Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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some of that stuff has changed," Van- Gorder said. "I don't think it's a big enough change to necessarily mean that we can't play better defense against it, but I do believe how you build your personnel is extremely im- portant against today's offenses." Fitting personnel, be it in regular or niche roles, to his scheme is Van- Gorder 's forte. Sophomore defensive end Isaac Rochell has lined up any- where from nose guard to the nine- technique (wide side, even outside the tight end's shoulders) or even as a stand-up linebacker. Junior tackle Sheldon Day has been used on the edge. Senior defensive back Matthias Far- ley has been better utilized at nickel, while one of the most instrumental moves was shifting sophomore Jay- lon Smith from outside to inside line- backer. VanGorder has been impressed with how his young players have seldom been victimized by information over- load and plans to always remain "mul- tiple" with even and odd fronts. "Our mission is to make you pre- pare for us like we prepare for some of these offenses," VanGorder said. "We want you to work. I anticipated that we'd be multiple but if you looked at our inventory going into a game, you would just be shocked at what these kids are doing. It's im- pressive. "I never anticipated or pictured VanGorder, Notre Dame's 14th defensive coordinator since 1983, employs a multiple scheme to counter the myriad offenses faced by Notre Dame. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA