Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2021 35 against the Irish defense, not with it. But after staying engaged and com- mitted through three position switches and essentially no playing time during his first three seasons in the program — before earning a starting spot and team captain honors this preseason — Davis sets an inspiring example of perseverance for the entire team, espe- cially the impatient young guys. "This new generation is like instant gratification," Davis wisely said. "They come in and they want to play imme- diately. They don't really want to be developed. "Really working towards some- thing, in the end when it actually pays off, you feel better than if something was just handed to you." Freeman said he continually reminds his backups, especially the young ones, that becoming a rotation regular can be a long process, sometimes full of dark days and doubt. "When guys aren't getting as many reps, we have to have a great rela- tionship with those guys," Freeman said. "Because the minute you start thinking, 'Oh, they're fine. They're just young,' that's when that transfer portal starts becoming more important and looks a little bit more attractive to those young guys." ADAPTABILITY MATTERS Elite coaches are often creatures of habit. But as a first-time defensive co- ordinator at Cincinnati in 2017, Free- man immediately learned by inferno that one approach never fits all situa- tions. Under head coach Luke Fickell, Cincinnati and Freeman leaned almost exclusively on a four-man defensive front. So, when injuries hit the Bearcats defensive line, the personnel changed but the scheme did not, and Cincinnati paid a heavy price for its inability to adapt. The Bearcats finished 4-8 that season and ranked 94th in rushing defense, 94th in total defense, 94th in scoring defense and 113th in passing efficiency defense after allowing 23 touchdown passes with just five interceptions. "The best part about it is we strug- gled in '17," Freeman said of the les- sons from a tough rookie year. "That was probably the best thing. … That was a big influence on me, the ability to say, 'Okay, you have to be able to adapt and change if you want to have success.'" Fickell and Freeman added more three-man fronts to their packages the following season, which among other advantages, gave the defense addi- tional flexibility and an ability to better disguise its blitz packages. "As a defensive coordinator, if you're saying, 'This is what we do and that's it,'" Freeman said, "the game could pass you by." With added defensive diversity in 2018, the Bearcats finished 11-2 and had the best defensive transformation in the country after shaving off more than 14 points per game from its 2017 scoring average to go from 94th to ninth nationally in that category dur- ing Freeman's second season there. "That's what I learned at Cincinnati — we had an injury and we tried to keep that same defense, and it wasn't as successful," Freeman recalled. "We had to make some changes and I be- lieve it's the same thing here." Freeman explained that he brought much of his approach from Cincinnati with him to Notre Dame. But a mas- sive upgrade in depth and personnel here will open a world of new oppor- tunities with his new team. "Is it a little bit of what we did at Cincinnati, yeah, but there are also some things that we didn't do at Cin- cinnati," he said. "I'm excited to con- tinue to grow it and to continue to see how it all fits. I have a good idea where we're headed." ✦ DEFENSE Strong-Side End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 95 M. Tagovailoa-Amosa 6-2½ 268 Gr./2 9 Justin Ademilola 6-1¾ 255 Sr./3 31 N. Osafo-Mensah 6-31/8 250 Jr./4 90 Alex Ehrensberger 6-67/8 255 So./4 47 Jason Onye 6-5 289 Fr./4 Nose Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 41 Kurt Hinish 6-1¾ 300 Gr./1 56 Howard Cross III 6-07/8 275 Jr./4 or 54 Jacob Lacey 6-15/8 275 Jr./3 92 Aidan Keanaaina 6-3 310 So./4 Defensive Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 280 Sr./2 99 Rylie Mills 6-51/8 283 So./4 97 Gabriel Rubio 6-5¼ 290 Fr./4 Vyper No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 7 Isaiah Foskey 6-5 260 Jr./4 17 Jordan Botelho 6-2½ 245 So./4 34 Osita Ekwonu 6-0¾ 236 Jr./4 48 Will Schweitzer 6-4 225 Fr./4 Mike Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 40 Drew White 6-0¼ 228 Gr./2 52 Bo Bauer 6-2¾ 233 Sr./2 27 JD Bertrand 6-1 230 Jr./4 Will Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 8 Marist Liufau 6-2¼ 229 Jr./4 33 Shayne Simon 6-2¾ 233 Sr./2 55 Kahanu Kia 6-13/8 217 Fr./4 Rover No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 24 Jack Kiser 6-15/8 222 Jr./4 10 Isaiah Pryor 6-1½ 217 Gr./2 or 13 Paul Moala 5-11½ 222 Sr./2 32 Prince Kollie 6-0½ 222 Fr./4 Boundary Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 5 Cam Hart 6-2½ 205 Jr./4 11 Ramon Henderson 6-1 190 So./4 15 Ryan Barnes 6-17/8 187 Fr./4 Field Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6 Clarence Lewis 5-11½ 193 So./4 28 TaRiq Bracy 5-101/8 177 Sr./2 25 Philip Riley 5-11½ 202 Fr./4 20 JoJo Johnson 5-107/8 191 Fr./4 18 Chance Tucker 5-11¾ 183 Fr./4 Stud Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 3 Houston Griffith 6-0¼ 202 Sr./2 16 KJ Wallace 5-10¼ 185 Jr./4 2 DJ Brown 6-03/8 200 Sr./3 29 Khari Gee 6-17/8 195 Fr./4 Free Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 14 Kyle Hamilton 6-4 220 Jr./3 22 Justin Walters 6-05/8 188 Fr./4 4 Litchfield Ajavon 6-01/8 193 Jr./4 21 Caleb Offord 6-1 192 So./4 SPECIAL TEAMS Kicker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 197 Gr./1 91 Josh Bryan 5-115/8 183 Fr./4 Punter No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1½ 197 Jr./3 Long Snapper No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 44 Alex Peitsch 6-11/8 210 So./4 BGI Training Camp Depth Chart This is our best guess after several media sessions with Notre Dame coaches and one full open practice.