Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1133608
LINEBACKERS Junior Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who has recovered from foot surgery he underwent early last season, is competing with sophomore Paul Moala for snaps at rover. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL QUOTABLE: DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR/LINEBACKERS COACH CLARK LEA ON THE COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS OF JUNIOR JEREMIAH OWUSU-KORAMOAH AND SOPHOMORE PAUL MOALA AT THE ROVER POSITION THAT ALLOWED ASMAR BILAL AND SHAYNE SIMON TO SHIFT TO INSIDE LINEBACKER: "That's a position that is going to be continuously evaluated, but we know we've got more answers there than questions. There are other options there as we continue to vet out the linebacker position. … The rover position is one that can be taught fairly quickly if you've got the right instincts." Starters ★★½ Sophomore Jack Lamb showed a lot of promise at Buck, but he has had injury issues the past two years, including missing this year's Blue-Gold Game. He was clocked at 4.54 in the 40-yard dash at a post-spring mini-combine. Junior Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah also emerged at rover. Both will have to fight to maintain the lead role with junior Jordan Genmark Heath (Buck) and sophomore Paul Moala (rover). At Mike, fifth-year senior and former rover Asmar Bilal finished the spring in the top spot, but he didn't look comfortable or decisive inside. Sophomores Shayne Simon and Bo Bauer spent time at Mike, but neither demonstrated much consistency to unseat Bilal. Success here during the 2019 season is dependent on players taking control of a position, limiting mistakes and letting their athletic tools take over. Experience ★½ Notre Dame is severely lacking in this area. Bilal has 10 career starts, but there were stretches last season when he wasn't used because of matchups or better options versus the pass game. Genmark Heath made a spot start in place of an injured Drue Tranquill, and oft-injured junior Drew White filled in for Tranquill against Navy. That ends the discussion of meaningful snaps at the linebacker position. Lamb did not play a snap as a fresh- man, Owusu-Koramoah has yet to take a defensive snap after two seasons, and talented sophomores Simon and Bauer combined for just 46 defensive snaps last fall, all in mop-up duty. Depth ★★½ Notre Dame returns 13 scholarship linebackers, so numbers are not a problem. Eleven of them were graded as four-star recruits by at least one recruiting service, and eight were ranked among the top 250 prospects in the country. Nine of the linebackers were recruited by the current defensive staff, which is important because coordinator and linebackers coach Clark Lea identified them as fits to the system he wants to operate. Much of the talent on the roster is unproven, which is why the grade does not reach top-25 status, but gone are the days of the recent past when Notre Dame lacked the linebacker numbers or athleticism to compete. Overall Grade ★★½ Recruiting success is vital, and Notre Dame has had plenty of that in recent seasons at linebacker. If this was a ranking based solely on the prep credentials at the position, the grade would be much higher. Overall, the linebacker position in on par with the best spots on the roster in regards to landing four-star recruits. Unlike those other positions, though, the linebacker corps is highly unproven, and the experienced players have not shown the ability to be impact producers. The unit will have to grow up quickly — the Sept. 21 trip to Georgia will put it to the test. Lea will have to quickly turn the discussion about this unit from its po- tential to its production. BY THE NUMBERS 1 Player at linebacker other than fifth-year senior Asmar Bilal who has a start to his credit. Junior Jordan Genmark Heath received the starting nod at Northwestern last season when team cap- tain Drue Tranquill was injured, although Tranquill did enter the contest later. 2 This will be defensive coordinator Clark Lea's second season in that capacity, but third at instructing the linebackers. With a veteran-dominated unit last year Lea had a sterling debut. His troops finished sixth in pass efficiency defense, 10th in overall efficiency according to the Football Outsiders and the Fremeau Efficiency Index, and 13th in scoring defense. 10 Linebackers among the 13 on scholarship in 2019 will have at least three years of eligibil- ity remaining, and five of them have four. Whether one or two might undergo a position change in the future is uncertain, but the unit should not be lacking numbers the next several years. PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern 96 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW