Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 AUGUST 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI S o far, the 2019 Notre Dame de- fense has been divided into two categories this preseason. The strengths are easily classi- fied at end, safety and cornerback Troy Pride Jr. All five starters there — and even some backups — are established, proven seniors returning from a top-10 unit last year. Conversely, the three areas deemed the top question marks — tackles, linebackers and the cornerback oppo- site Pride — feature newcomers or are replete with inexperience. Fifth-year senior Asmar Bilal — who started 10 games at rover last season — is the exception, but even he is adjusting to a new position at Mike linebacker, where he will bear much greater responsibil- ity. The tackle positions specifically are the lone unit on defense or offense that have neither senior representation nor starting experience. The graduation of Jerry Tillery — Notre Dame's first first-round defen- sive line selection in 22 years — and nose tackle Jonathan Bonner, who qui- etly started all 26 games alongside Til- lery during the 22-4 run the past two seasons, has left a void that has sec- ond-year defensive coordinator Clark Lea looking at more of an inside-out attack. In other words, whereas last year's defense was built more on forcing the action to the inside with the pres- ence of standouts such as Tillery, Bonner, Drue Tranquill and Te'von Co- ney, this year might be more of the opposite. "Every year you look at who you are, what your skill set is," Lea said. "You shade calls around what you do well." Because the perimeter is Notre Dame's strength this year — as op- posed to the interior in 2018 with Til- lery, Bonner, Coney and Tranquill — the defensive emphasis also likely will be altered. "Where we felt really good about funneling inside to two guys [Tranquill and Coney] that were really, really good tacklers, we can play the same call … and spray the ball out to where we feel like our best defenders are [at end in 2019]," Lea said. MIDDLE MEN Leading the inside of the line will be juniors Kurt Hinish at nose tackle and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa at the three- technique. Both of the three-star recruits were instantly pressed into action as fresh- man backups during the revival cam- paign in 2017. Tagovailoa-Amosa un- officially played 329 snaps his rookie year, second only in his class to co- starting offensive tackle Robert Hain- sey. Hinish was third with 177 snaps. Last year, though, it was Hinish who split time with Bonner at nose, total- ing 354 snaps, while Bonner had 427 in their tag-team pairing. Meanwhile, Tagovailoa-Amosa suffered a bro- ken right foot on his 10th snap in the opener versus Michigan, and did not see action again until the College Foot- ball Playoff loss to Clemson in which he played 18 snaps (but still preserved a fifth year of eligibility because of the new NCAA rule that allows players to participate in four games at any time during the season without forfeiting a redshirt year). Both will be required to be much more involved, and the 6-2, 295-pound Hinish has always demonstrated a ca- pacity to lead. "I try to set a standard for myself to follow but [also] for everyone else to follow, whether it's running from drill to drill, whether it's giving everything you've got in between plays," said Hinish, whose 13 tackles last season included two for loss, with 1.5 sacks. His numbers were practically iden- tical to Tillery's as an early enrollee freshman in 2015 when he totaled 351 snaps (three less than Hinish last year), 12 tackles, two stops for loss and one sack. "It's taking responsibility of younger guys, taking them under your wing and making them feel comfortable — not even just on the field but even in the locker room, in the community, everything," Hinish continued. He already has been raving about the progress of his understudy, 6-2, 294-pound freshman Jacob Lacey, who arrived this January physically more advanced and stronger than even Til- lery did in 2015. "The kid is still supposed to be in high school," Hinish marveled this spring. "He does a tremendous job with his hands. He's got a great center of gravity, a great pass rush." Tagovailoa-Amosa concurred. "This man is strong," he said of Lacey. "His hands are great, powerful get-off, violent kid." Although he knows that the nose tackle position will require rotation, Hinish's goal is to remain in on some pass-rushing situations because he did show a knack to create some inside pressure. "I can bull-rush anybody out there," he said confidently. "One thing I can work on is getting on the edge [better]. I would like to be on the field in pass- rushing situations — but we have so many ends right now." All the more reason why the inside job be- comes more crucial. "He's way more physi- cal in the run game than he was, particularly in 2017 where we felt like he got moved around," Lea said of Hinish. "Last year, he made strides. … Through ex- perience, he's growing into an effective run-stopping defensive lineman." TAG-TEAM PARTNERSHIP At 6-3, 286 pounds, Tagovailoa- INSIDE JOB ( S ) Junior tackles Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Kurt Hinish lead the new interior defense "I try to set a standard for myself to follow, but [also] for everyone else to follow, whether it's running from drill to drill, whether it's giving everything you've got in between plays." HINISH Hinish's 354 snaps last season came while split- ting time with graduated starter Jonathan Bonner. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA