Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1194048
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JANUARY 2020 27 team Associated Press All-America notice as a sopho- more while record- ing 12 sacks. A year later, despite hernia surgery, he became a second-round pick in the NFL Draft as a junior. Tillery basically was a four-year starter and the first Irish defensive line- man to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft in 22 years (Renaldo Wynn in 1997). Nix's dominance in the middle made him one of the most crucial cogs to Notre Dame's 12-0 regular season in 2012. Our second group w o u l d b e c o m - prised of Khalid Kareem (2016-19), Kapron Lewis-Moore (2010-12), Isaac Rochell (2013-16) and Julian Okwara (2016-19). LINEBACKERS Manti Te'o (2010-12), Jaylon Smith (2013-15) and Drue Tranquill (2014-18) With Te'o and Smith, Notre Dame joined Alabama as the lone two schools this decade to have two But- kus Award winners, representing the top linebacker in college football. Also the Heisman runner-up for the 12-1 Irish in 2012, Te'o recorded a remarkable seven i n t e r c e p t i o n s a t linebacker that sea- son, and his 437 career tackles are third on the all-time chart, behind Bob Crable (521) and Bob Golic (479), who did not have bowl games counted in their era. A victim of poor t i m i n g w h e n i t came to defensive coaching at Notre D a m e , S m i t h ' s physical skill sets at linebacker were maybe the best ever at Notre Dame, and he still was a sec- ond-round pick in the NFL Draft af- ter his junior season despite a severe knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl. Two-time captain Tranquill was the consummate leader at rover and Buck l i n e b a c k e r d u r - ing Notre Dame's 22-4 run in 2017-18, when he recorded 171 stops, 19.5 tack- les for loss (five sacks) and 11 passes broken up. Like Te'o, the engineering major Tranquill also was an Academic All-American. Te'Von Coney (2015-18) would be our next man in, and starred with Tranquill. CORNERBACKS KeiVarae Russell (2012-13, 2015) and Julian Love (2016-18) With Notre Dame in desperate need of cornerbacks in 2012, the freshman running back/slot r e c e i v e r r e c r u i t Russell made the position switch — and started every game while holding more than his own during a season that saw the Irish advance to the BCS National Championship Game. As a senior in 2015, he made fourth-quarter game-clinching inter- ceptions in back-to-back wins over USC and Temple. Notre Dame was 31-6 in Russell's starts. A consensus All- American in 2018 and ball-hawk ex- traordinaire, Love turned pro after his junior campaign in which Notre Dame made the College Football Playoff. He twice shat- tered the previous school single-sea- son record of 13 passes broken up (Clarence Ellis in 1969) with 20 in 2017 and 16 more in 2018, and also was an exceptional tackler in the open field. He made game-changing intercep- tion returns for touchdowns versus Michigan State and North Carolina State in 2017, plus at Virginia Tech in 2018 with a fumble return. Bennett Jackson, a 2013 captain, and Robert Blanton (2010-11), would be next, although Cole Luke had a superb sophomore year in 2014 and Troy Pride Jr. (2016-19) also excelled. SAFETIES Harrison Smith (2010-11) and Alohi Gilman (2018-19) In his two seasons under Kelly, Smith recorded 181 tackles, seven in- terceptions (all in 2010) and 16 passes broken up. The team's lone captain in 2011, he blossomed into a first-round draft pick and has become one of the NFL's elite safeties. The second posi- tion was a flip of the coin among Gilman and Zeke Motta (2010-12), named Defensive MVP in 2012 while Te'o was Team MVP. U l t i m a t e l y, w e leaned toward Gil- m a n b e c a u s e o f the 22-3 run the past two seasons in which his lead- ership had a Tran- quill-like effect in raising the games of those around him. He also graded out as the nation's No. 1 safety by Pro Football Focus during the 12-0 regu- lar season in 2018. KICKER Justin Yoon (2015-18) The most accurate kicker (.808 field goal percentage) with the most field g o a l s c o n v e r t e d (59) and the most points scored (367) in program history. A n h o n o r a b l e mention to Kyle Brindza, who in 2012-13 during a 21-5 run converted 43 of 57 field goals (.754) and also handled punting duties on occasion. PUNTER Tyler Newsome (2015-18) Like Yoon, a four-year starter who also holds the distinction as Notre Dame's lone punter only to be named a team captain. His 44.0 career average is second in school history to Craig H e n t r i c h ' s 4 4 . 1 from 1989-92. ✦ Stephon Tuitt Jerry Tillery Louis Nix Manti Te'o Drue Tranquill KeiVarae Russell Julian Love Jaylon Smith Harrison Smith Alohi Gilman