www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 23, 2021 17
coming obstacle, surrendered and slid,
taking a one-yard loss.
"He's quick off the ball and difficult
to get your hands on him," Kelly said. "It
starts there. He's about 280 pounds, but
he's very, very strong. Strongest hands
we have for an interior lineman."
Later in the game, Cross engaged with
Cincinnati left tackle James Tunstall,
shed him with a toss to the side and
made first contact on running back Je-
rome Ford to stop him for no gain. Vio-
lent hands and a lethal first step at work.
"He's fast. He likes to stay low," said
senior walk-on offensive lineman Max
Siegel II, who faces Cross as part of the
scout team. "He has a lot of power, too.
You try to block his speed, you get caught
off-guard with power. You try to be ready
for power, you can get beat with speed.
He has a lot of things going for him."
Cross is a change of pace at nose tackle
from Hinish, who has impressive first-
step quickness himself but is Notre
Dame's biggest defensive lineman. Cross
averaged 37 snaps in the first three games
of the year, just five per game fewer than
Hinish in that span. He played 54 snaps
against Wisconsin in his first career start.
Hinish, a captain and three-year starter,
is the No. 1 nose tackle when healthy. Full
stop. Cross, though, has quite literally
shoved his way to unofficial 1A status.
"He just keeps pushing," Siegel said.
"That's the biggest thing."
Even though he isn't the biggest. ✦
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said the
first-step quickness displayed by Cross —
who recorded five tackles (1.5 for loss) and
three pressures in starts against Wisconsin
and Cincinnati — is on par with any defensive
lineman of his tenure.
PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER
