Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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that made him so highly regarded. As the primary backup for Day, Hayes will be asked to give quality minutes this fall. A problem for the Irish defense last season was there was a significant drop-off in production when the starters came off the field. Hayes will be counted on to close that gap. The arrival of Tillery plus the emer- gence of junior Jacob Matuska bumped Daniel Cage down the depth chart. Cage is a stout run defender who must get in improved shape and learn to use his hands better. Classmate Peter Mok- wuah is massive and has potential, but he is still at least a year away from pushing for a rotation spot. 4. Punter — Tyler Newsome was the least talked about member of the 2014 class. That will change this fall, when he will take over the starting punting duties from the departed Kyle Brindza. Newsome has a strong leg, but doing triple duty last season slowed down his punting development. Once incoming freshman kicker Justin Yoon arrives, Newsome will be allowed to focus more of his time on punting. The Georgia native has a strong leg and has earned praise for a strong work ethic, putting on 20 pounds of muscle over the last year. Notre Dame will need him to stay healthy and make strides with his consistency, which has been a struggle for him up to this point. 5. Linebacker — The trio of Nyles Morgan, Greer Martini and Kolin Hill made an early impact last year and will be called upon again this upcoming season. Morgan was one of the top recruits in the country and demonstrated his physicals skills as a true freshman. The Chicago native has sideline-to-sideline speed and shows excellent in-the-box quickness. When he meets the ball car- rier he delivers a punishing blow. Af- ter Joe Schmidt went down with a leg injury against Navy, Morgan took over and racked up 39 tackles (2.5 for loss) during that stretch to finish with 47. Morgan has all the tools to be a standout for the Irish, drawing com- parisons to former Irish All-American Manti Te'o last season. Like with any freshman, Morgan struggled with the mental and fundamental aspects of the game. In Brian VanGorder's complex defense, those traits are vitally impor- tant. In order to start, Morgan must continue to improve in those areas. If he can, Morgan would provide a sig- Tyler Newsome will take over the punting duties for Notre Dame this fall. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA