Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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9. DL SHELDON DAY The defensive line has nine previous starts among them, and eight of those belong to Day. He became the voice of that group this spring after patiently waiting behind more veteran players the last two seasons. The Irish will likely start freshman Andrew Trumbetti and sophomore Isaac Rochell at the two defensive end spots to begin the season. The two newcomers will need to rely on the in- terior linemen, Day especially, to help them get their feet wet. Day moved inside to tackle this sea- son, a position that better suits his size and elite hand skills. His past experi- ence at end gives him a versatility that could be a major asset for a defense with zero proven depth in the trenches. 10. S AUSTIN COLLINSWORTH Our second member of the second- ary to make this list shows how im- portant the back end of Notre Dame's defense is to the team's success this season. The Irish hope to be less con- servative on defense this year. That means bringing more pressure and creating more turnovers. Both of those elements start with aggressive, effective play in the defensive back- field. Collinsworth worked his way into the starting lineup 11 times last season because he was rarely out of position. This year the fifth-year senior is hop- ing to build on that by providing some game-changing plays. "I've always been a consistent player," he said. "Toward the end of the year I started really becoming a playmaker. "This year I want to be a playmak- ing football player. That's the bottom line." ✦ Fifth-year senior safety Austin Collinsworth made 43 tackles and led the team with three interceptions last year, and he has his sights set on making more game-changing plays in 2014. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA