Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 MAY 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED That in mind, Young might get some early chances to prove he's that guy. If it isn't Duke transfer RJ Oben or gradu- ate student Jordan Botelho or anyone in between them and Young on the experi- ence totem pole, then why not let Young give it a whirl and try to play his way into a proven role on the team from the very start? Same goes for Viliamu-Asa. JD Ber- trand and Marist Liufau aren't walking through the door. It doesn't matter if Viliamu-Asa is just a freshman. If he's good, he's good, and if he can play, he'll play. Sevillano is in a deeper position group. It'll be harder for him to make the jump from early enrollee to regular rotation guy. But his 330-plus pound frame is unlike any other among his position mates, and that's where Notre Dame wants to live — in a place where the kids coming in from high school, the ones who should be getting ready for their senior proms at this time of year look like they've been college football players for years already. DEFENSIVE TACKLE DEPTH Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills took a day off in the middle of March. Notre Dame just got back from spring break, so they should have been rested and ready to go. Maybe they were, but they still only sported T-shirts and shorts while most of the rest of their team- mates had on helmets. And yet, hardly anybody blinked. Or feared the worst. Or thought Notre Dame was in deep trouble if either of those players were out for an extended period of time. Don't get it twisted; Cross and Mills are vital to the Irish's success in the middle of the defensive line. But this is a tackle group led by position coach Al Washington that's as deep as it's ever been during his three years in South Bend. With Cross and Mills watching, se- nior Jason Onye and junior Donovan Hinish were bumped up to the first team. And Washington saw in them two guys who could probably start at a lot of other places. "It does clear the way to really take a good look at what you need to look at and give guys those repetitions to help them improve," Washington said of his starting duo's planned rest day. Teams tend to only go two-deep at tackle, so there is your rotation of four for 2024 if you're looking at it that way. And that's leaving out senior Gabriel Rubio, who isn't practicing this spring but is back with the team and viewing in the same capacity as Cross and Mills were that day in mid-March. He took some time away from the program to attend to personal matters. Rubio could nudge out Hinish for playing time. Or Hinish could make the most of his extra looks in practice and make it hard for Rubio to get his sec- ond-team spot back. It's a good problem for Washington to have. There are a lot of mouths to feed, sure, but everybody's feasting when they get their chances. The thing is, not everybody is getting those chances. Junior Tyson Ford has only played 14 defensive snaps in two seasons. He came in as someone a lot of people thought would be a solid piece up front from start to finish in his career. He's taking a longer path to playing time, but that's in part due to that aforementioned good problem for Washington. Ford's just got so many good players in front of him on the depth chart. "I think the challenge is going to be the experience," Washington said. "We have a lot of older guys with a lot of reps, and they're still here. That's the reality of it. Rylie, Howard, Rubio, we just got a lot of older guys. I think that's tough for any young player, to be honest with you. … "But you just got to control what you can, and you have to continue to work your best, and I credit Tyson for do- ing that. And he'll be out there flying around this spring. I have a very high opinion of Tyson. Great kid. I think for him this spring is a great opportunity to continue to work. "We all know the game's unpredict- able and you've just got to continue to put your foot in the ground." ✦ Early enrollee freshman defensive end Bryce Young is turning heads in his first spring practice slate. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER "Bryce Young has stood out physically I think more than any- thing, physically being college-ready. He's got work to do like all of them do, but he's the one that's probably stood out the most." NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN