Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 JUNE/JULY 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL E very late March and April Saturday, when Notre Dame players took their turns at the virtual podium to speak with reporters, the same words kept pop- ping up as descriptors for first-year defensive coordinator Marcus Free- man's scheme. Simple. Free. Easy to understand. Player-friendly. None of it is a shot at predeces- sor Clark Lea's methods, which were obviously successful and landed him an SEC head-coaching job. They're purely a compliment to Freeman's style and teaching points as he puts his stamp on Notre Dame's defense. A sampling of a few players' de- scriptions: Junior cornerback Cam Hart: "He has taken a lot of the thinking out of it." Senior linebacker Shayne Simon: "The main thing is find the ball, go hunt and make plays. Senior linebacker Paul Moala: "Coach Freeman makes sure he em- phasizes he wants us to play free, fast, physical." Senior defensive end Myron Tago- vailoa-Amosa: "It's just put your foot in the ground, foot on the gas and just go. We're just throwing a lot at our offense." The Blue-Gold Game sure showed it. In a 17-3 Blue win, there were nine sacks, 18 tackles for loss, seven passes broken up and two intercep- tions. The running backs combined for 100 yards on 27 carries (3.7 yards per rush). The two main contenders for the starting quarterback job, Wis- consin graduate transfer Jack Coan and sophomore Drew Pyne, did not lead a touchdown drive. So far, Freeman's takeover feels ahead of schedule. Candidates for open jobs are not only clear, but in many cases, are making strong im- pressions. It's easy to be optimistic now when hearing how players dis- cuss Freeman and with the spring game as the one sample. Hearing Freeman explain it himself only fuels the sentiment. "Giving those guys the opportu- nity to cut loose and be disruptive is kind of what they're talking about," Freeman said. "It still has to fit within the scheme. I think once they con- tinue to get to know the scheme and know exactly what we're looking for, there's some freedom within there to be a football player. "I tell them all the time, 'Let's be football players, not fit-ball play- ers.' Sometimes it's not going to be perfect, but if you continue to play with great effort and attitude and you're disruptive, good things will happen." Schematically, Freeman is making changes, but not major ones. Notre Dame will shift between a three- and four-man front after using exclu- sively four linemen under Lea. The back seven will be shape-shifting, too. There's a lot that has stayed simi- lar, though, because Freeman put the bulk on the learning on him instead of the players. He has learned plenty about his personnel, too. 1. DEFENSIVE LINE DEPTH REMAINS A PLUS Notre Dame will likely roll out a 10-player defensive line rotation once again, five between the tackle spots and four or five edge players. The Irish played 11 up front a year ago. That level of depth comes from con- sistent development and progress — themes that have become the norm under position coach Mike Elston. "We've always been and will al- ways be a defensive line-driven pro- gram," Freeman said. "That means as our defensive line goes, our defense will go. They've done an excellent job. They're extremely deep at the position." All six players who took meaning- ful snaps on the interior line last year returned. Tagovailoa-Amosa, the starter at three-technique tackle, has moved out to strong-side defensive end. That opened up a starting job for senior Jayson Ademilola, who was the primary backup there a year ago. Ademilola returned from Novem- ber meniscus surgery and was a con- sistent disruptor in Notre Dame's two postseason games. He had six quarterback pressures and 1.5 tackles for loss in that span. Meanwhile, nose tackle Kurt Hin- ish took an NCAA gift and cashed it. Last summer, the NCAA awarded every player on a 2020 roster an extra year of eligibility. Hinish's eligibility was set to expire after 2020, but the ruling gave him a chance to play a fifth season. The biggest questions rest at defen- sive end. Last year's starters, Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji, became fifth-round draft picks. For Notre Dame, the curiosity is less about who the replacements are and more about how much they can elevate a good- not-great pass rush. The Irish have ranked between 30th and 40th nationally in sacks per game each of the last three years. They were hit-and-miss in their abil- ity to get pressure one-on-one or with four rushers in 2020. On that matter, the attention turns to junior Isaiah Foskey — Hayes' successor at vyper — and his ability to take the leap expected of him. Fo- skey's 4.5 sacks last year trailed only Ogundeji (7.0) among Irish defend- ers. He's a twitchy athlete with the physical tools of an elite rusher. "When I first got here, everyone SPRING OVERVIEW: DEFENSE Progress under new coordinator Marcus Freeman appears ahead of schedule Fifth-year senior Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa had a productive spring after moving to defensive end. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS