Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2020 Notre Dame Football Preview
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DEFENSIVE LINEMEN BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 87 POSITION COACH Mike Elston enters his 22nd year of collegiate coaching and his 11th at Notre Dame. This will mark his fourth season as asso- ciate head coach and his fourth back in charge of the defensive line, following two years as the program's recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach. He previously directed the front four from 2010-14. Last year, Elston's unit helped contribute to an- other strong Notre Dame defense. Fueled by a deep group of veteran pass rushers, the Fighting Irish ranked sixth in the nation in total pressures and fourth in quarterback hurries per Pro Football Focus (PFF), and finished with 34 sacks (32nd nationally). The disruptive front was also a factor in the Irish defense leading the nation in fumbles recovered (19) and ranking fourth in total turnovers gained (28). In addition, Notre Dame had the most run-game tack- les for loss (57) of the Brian Kelly era. In 2018, Elston's crew put together an outstanding campaign. Pro Football Focus ranked the Fighting Irish pass rush No. 4 in the country, behind only Ar- kansas State, Clemson and Ohio State. All told, Notre Dame's defensive linemen combined for 243 total stops, 46.5 tackles for loss and 26 sacks. Elston guided a resurgent Irish front four two sea- sons ago after inheriting seven linemen who had seen previous game action over their respective careers and combined for a total of just four career sacks. Those same seven players recorded 16.5 sacks in 2017. In addition, his starting quartet of Jerry Til- lery, Daelin Hayes, Jonathan Bonner and Jay Hayes all posted career highs in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks that year. In 2016, Elston oversaw a linebacker unit that produced four of the team's top tacklers. The four- some accounted for 286 of the team's 879 stops (32.5 percent) and also compiled 26 tackles for loss with 10 sacks. Elston's first linebacking corps in 2015 featured the team's top two tacklers in Jaylon Smith (114 stops) and former walk-on Joe Schmidt (78). Smith became the lone Power Five linebacker to eclipse 100 tackles in both 2014 and 2015 en route to All-America hon- ors and the 2015 Butkus Award, which is awarded to the nation's top linebacker. In the veteran coach's two years in charge of Notre Dame's recruiting efforts, the Irish brought in classes ranked among the nation's top 13 best both times. In his previous stint as the program's defensive line coach, Elston mentored players such as Sheldon Day, who went on to be selected by the Jacksonville Jag- uars in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He also helped groom Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix, who in 2012 became Notre Dame's first pair of defensive linemen to earn All-America honors in the same sea- son since 1989. In 2014, they also became the first duo of Irish defensive linemen to be selected in the top three rounds of the same NFL Draft since 1994. Elston also doubled as the special teams coordina- tor in his first two years in South Bend, and helped former walk-on kicker David Ruffer finish as one of three Lou Groza Award (the nation's best kicker) finalists in his first year. The former outside linebacker at Michigan from 1994-96 has worked for Irish head coach Brian Kelly every year since 2004, when he was hired to men- tor Central Michigan's defensive line. He added the title of co-defensive coordinator the following year before he shifted his focus to linebackers and special teams coordinator in 2006. When Kelly left for Cincinnati in 2007, Elston fol- lowed as the recruiting and special teams coordina- tor, plus he coached tight ends. That arrangement lasted for two seasons, and then he shifted to de- fensive line coach, special teams coordinator and assistant head coach for the 2009 campaign. His other coaching stops include Michigan (1999‑2000), where he also worked as a student assistant and video intern from 1997-98, and Eastern Michigan (2001-03). RETURNING PLAYERS JAYSON ADEMILOLA • DT Jr. • Jackson, N.J. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 279 • Saw the field in 11 games in 2019, and compiled 25 total stops, 4.0 tackles for loss, two QB hurries and one pass bro- ken up. • Played in 12 games during the 2018 season, and recorded 19 total stops, 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. • Compiled 56 tackles, 16 stops behind the line and eight sacks as a senior, while helping St. Peter's Prep to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Non-Public Group 4 state championship game. • Listed by NJ.com as a first-team All-New Jersey defensive tackle as a senior and second-team pick as a junior. • Tabbed as an All-New Jersey first-team defensive lineman by USA Today following his junior and senior campaigns. • Played in the U.S. Army All-American Game and registered one stop. • Regarded by 247Sports as a four-star talent, the No. 2 prospect in New Jersey, and the nation's No. 4 defensive tackle and No. 45 overall player. Year G-GS Solo Ast. Total TFL Sacks 2018 12-0 11 8 19 1.5 0.0 2019 11-0 9 16 25 4.0 0.0 Totals 23-0 20 24 44 5.5 0.0 JUSTIN ADEMILOLA • SDE Jr. • Jackson, N.J. Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 248 • Played in eight games in 2019, and made nine tackles with one for loss. • Saw snaps in four games during the 2018 season. • Logged nine tackles, including two stops in the Cotton Bowl against Clemson. • Recorded 53 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, six sacks and five quarterback hurries as a senior, while helping St. Peter's Prep to a 9-3 mark and the New Jersey Non-Public Group 4 state title game. • Tabbed as an All-New Jersey second-team selec- tion by USA Today as a senior. • Rated by Rivals as a three-star recruit, the No. 16 player in New Jersey and the No. 34 defensive end in the country. Year G-GS Solo Ast. Total TFL Sacks 2018 4-0 6 3 9 0.0 0.0 2019 8-0 6 3 9 1.0 0.0 Totals 12-0 12 6 18 1.0 0.0 HOWARD CROSS III • DT So. • Paramus, N.J. Ht.: 6-1• Wt.: 265 • Played in four games in 2019 and recorded seven tackles. • Racked up 179 tackles and 15 sacks in his last two seasons at St. Joseph Regional High School. • Helped lead St. Joseph Regional to a state cham- pionship with a shutout victory in the title game. • Awarded the 2018 Gatorade New Jersey Football Player of the Year. • Named to the 2017 and 2018 USA Today All-State first team and earned the 2018 NJ.com State Player of the Year award. • Ranked by Rivals as a four-star prospect, the No. 6 player in New Jersey and the No. 23 strongside defensive end in the country. ISAIAH FOSKEY • VYPER So. • Antioch, Calif. Ht.: 6-5 • Wt.: 255 • Played in four games in 2019, and notched five tackles, a QB hurry and a blocked punt. • Played on both sides of the Associate head coach/defensive line coach Mike Elston has had numerous roles while at Notre Dame, and this season will mark his 17th straight with Brian Kelly. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN