Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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10 MAY 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Everything Starts In The Trenches By Tyler Horka Graduate student end Justin Ademilola might have gotten out ahead of his skis when he said in January Notre Dame is going to have the best defensive line in the country. The jury is going to be out until December. It takes a lot to win a designation like that. But who's to say the Irish aren't on their way to competing for the title? The Blue-Gold Game started with a 10-yard sack of junior quarterback Drew Pyne by junior defensive end Rylie Mills. That was only one of two sacks on the day, but defensive linemen Nana Osafo-Mensah, a senior end, and Howard Cross III, a senior tackle, combined for the other. The D-line also racked up seven tackles for loss, almost half the team's entire total. Linebackers and defensive backs combined for eight. Mills and senior vyper Isaiah Foskey are going to form quite the menacing pass-rushing duo. Their backups aren't bad, either. Osafo-Mensah looked capable of receiving plenty of reps on the strong side, and Ademilola is a stout No. 2 vyper. His twin brother, Jayson, was arguably Notre Dame's best overall defensive lineman in 2021. When he's back from offseason rehab, he's going to make this group even better than it was in the Blue-Gold Game. The starters are scary. The reserves are dependable, and their ranks run deep. Notre Dame had to replace two of four starters from last year's de- fensive line. But the returning two were the two best, and the players who patiently waited for this moment have a ton of upside. This is the best posi- tion group on the 2022 Notre Dame roster. Irish Running Backs Top The List By Todd D. Burlage Heading into the spring and even the Blue-Gold Game, this position group wouldn't have been considered by many as a candidate to head into the summer as the team's most promising unit. But a solid spring and a memorable Blue-Gold Game pro- vided a clear look into the depth and versatility this group features along with the challenge the Notre Dame coaches face the next four months while settling on a rotation. Instead of showcasing the two tailbacks in the spring game who most consider 1A and 1B with junior Chris Tyree and sophomore Logan Diggs — Notre Dame's top two returning running backs from last season — the spring scrimmage instead provided a chance for the projected No. 3 back, sophomore Audric Estime, and early enrollee freshman Jadaian Price, the No. 4 option, to shine. Estime led all Irish rushers with 59 yards on 13 carries, and he demon- strated a bruising physicality the Irish coaches need to find a use for this fall. Price led all Notre Dame pass catchers with eight receptions for 104 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown on a screen pass. Price's nimbleness, versa- tility and solid spring will make it difficult to keep him off the field this fall. The Irish also will add four-star freshman Gi'Bran Payne to the mix in June. Irish running backs coach Deland McCullough boasted after the Blue-Gold Game to feeling "extremely comfortable" with his stable of tailbacks. And with the work he got out of them this spring, it's easy to share his enthusiasm. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH NOTRE DAME POSITION GROUP HAS THE MOST PROMISE POST-SPRING PRACTICE? Rising senior Andrew Kristofic had never played anything but tackle until last season when need pushed him into a starting spot at an unfamil- iar position six games into Notre Dame's 2021 campaign. He started the final seven games at left guard and excelled in his new role, becoming a valuable member on a unit that stabilized and showed marked improvement in October and November. Locked in a battle this spring with sophomore Rocco Spindler for the starting left guard spot, Kristofic is willing and able to do whatever is asked at a variety of positions as a starter or backup this fall. Blue & Gold Illustrated and other local media caught up with Kristofic late in the spring and asked him about the blend of veteran and young players, the immediate impact new offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and more. BGI: What has stood out since Hiestand's arrival? Kristofic: "I learned a ton my first three years, but since Coach Hiestand has come in it's all been taken to a whole new level. Just the whole understanding of the game of football, like what is going on play in and play out, I have a so much better feel of that now than I did in the past." BGI: And what is the message Hiestand tries to deliver every day? Kristofic: "Coach Hiestand says to pick out one thing in the run game, pick out one thing in the pass game and really focus on those. And at the end of the day, go back through and say, 'Did I do what I needed to play in and play out?' "If you did, great, keep im- proving on it. Just focus on one thing at a time and keep refining your skill set." BGI: Much has been made about former Hiestand stu- dents such as current NFL All-Pro picks Zack Martin, Quenton Nelson and so many others wanting to re- turn to their alma mater and be around the program this spring. What does that mean? Kristofic: " They played for Coach Hiestand. They're all NFL guys now, and just getting another set of eyes watching you is good. Maybe something is just not clicking, and they can explain it in some other way and just really help because they know. "They've been in your shoes. They know what you're going through —so it's a big help." BGI: How much added motivation is there hav- ing these Notre Dame greats watching you so closely in practice? Kristofic: "I think it is really impactful. Some- times, day to day, things can get hard. You're down grind- ing, and you can see guys that he has coached in the past where they are now. " Then it's even more im- pactful when those same guys come back and visit us on campus. It's an awesome experience." BGI: You feature a blend of youth and experience along the line and a new position coach, can you explain that dynamic? Kristofic: "I think having guys back who understand what it takes to go through a season and be successful is definitely a big aspect of being successful. And obvi- ously, with Coach Hiestand and a lot of other new coaches coming in, having that experience while learning some of the new adjustments that we've made together, it helps." — Todd D. Burlage FIVE QUESTIONS WITH … NOTRE DAME JUNIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN ANDREW KRISTOFIC Kristofic had never played anything but tackle until starting the final six games of the 2021 season at left guard. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL McCULLOUGH WASHINGTON