Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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20 MARCH 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ham and Tuihalamaka combined for only 5 sacks. Tuihalamaka put up a goose egg in that category. Botelho led the way with 4, but that was about half of what many predicted in the preseason. Some thought he might even flirt with getting to double- digits like Isaiah Foskey did two years in a row as his predecessor. Botelho did not even come close. If it's another relatively fruitless start to the 2024 season for that trio, you could see Traore make a move for playing time. Even he had a sack, of USC quarterback Caleb Williams no less, in a fraction of the time on the field as those playing ahead of him. Mullins is a talented freshman, but the Traore case study showed that even with loads of potential it's tough to rou- tinely get on the field right away behind so many veterans. Kia is back from his mission trip and listed as a defensive lineman on Notre Dame's early spring roster. Perhaps he could make some noise as a fresh body. NOSE TACKLE Starter: Howard Cross III (Gr.) Others: Gabriel Rubio (Sr.) Jason Onye (Sr.), Devan Houstan (So.) There is not a whole lot of depth for Notre Dame at nose tackle, but there doesn't need to be when someone like Cross decides to skip the NFL Draft to return for another season in South Bend. Cross has been one of the most productive interior defensive linemen in college foot- ball the last two years. Rubio is suddenly a senior who has proven to be a very capable backup. He didn't appear on the first 2024 roster released by Notre Dame in January because he is tending to a personal matter, but was expected to return to South Bend in time for spring practice in March. It's not strength in numbers here, but it is surely a strong two-deep down the middle. DEFENSIVE TACKLE Starter: Rylie Mills (Gr.) Others: Jason Onye (Sr.), Donovan Hinish (Jr.), Armel Mukam (So.), Sean Se- villano Jr. (Fr.) There are more bodies for Notre Dame at the other tackle spot. That's thanks in part to Mills coming back for another go just like Cross beside him. Onye is to the three-technique tackle spot what Rubio is to the nose position; a very viable op- tion to come in and continue disrupting opposing offenses with consistent play on the interior. Hinish was a serviceable third option in that regard in 2023, too. Sevillano is an intriguing class of 2024 addition. He weighs 339 pounds accord- ing to the official Notre Dame roster. For reference, Mills checks in at 305 and Onye is 286. Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington hasn't had such massive size to work with on the interior the en- tire time he's been in South Bend. There is more to the game than being big, but it will be interesting to see if Sevillano can carve out a role on the basis of being just plain different from his position mates. FIELD END Starter: RJ Oben (Gr.) Others: Tyson Ford (Jr.), Aiden Gobaira (Jr.), Brenan Vernon (So.), Bryce Young (Fr.) We know Notre Dame did not bring in Oben to ride the bench. He's going to play the role of Javontae Jean-Baptiste, who had his best year of college football in South Bend after spending his previ- ous five years at Ohio State. Oben was at Duke for five seasons. The parallels are uncanny. In a perfect world, Oben is the clear No. 1. The No. 2? Who knows. It feels like a good time for Ford to have a breakout season. Gobaira could be hungry coming back from an injury that kept him out in 2023. Vernon redshirted as a true fresh- man and is eager to see the field. Young isn't just a Notre Dame legacy; he's one of the best pass rushers in his class. He could play right away. You've even got to factor in the possibility of Burnham switching from vyper to field end. Notre Dame can go a lot of different directions behind Oben. LINEBACKER Starters: Jack Kiser (Gr.), Drayk Bowen (So.) Others: P re s to n Z i n te r ( So. ) , Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (Fr.), Bodie Ka- houn (Fr.) The weak-side linebacker spot was manned by Marist Liufau the last two seasons. It's finally time for the two class- mates from the 2023 cycle to team up and hold down that position. Bowen trended toward having a role in 2023, but there just wasn't enough room for him to play with Liufau, JD Bertrand and Kiser all vying for reps as graduate students. Liufau and Bertrand have exited the fray, so Bowen and Zinter will step into bigger roles. It sure feels like it's time for Kiser to take over as the quarterback of the Notre Dame defense with Bertrand, a two- time team captain, going off to the NFL, meanwhile. Kiser is the lone graduate student linebacker who stayed in South Bend. He's got the ability to play all three Graduate student nose tackle Howard Cross III is another one of a handful of Notre Dame players who could have turned pro but elected to come back for one more season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER