Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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IRISH IN THE NFL 1. KYLE RUDOLPH, TE, MINNESOTA VIKINGS In a 27-9 win over the Detroit Lions in week 15, Rudolph caught all nine of the passes thrown his way for a career-high 122 yards and two touch- downs. He surpassed the 100-yard mark for the third time in his career and one of the scores was a 44-yard Hail Mary he went up to secure on the final play of the first half. 2. Jaylon Smith, LB, Dallas Cowboys Smith notched his career-high tackle mark in a 19-16 loss to the Hous- ton Texans in week five, recording six solo tackles, six assisted tackles, three tackles for a loss, a sack, two quarterback hits and a pass break up. Beyond the raw numbers, he also tackled Texans quarter- back Deshaun Watson at the goal line for a key fourth- down stop and later laid a huge hit on the passer that resulted in a teammate grabbing an interception. 3. Harrison Smith, S, Minnesota Vikings Smith was all over the field in the Vikings' season- opening, 24-16 win over the San Francisco 49ers, recording a team-high seven total tackles, plus two tackles for loss, one sack, a fumble recovery and one interception. 4. Golden Tate, WR, Detroit Lions In week four of the regular season, Tate was still playing for the Detroit Lions. In a 26-24 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Tate had the best game of his two-team season, catching all eight passes that were thrown his way for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Tate's second touchdown with 2:17 left in regulation put his team up by one, but the defense allowed a 38-yard field goal as time expired to decide the outcome. 5. Will Fuller, WR, Houston Texans Fuller was turning in the best game of his 2018 season before tearing his ACL in the fourth quarter. In a 42-23 win over the Miami Dolphins in week eight, Fuller caught five passes for 124 yards — just one yard shy of his career high — and a touchdown before suffering the knee injury that would end his season. In seven games played during the 2018 campaign, he eclipsed 100 receiving yards three times. 1. JOSH ADAMS ARRIVES After going undrafted and landing a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, Adams took advantage of his opportunity and earned six carries in week three. However, he ran the ball just five times in the next four games before breaking out with 67 yards on just 10 touches (nine rushes, one catch) in a 24- 18 win over the Jaguars in week eight. He received at least seven totes in every en- suing game and notched 22 and 20 attempts for 84 and a career-high 85 yards, respectively, in important division wins over the New York Giants and Washington Redskins in weeks 12 and 13. Adams led Philly with 511 rushing yards in 2018. 2. Nelson and McGlinchey Go Top 10 Heading into the 2018 NFL Draft, most expected that offensive guard Quenton Nelson would be off the board early. There were questions, however, about fellow Irish offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey. The San Francisco 49ers answered those questions quickly when they took McGlinchey just three picks after Nelson went sixth overall to the Indianapolis Colts. The All-American teammates marked just the third time in the last 60 years that the top two offensive linemen to come off the board were from the same school, and it was also the third time in the last 50 years that two offensive linemen from the same school were selected in the top 10. The duo also gave Notre Dame four offensive linemen that have been drafted in the first 16 picks over the last five years, a first in the NFL in 37 years and just the second occurrence ever, and stood as the program's first pair — at any position — to go in the top 10 since 1990 (quarterback Rick Mirer, No. 2; running back Jerome Bettis, No. 10). 3. Jaylon Smith Finds The End Zone For The First Time Former Irish linebacker Jaylon Smith has come a long way since suffering a terrible knee injury in his final college football game that forced him to miss his entire rookie year in 2016. He returned to the field last fall and even made six starts, but opened every contest for the first time in 2018. In a Dec. 23 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Smith made the biggest play of his young career when he scooped up a fumble from quarterback Jameis Winston and took it 69 yards to the house. The play gave Smith his first career touchdown and put the Cowboys up 14-3. Smith, who also totaled 10 tackles and two pass breakups in the contest, and Dal - las would go on to win 27-20 to clinch the NFC East title and a playoff berth. 4. Golden Tate Wins It For Philly Late in the fourth quarter of the NFC Wild Card game on Jan. 6, Tate and the Philadelphia Eagles trailed the Chicago Bears 15-10. With 56 seconds to go and facing the NFL's stingiest defense on fourth down, Eagles quarterback Nick Foles had his team on the 2-yard line. Foles found Tate in the front of the end zone to give the Eagles a 16-15 lead that would not be relinquished. It was one of Tate's five catches, which gained 46 yards. However, Tate and Philadelphia fell 20-14 to the New Orleans Saints in the following round. 5. Will Fuller Goes Deep On the Oct. 25 edition of Thursday Night Football, the Houston Texans were holding onto a 21-17 lead against the Miami Dolphins. Miami had just cut the lead to four with 4:55 to play in the third quarter and the Texans needed an answer. Former Notre Dame speedster Will Fuller provided it, taking a Deshaun Watson pass 73 yards to stretch the Texans lead to 28-17, before closing out a 42-23 victory. Unfortunately, the five-catch, 124-yard performance would be Fuller's last of the year, due to a torn ACL in his right knee. The 2016 first-round pick has been productive when healthy, but he has been limited to just 17 games played over the past two seasons. FORMER IRISH PLAYERS ON THE RISE Josh Adams, RB, Philadelphia Eagles — Adams went undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft, but entering the league as a free agent didn't stop him from making an impact. Adams stepped into the starting role for the Eagles in week 11, rushing for 53 yards on just seven totes (7.6-yard average) and scoring the team's only touchdown. Adams started four more games in 2018 and finished with a team-high 511 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the year. He will head into 2019 looking to build on the momentum he built during the back half of last season. Isaac Rochell, DL, Los Angeles Chargers — After ap - pearing in just three games as a rookie in 2017, Rochell played in all 16 regular-season contests in 2018, making three starts. Rochell more than quadrupled his rookie production, totaling 18 tackles against 2017's four. He also had six tackles for loss, five sacks, seven quarterback hur- ries and an interception in his second professional season. Mike McGlinchey, OL, San Francisco 49ers — Mc- Glinchey was taken No. 9 overall by the 49ers in the 2018 NFL Draft, and immediately stepped in as the starting right tackle. McGlinchey opened all 16 games for the 49ers and finished the year as the No. 25-ranked tackle in the NFL by Pro Football Focus. McGlinchey is well on his way to becoming the franchise tackle the 49ers were hoping for when they drafted him. Romeo Okwara, DE, Detroit Lions — On Sept. 4, Ok- wara was waived by the New York Giants, but he wasn't unemployed for long. The Detroit Lions signed Okwara the following day, which proved to be a good move. In 2018, he started 14 games and led his new club in sacks with 7.5 to go along with setting career highs of 39 total tackles, eight tackles for loss and 14 quarterback hits. Following the season, the Lions signed Okwara to a two- year extension. TOP FIVE MEMORABLE MOMENTS FIVE BEST SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCES PHOTO COURTESY PHILADELPHIA EAGLES PHOTO COURTESY MINNESOTA VIKINGS 140 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW