Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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26 AUGUST 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Amosa doesn't boast the range or size that the 6-7, 305-pound Tillery did, but his playmaking skills were show- cased as a freshman when he made crucial momentum-changing plays with fourth-down stops versus Bos- ton College and North Carolina State among his 12 tackles. Thus, missing 11 games last season he admitted was "devastating," but it also helped make the Hawaiian native a better teammate and person. "The first few weeks I felt sorry for myself and I was half supportive, which they don't deserve because I know they're putting in the work and they're encouraging me as well," he said. "I have to give that back. There's a spot where selfishness kicks in and you feel sorry for yourself. If you're going to be a good brother for your teammates, you have to put that aside and support them no mat- ter what. "It taught me a lot of patience and taught me to be in more of a sup- porting role for my brothers. It was a good opportunity to learn more about them individually and, at the same time, build that brotherhood. You just have to stick through your process of rehab, coming to practice on time, still getting stronger even while injured — you can still do squats on the bottom half. You have to persevere through all that." In his place, yet another freshman in 6-3, 285-pound Jayson Ademi- lola emerged behind Tillery. His 189 snaps were the most in the 27-man freshman class while producing 19 tackles (11 solo), helping on a couple behind the line of scrimmage. "I need to get a lot better techni- cally," Tagovailoa-Amosa said of the competition Ademilola is providing behind him. "I've got to trust my defense and do my own job before worrying about making the play. I've got Jayson behind me, so there's a lot of motivation to keep working hard and knowing we need to get each other better." "He has the ability to pry through blocks, he's athletic and he bends well," Lea said of Tagovailoa- Amosa. "Fall camp will be huge for him in trying to make up for the time lost." According to Lea, Lacey and Ademilola can be part of a capable four-man rotation inside that come August can also be augmented with the return of sophomore Ja'Mion Franklin and freshman Hunter Spears, both sidelined this spring while re- covering from major surgeries. "That second wave of defensive line is so important in how we rotate those guys," Lea said. "Jayson and Jacob both have a skill set that gets you really excited. Particularly with Jacob … you're going to hit walls in there and develop a little slow. "It's dangerous to make judgments day to day. You really have to have a mind for the fact that the line toward success is going to go up and down. When Jacob goes out and has a great day, our job is to pull him back down to the line. When he feels like he's swallowed up in school and physi- cally beat up, we have to pick him up back to the line. "Jayson's really going to need to show a consistency and the ability to push for some prime opportunities to play. … Both guys have a chance to be impact players." ✦ "It taught me a lot of patience and taught me to be in more of a supporting role for my brothers. It was a good opportunity to learn more about them individually and, at the same time, build that brotherhood." TAGOVAILOA-AMOSA ON MISSING 11 GAMES DUE TO INJURY IN 2018 After missing 11 games last season because of foot surgery, Tagovailoa-Amosa succeeds first-round pick Jerry Tillery at tackle. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL