Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/408565
2015: The 'Return' Game The 2014 Notre Dame team was classified as "a year away" from being a national title contender. A look at the current roster reveals why. Eligibility wise, the offense returns everyone other than tight end Ben Koyack, offensive tackle Christian Lombard and running back Cam McDaniel. Defensively, every starter other than cornerback Cody Riggs is scheduled to be back — and Riggs might be replaced by 26-game starter KeiVarae Russell, who has stated his plans to return after sitting out 2014 because of an academic fraud investigation. Like Russell, projected 2014 senior strongside defensive end Ishaq Williams also is planning to return to vie for playing time with current starter Isaac Rochell. This year's defense features five starters that are sophomore and four that are juniors, with senior Mike linebacker Joe Schmidt also likely to return for a fifth season in 2015 as a potential captain. In addition, freshmen such as safety Drue Tranquill, ends Andrew Trumbetti and Grant Blankenship, nose guard Daniel Cage and pass-rush specialist Kolin Hill all have seen meaningful time on a unit that is "ahead of schedule," according to defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. He does warn that more experience alone doesn't guarantee that the 2015 defense will be better. The 2013 defense was expected to rival the 2012 edition as a top-five unit, but injuries and other factors took it a step down. Avoiding complacency and feelings of entitlement are al- ways the first step. "They've got a chance to be really good," acknowledged VanGorder of the defense's promising future. "We've got a really good room, and we've got a really good work ethic. If we don't mess that up, then these guys are going to be really good. But we've got to keep the focus on continuing to improve — each in- dividual — and they've got to take that on themselves. They've got to be motivated themselves to get a lot better. It's easy to point out the flaws to encourage them to do so. "It takes a lot of reps and it takes experience — and unfortunately bad experiences at times — and we've had to go through that at times. But not maybe as much as I had anticipated." — Lou Somogyi Defensive end Andrew Trumbetti is one of eight true freshmen who have seen meaningful action for a unit that coordinator Brian VanGorder believes is "ahead of schedule." PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA