Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1158434
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2019 45 he tied for the team lead in passes broken up that season with six. "We think his skill set fits in terms of what we want to accomplish de- fensively," Kelly said of Vaughn. "It's his time. There's an expectation that he has, as well as we do, that he can be the kind of player that he's wanted to be and that we feel he can be." 3. Interior Design Seldom was Kelly queried in Au- gust about the defensive end posi- tion, deemed the team's top strength. In passing situations, at least three of the five senior ends could be in the lineup on occasion. As for the interior, led by Hin- ish and Tagovailoa-Amosa, an ini- tial goal of 35 to 40 snaps per game would seem realistic for them, but sophomore Jayson Ademilola and freshman Jacob Lacey are expected to see their share of action as well. A bonus has included the return of sophomore Ja'Mion Franklin (quad- riceps) and freshman Hunter Spears (ACL) from major surgeries last year. "We could look a little different on third down," Kelly said. "So first and second down is really what you're talking about in terms of making sure that we have a rotation in there. "… Some younger guys are going to have to step up and give us some quality playing time at that position, and we're pretty confident that some- body's going to be able to do that." ✦ A total of 52 players — 43 scholarship and nine walk-ons — were on the defense when Blue & Gold Illustrated went to press Aug. 20. The number next to the class year repre- sents years of eligibility remaining. Heights and weights were updated this August by the university. Strongside End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 53 Khalid Kareem 6-4 265 Sr./1 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4½ 253 Sr./2 44 Jamir Jones 6-3 255 Sr./1 47 Kofi Wardlow 6-2½ 244 Jr./3 18 NaNa Osafo-Mensah 6-3 241 Fr./4 Nose Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 295 Jr./2 54 Jacob Lacey 6-1½ 293 Fr./4 55 Ja'Mion Franklin 6-1½ 305 So./4 Defensive Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 95 M. Tagovailoa-Amosa 6-2½ 285 Jr./3 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 279 So./3 56 Howard Cross III 6-1 269 Fr./4 90 Hunter Spears 6-3½ 303 Fr./4 Walk-on: Zane Heemsoth (93) Drop End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 42 Julian Okwara 6-4½ 248 Sr./1 9 Daelin Hayes 6-4 266 Sr./1 19 Justin Ademilola 6-2 250 So./4 29 Ovie Oghoufo 6-3 230 So./4 94 Isaiah Foskey 6-5 250 Fr./4 Mike Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 40 Drew White 6-0 230 Jr./3 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 232 So./3 52 Bo Bauer 6-3 230 So./3 45 Jonathan Jones 5-11½ 225 Sr./2 27 JD Bertrand 6-1 226 Fr./4 Buck Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 227 5th/1 31 Jack Lamb 6-4 233 So./4 2 J. Genmark Heath 6-1 228 Jr./2 35 Marist Liufau 6-2 213 Fr./4 34 Osita Ekwonu 6-1 230 Fr./4 Rover No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6 J. Owusu-Koramoah 6-1½ 216 Jr./3 13 Paul Moala@ 5-11½ 216 So./3 24 Jack Kiser 6-1½ 221 Fr./4 Walk-on: Reed Gregory (50) @ Had surgery on torn thumb ligaments, but was expected to return to action around Aug. 20 Field Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 8 Donte Vaughn 6-3 212 Sr./1 10 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 170 So./3 15 Isaiah Rutherford 6-0 ½ 188 Fr./4 Walk-ons: Temitope Agoro (26), Brandon Garcia (39) and Chase Love (37) Field Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0½ 210 Sr./1 14 Kyle Hamilton 6-4 210 Fr./4 12 D.J. Brown 6-0½ 198 So./4 Boundary Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 11 Alohi Gilmah 5-10½ 202 Sr./2 20 Shaun Crawford 5-9 180 5th/2 23 Litchfield Ajavon 6-0 192 Fr./4 Walk-ons: John Mahoney (25), Patrick Pelini (32), Christopher Schilling (38) and Marcus Thorne (43) Note: Sophomore Derrik Allen transferred to in- state Georgia Tech following the five practices at Culver Academies from Aug. 4-8 Boundary Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 5 Troy Pride Jr. 5-11½ 194 Sr./1 3 Houston Griffith 6-0 198 So./3 16 KJ Wallace 5-10 191 Fr./4 4 Avery Davis 5-11 202 Jr./3 BGI 2019 DEFENSE DEPTH CHART Senior cornerback Donte Vaughn, who is in full health after back and shoulder problems plagued him the past two years, shined during the first two weeks of practice in August and has seized a starting role. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA