Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2020 Notre Dame Football Preview
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DEFENSIVE BACKS 106 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Starters ★★★ An uncertain position group for- tunately features the biggest name on the Irish defense with sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton, a 2019 Fresh- man All-American. Even as a situational player last season with 421 snaps — about 300 fewer than 2019 safety start- ers Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott — Hamilton still finished seventh on the team with 41 tackles. The budding star also led the Irish with four interceptions and 10 passes defended. With only backup snaps, Hamilton still earned the No. 73 rating on Pro Football Focus' top-101 player list for 2020, the lone Notre Dame athlete recognized. Junior cornerback TaRiq Bracy qui- etly led the Irish with seven passes broken up last season and is ex- pected to hold down one of the start- ing edge spots. If sixth-year senior Shaun Crawford stays healthy, the grade should rise. Experience ★★½ Filling the production and lead- ership void from three secondary stalwarts of the last two seasons in cornerback Troy Pride Jr., along with safeties Elliott and Gilman, won't be easy. Those three accounted for 163 tackles and 10 passes broken up in 2019. The versatile Crawford provides plenty of experience in tenure. Yet during his first five seasons, he has played only 25 games and missed 40 because of numerous injuries. Bracy showed steady improvement in 24 appearances during his first two seasons. Pryor started seven games for Ohio State in 2018 and had 45 tackles in 18 career games for the Buckeyes. Junior Houston Griffith has 24 ca- reer appearances at cornerback and safety, with no extensive time playing defense. Depth ★★ Cornerback recruiting has slipped the past few cycles, which has left first-year cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens with a shortfall for now to rotate alongside Bracy and Crawford. Finding a third cornerback is the top priority this fall. Might sophomores Cam Hart (a converted wide receiver), Isaiah Rutherford and KJ Wallace, or one of the three developmental fresh- men, fill that slot for nickel and dime situations? Not having spring reps hurt this unit in particular. Overall Grade ★★½ Hamilton is the centerpiece, but the puzzle around him isn't an easy one for Mickens and third-year safeties coach Terry Joseph to solve. Can Crawford stay healthy and be- come a durable piece? Will Bracy's development continue and lift him above reliable status? How will the graduate transfers fare? Many questions remain, with an ab- breviated offseason to find answers. BY THE NUMBERS 7 Passes broken up by then sopho- more TaRiq Bracy last year, which quietly led the team, while star fresh- man safety Kyle Hamilton and senior standout cornerback Troy Pride Jr. had six apiece. Bracy played 467 snaps (38.9 per game). Especially notable is that despite his 170-pound frame in 2019, Bracy's tackling grade from Pro Football Fo- cus was a highly impressive 90.7. 168.5 168.5 Yards allowed per game through the air last season by Notre Dame, the second fewest allowed by the pro- gram since the turn of the 21st cen- tury. Oddly, the fewest was the 161.6 during a 3-9 season in 2007, but that was primarily because teams could run at will versus the Irish and were often so far ahead that they kept the clock running with the ground attack. 3,248 3,248 Total snaps taken the last two sea- sons on defense by the graduated duo of captains Alohi Gilman (1,631) and Jalen Elliott (1,617). That's an aver- age of 63 per contest, not including special teams, a higher than normal figure but also a testament to their durability. PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern Junior Houston Griffith, the top-rated recruit in Notre Dame's 2018 class (No. 43 overall), will bring strong coverage skills to Notre Dame's "stud" safety spot. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN