Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 APRIL 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL R eplacing defensive line starters is nothing new for Notre Dame. Cu- riosity rooted in concern about how the Irish will do it, though, hasn't ex- isted around the front four in some time. That's not to say the position is doomed for a down year or can't re- main an above-average unit, at worst. It might have the pieces to be a high-end one. But it's harder to see at the dawn of 2023 spring practice than prior years when key starters left. The questions start at the defensive end spots, where Isaiah Foskey left for the NFL Draft and took his program-best 26.5 career sacks with him. Justin Ademilola, who started five of the final six games at field end, joined him. Foskey's 11 sacks tied for fifth among FBS defenders. Ademilola had 8 sacks from 2021-22. A lack of proven options behind Fos - key compounds his departure. There's no backup who logged 300-plus snaps last year who is a ready-made starter. Foskey was that before he became the starter in 2021, for instance. Senior- to-be Jordan Botelho offered hope, though, with 2 sacks in the Gator Bowl. But that was one game of intriguing pro- duction rather than a dependable season. He played only 127 snaps all year. Among the six return- ing full-time defensive ends, only graduate stu- dent Nana Osafo-Men- sah has played more than 300 career snaps. Two of those six are rising sophomores who played 1 snap each. Another is sophomore Junior Tui- halamaka, who played linebacker until the bowl game. The Irish have two freshmen ends that won't be on campus until June. That dearth of experience is why Ohio State graduate transfer Javontae Jean- Baptiste and his 928 career snaps were a "must get" in the portal. At defensive tackle, graduate student Howard Cross III (33 tackles) returns af - ter three years in the rotation and seven starts in 2022. Along with junior Gabriel Rubio and senior Rylie Mills, it looks like a solid trio in the middle, if that's indeed where Mills stays in 2023. He began the season at defensive end but shifted in- side down the stretch. The Irish have usually rotated four interior linemen, though, and there's not a fourth who has played meaningful snaps. Sophomore Tyson Ford, a former top-100 recruit, warrants close watching this spring. 2023 SPRING FOOTBALL OVERVIEW PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER D EF EN SIV E L INEMEN WHO'S GONE, WHO'S BACK Position Coach: Al Washington (second season) Returning Starters: Gr. DT Howard Cross III (9 career starts) and Sr. DL Rylie Mills (10) Departing Starters: DE Isaiah Foskey (25), DE Justin Ademilola (7) and DT Jayson Ademilola (25) Projected New Starters: Sr. DE Jordan Botelho (1) and Gr. DE Javon- tae Jean Baptiste (6, all at Ohio State) Reserves: Gr. DE Nana Osafo-Mensah, Sr. DT Aidan Keanaaina, Sr. DE Alexander Ehrensberger, Jr. DT Jason Onye, So. DT Tyson Ford, So. DT Donovan Hinish, So. DE Joshua Burnham, So. DE Junior Tuihalamaka and So. DE Aiden Gobaira Newcomers: Jean-Baptiste, Fr. DT Brenan Vernon, Fr. DT Devan Houstan, Fr. DE Armel Mukam and Fr. DE Boubacar Traore ALL EYES ON … SENIOR JORDAN BOTELHO Botelho's physical traits have never been questioned. Harnessing them and finding a stable home, though, was a challenge for two-plus years. Vyper finally looked like the long-term position when he settled there last fall. His playing time was uneven, with two games under 10 defensive snaps and five without any action. But the Gator Bowl — in which he started and played 48 snaps — was a sign he looks comfortable at vyper and a preview of what Notre Dame needs from him if it wants a potent pass rush. POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH DEFENSIVE TACKLE Notre Dame isn't looking for a starter on the interior, but it ideally wants a four-man rotation. How- ard Cross III, Rylie Mills and Gabriel Rubio are three of them. Can Tyson Ford be the fourth one season after a redshirt year? Will Aidan Keanaaina, a likely rotation piece last year before tearing his ACL in the spring, be his pre-injury self? Could early enrollee Devan Houstan make some noise? NUMBERS TO KNOW 2.92 Sacks per game for Notre Dame in 2022, which tied for 16th in the FBS. The only Irish outfit to finish with a better mark in a season since 2010 was the 2021 team, which averaged 3.15 sacks per game. 10.6 Percent pressure rate from Javontae Jean-Baptiste at Ohio State in 2022, a figure on par with Isaiah Foskey's last year (10.5), albeit in a smaller sample and against more backups. 18 Pressures from Jordan Botelho in 77 pass- rush snaps last year. Ten of those came in the Gator Bowl. HOWARD CROSS III