Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 97 LINEBACKERS POSITION COACH Clark Lea is in his second season as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator and his third as linebackers coach. In his first season as the team's defensive coordinator, he led a unit that finished 30th in fewest yards allowed per game (347.4), tied for 11th in red zone defense (27 scores in 36 trips, 75.0 per- cent), and 36th in rushing yards given up per contest (139.5). Lea's linebacking corps was at the center of that success, with senior Te'von Coney leading the team in tackles with 123, while classmate Drue Tranquill was third with 86. The Irish linebackers took their play to a new level during Lea's first year in South Bend. For the first time in school history, four players in that position group — Coney (116), Nyles Morgan (92), Tranquill (85) and Greer Martini (75) — racked up at least 75 tackles in a season while ranking as the top four tacklers on the team. The quartet accounted for 37.8 percent of the team's total tackles (368 of 972). In 2016, Lea served as the linebackers coach at Wake Forest under defensive coordinator Mike Elko, before following him to South Bend. In his lone year at Winston-Salem, N.C., he helped the Demon Deacons rank among the top 20 of the Football Bowl Subdivision in fumbles recovered (third, 15), turnovers forced (tied for 10th, 27), sacks (11th, 3.15 per game) and defensive touchdowns (tied for 19th, three). Wake also allowed only 22.2 points (23rd nationally) and 370.5 yards per game (40th). Before joining Elko at Wake Forest, Lea spent three seasons as the linebackers coach at Syracuse (2013-15). The 2014 Orange defense held nine of its 12 opponents to less than their season average for total offense and yielded only nine rushing touch- downs — making it one of four schools nationally to surrender fewer than 10. In 2013, Syracuse ranked nationally in multiple cat- egories, including third-down defense (15th), rush de- fense (24th), sacks (18th) and tackles for loss (18th). In his first season working with Elko at Bowling Green in 2012, Lea was a finalist for FootballScoop.com's Line- backers Coach of the Year honor. The Falcons ranked sixth in the country in total defense (296.6 yards al- lowed per contest) and 10th in scoring defense (16.7 points allowed per game). Lea also coached at UCLA for four years, serving as a graduate assistant in 2006 and 2009 before becoming the linebackers coach in 2010 and 2011. While with the Bruins, he helped Akeem Ayers gar- ner All-America accolades in 2010 en route to be- coming a second-round pick in the NFL Draft. He also coached at South Dakota State for two seasons (2007-08), where he was the linebackers mentor while also serving as the recruiting coordina- tor for one year. In 2001, Lea was a member of the Birmingham- Southern College baseball team that captured the NAIA World Series title. The following year, he played baseball at Belmont. Finally, he played fullback at Vanderbilt from 2002-04 and was a two-time All-SEC Academic Team selection. The political science major earned his bachelor's in 2004 and his master's in 2007, with both degrees coming from Vanderbilt. RETURNING PLAYERS BO BAUER • MIKE So. • Harborcreek, Pa. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 230 • Played in all 13 games during his true freshman season and re- corded 10 tackles (seven solo). • Registered a season-high six stops against Wake Forest. • Finished high school career with a 52-3 record, and tallied 106 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks while leading Cathedral Prep to the 4A state championship as a senior. • Named a finalist for the 2017 High School Buk- tus Award, and earned a spot on the USA Today All-USA Pennsylvania first team as a junior and senior. • Tabbed as the 2016 Class 4A Defensive Player of the Year by Pennsylvania Football News. • Listed as a four-star talent, the No. 5 player in Pennsylvania, and the No. 5 inside linebacker and No. 158 overall prospect in the country by Rivals. ASMAR BILAL • MIKE 5th-Sr. • Indianapolis Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 227 • Saw action in all 13 contests and made 10 starts in 2018. • Delivered 50 tackles, three stops for a loss, one pass defended and one fumble recovery. • Played in every game in the 2016 and 2017 sea- sons (25 games in total), and recorded 47 tackles, 4.5 stops for loss and one sack. • Redshirted during his first year in South Bend and was awarded the program's Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year. • As a prep senior, racked up 155 tackles (104 solo), six stops for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception to help Ben Davis High School (12-2) win the 6A state championship. • Selected to the USA Today Indiana All-State first team and chosen as the state's Defensive Player of the Year. • Rated as a four-star recruit, the No. 2 player in Indiana, and the No. 8 outside linebacker and No. 87 overall prospect nationally by Scout. Year G-GS Solo Asst. Total TFL Sacks 2016 12-0 12 17 29 3.0 1.0 2017 13-0 12 6 18 1.5 0.0 2018 13-10 19 31 50 3 0 Totals 38-10 43 54 97 7.5 1 JORDAN GENMARK HEATH • BUCK Jr. • San Diego Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 231 • Played in all 26 contests and contributed 32 tackles (16 solo) over the last two seasons. • Transitioned from safety to Buck linebacker prior to the 2018 campaign. • Played both ways in high school during his senior season, recording 59 tackles and four intercep- tions on defense while adding 400-plus yards and 11 scores on offense. • Named to The San Diego Union-Tribune's All- San Diego Section team following his senior campaign. • Rated as a four-star talent, the No. 26 prospect in California, and the No. 23 athlete and No. 230 overall player in the nation by 247Sports. Year G-GS Solo Asst. Total TFL Sacks 2017 13-0 9 7 16 0.0 0.0 2018 13-1 7 9 16 0.0 0.0 Totals 26-1 16 16 32 0.0 0.0 JONATHAN JONES • MIKE Sr. • Ocoee, Fla. Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 227 • Saw action in every game, pri- marily on special teams, for the second straight season after not playing as a freshman. • Registered six total stops and one tackle for loss last fall, and had 10 tackles with one hit for a loss in 2017. • Was an Associated Press Class 8A (Florida's high- est classification) second-team All-State selection as a prep senior and a Class 7A second-team All- State pick as a junior. • Played for the U.S. Under-19 National Team in the International Bowl and was named captain of the defense. • Rated as a three-star prospect, the No. 66 player in Florida and the No. 19 inside linebacker in the country by Rivals. Year G-GS Solo Asst. Total TFL Sacks 2017 13-0 7 3 10 1 0.0 2018 13-0 2 4 6 1 0.0 Totals 26-0 9 7 16 2 0.0 JACK LAMB • BUCK So. • Temecula, Calif. Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 227 • Redshirted during his first sea- son in South Bend. • Sidelined by a knee injury for most of his senior season at Great Oak High School, but tal- lied 118 tackles, 18 stops for loss, five sacks, one interception and one forced fumble during his junior campaign. • Named the Southwestern League Defensive Player of the Year in both 2016 and 2017. • Played in the Under Armour All-American Game and made one tackle. • Rated by Rivals as a four-star prospect, the No. 10 recruit in California, and the No. 2 inside line- backer and No. 77 overall player nationally. PAUL MOALA • ROVER So. • Mishawaka, Ind. Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 210 • Made the move from safety to rover in the spring. • Saw snaps in eight games and recorded one tackle as a true freshman. BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 97