before taking his post in South Bend. He never coached a game with the Com- modores because the opportunity in South Bend proved too good to pass up. Prior to that, he served as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Phila- delphia Eagles from 2013-14. Lyght broke into the coaching profession as a de- fensive intern at Oregon, where he focused on the secondary from 2011-12 under Chip Kelly, who was also the head coach during his time in Philadelphia. Lyght was an assistant at Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas from 2009-10 and helped the school win back- to-back state titles. As a sophomore at Notre Dame, Lyght started for the 1988 national champs and then was voted a unanimous All-American in 1989 for the 12-1 Irish. He earned consensus All-America honors again in 1990 before being selected No. 5 overall in the 1991 NFL Draft. He is the highest-drafted defensive back in Irish history, and to this day only 11 secondary players have ever been selected higher. He played in the NFL for two teams during his 12- year career, which included a 1999 Pro Bowl berth and three second-team All-Pro honors. He scored six touchdowns during his pro days, four coming among his 37 career interceptions. Lyght helped the St. Louis Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV and is the lone player in Notre Dame annals who can claim all of these honors: starter on a national championship team, unanimous All- American, first-round NFL Draft pick, starter on a Super Bowl squad and an All-Pro selection. Terry Joseph is in his first year as the defensive pass game coordinator and his second season as the safeties coach at Notre Dame. He has coached de- fensive backs at the Power Five level for each of the last nine years, but is moving into a bigger role in 2019. Joseph had a successful first sea- son in South Bend, helping Notre Dame's passing defense improve in several catego- ries and halt several high-flying offenses, including Syracuse, Stanford and USC. In 2018, the Fighting Irish finished with 12 interceptions, seven of them by the safeties. Joseph joined the Irish after one year as the defen- sive backs coach at North Carolina. While in Chapel Hill, N.C., he mentored cornerback M.J. Stewart, who was selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to UNC, Joseph served as the defensive backs coach at Texas A&M for three seasons (2014-16). He tutored an Aggies pass defense in 2015 that ranked fourth nationally in passing yards allowed per game and 18th in pass efficiency defense. Previously, Joseph spent two seasons at Nebraska as its secondary coach (2012-13). Despite the loss of two returning starters, his 2012 secondary led the nation in opponent completion percentage (47.1 percent), ranked fourth in pass defense (168.2 yards allowed per game) and ninth in pass efficiency defense (105.32), while helping the Cornhuskers to a 10-win season. Joseph also served as the defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Tennessee from 2010-11. In 2011, the Volunteers finished 12th nationally in pass- ing yards allowed with an average of just 177.8 yards per game. In 2010, he helped UT rank in the top 20 in the nation with 18 interceptions. He also spent three seasons at Louisiana Tech (2007-09), where he also served as the secondary coach and recruiting coordinator, and was a gradu- ate assistant at LSU in 2006. Joseph began his coaching career in the Louisiana high school ranks, working as an assistant coach at two New Orleans area schools. He worked at Arch- bishop Shaw from 1999-2002 and at Destrehan High School from 2003-05. He earned his bachelor's degree in marketing/busi- ness administration from Northwestern State in 1996. He was a baseball standout at the school, and is one of only 12 players in Southland Conference history to earn first-team all-conference honors three straight seasons. Joseph was a 13th-round MLB Draft choice of the Chicago Cubs and played four seasons in the minor leagues with the Cubs and San Diego Padres. Joseph comes from a football coaching family, His cousin Vance Joseph is the former head coach of the Denver Broncos and current defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals, and another cousin, Mickey Joseph, is the wide receiver coach at LSU. RETURNING PLAYERS DERRIK ALLEN • S So. • Marietta, Ga. Ht.: 6-1½ • Wt.: 220 • Redshirted his first year in South Bend. • Was a do-it-all player at Lassiter High School, reg- istering 54 tackles and three in- terceptions on defense, notch- ing 191 yards and four scores as a wide receiver, and averaging 32 yards per kick return. • Tabbed as an All-American by the U.S. Army and Tom Lem- ming as a senior. • Named to the USA Today 2017 All-USA Georgia first team as a defensive back. • Rated as a four-star talent, the No. 11 prospect in Georgia, and the No. 5 safety and No. 82 overall player nationally by ESPN. TARIQ BRACY • CB So. • Milpitas, Calif. Ht.: 5-10 • Wt.: 172 • Played in 12 games for the Fighting Irish in 2018, and re- corded 18 tackles with one forced fumble. • Notched a career-high seven stops against Pittsburgh and delivered three solo tackles against USC. • Finished his career at Milpitas with 6,450 all- purpose yards (3,755 rushing, 1,659 receiving, 436 kickoff returns, 449 punt returns and 151 in- terception returns), 112 tackles, 14 interceptions and 73 touchdowns (47 rushing, 19 receiving, three interception returns, two punt returns, one kickoff return and one fumble return). • Named first-team All-Metro by The San Francisco Chronicle as a junior and senior. • Listed as a four-star prospect, the No. 45 player in California, and the No. 22 athlete and No. 302 overall player in the nation by 247Sports. DJ BROWN • S So. • Crownsville, Md. Ht.: 6-0½ • Wt.: 192 • Saw snaps in just one game (Wake Forest) last year. • Competed in the 2018 Under Armour All-American Game. • Helped St. John's College High School to a 9-2 record and its first Washington Catholic Athletic Conference football champion- ship since 1989. • Rated by ESPN as a four-star talent, the top player in Washington, D.C., and the No. 28 cornerback and No. 225 overall recruit in the nation. SHAUN CRAWFORD • CB 5th-Sr. • Lakewood, Ohio Ht.: 5-9 • Wt.: 186 • Did not play during the 2018 season after suffering a torn ACL during a one-on-one drill in practice. • Appeared in 12 games with one start in 2017, and registered 32 tackles, 1.5 sacks and seven passes defended. • Started the first two contests of the 2016 cam- paign before suffering a season-ending torn Achil- les in the second game. • Notched six tackles (five solo), hauled in an inter- ception and returned a blocked extra point the BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 103