Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/421584
THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI I n February 2011, Notre Dame signed a defensive front-seven that was her- alded as the best in college football. So why in November 2014 were the Irish in the midst of their worst defensive stretch (42.2 points allowed per contest over five games, and counting) in school history? What happened to the revered 2011 harvest that became seniors this year? Here's what: Defensive Line: Aaron Lynch, Stephon Tu- itt, Chase Hounshell, Tony Springmann and Brad Carrico. The 2011 Freshman All-American but homesick Lynch transferred to South Florida and is now a rising star with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. Tuitt became a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers last spring. Health issues forced Springmann to sit out the 2013 season before eventually giving up playing football. Hounshell, who played as a freshman, was sidelined in 2012 and 2013 because of a torn la- brum and consequently unable to crack the two-deep this season. Carrico saw his college football career end before it ever began because of a foot injury. It's a brutal sport. Linebacker: Ishaq Williams, Jarrett Grace, Ben Councell and Anthony Rabasa. Williams was moved to end this spring, but he became embroiled in an academic investigation that sidelined him in 2014. He hopes to return in 2015, according to head coach Brian Kelly. Grace was the top tackler in 2013 — until a devastating leg injury with mul- tiple breaks limited his mobility. His foot- ball future is in limbo. Councell suffered an MCL tear last season and has seen limited action since then. Rabasa had shifted around before aligning at end, where several freshmen now play. Walk-on Joe Schmidt came to the res- cue from this class, but he was sidelined with a fractured/dislocated ankle Nov. 1. If this sport were easy, everyone would be playing it. Secondary: Josh Atkinson, Jalen Brown, Eilar Hardy and Matthias Farley. Neither Atkinson, maybe the team's fastest player, nor Brown — lauded by Irish first-round receiver Michael Floyd back in 2011 — are on the two-deep depth chart at corner. Hardy had ACL surgery as a freshman, The Incredible Shrinking Senior Class The combination of Stephon Tuitt (7) and Aaron Lynch (19) would have looked good as 2014 Irish seniors. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA