Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/594735
CHALK TALK BRYAN DRISKELL something Notre Dame tries to avoid if it can help it. MIKE LINEBACKER (MLB): This is the posi‑ tion occupied by fifth‑year senior Joe Schmidt. The MLB is the quarterback of the defense. He is responsible for making all the calls before the snap. The calls make sure the defensive line and the other linebackers know where to line up and what specific scheme is being employed. He is also responsible for making any pre‑snap audibles or checks based on how the offense lines up, or any motions and/ or shifts it makes. The MLB must have a firm grasp of the Irish defense in order to carry out the massive amount of responsibility that is placed on his shoulders. Against the run, the MLB is asked to fill the B gap on runs to his side, the backside A gap on runs away from him. On perimeter runs to his side, he is an inside‑out scrape player. What this means is he must flow to the ball, get over top of the blocks and be in position to make a play on the ball carrier while preventing the cutback. If the ball is run at the MLB, his primary technique is to aggressively take on the blocker while keeping his outside arm free. If the ball goes outside, he must be able to get off the block and make the tackle. Otherwise his goal is to force the ball back inside to the Will linebacker. Ideally, the MLB is a defender that can excel at getting off blocks and getting to the football. In the pass game, he will play the middle zones. That means he is either responsible for defending the hook‑ curl zones to his side or to squeeze down on crossing routes that cross his face. WILL LINEBACKER (WLB): This is the posi‑ tion occupied by junior Jaylon Smith. In VanGorder's defense, most schemes are designed to funnel everything back to the WLB, who is the playmaker. The primary objective is to keep the WLB free by how the linemen are used and with the SLB and MLB forcing every‑ thing back inside to the unblocked WLB. The WLB will be asked to reach a lot of ground, which means he must be athletic enough to cover well and strong enough to flourish against the run. On runs to his side, the WLB is often a strongside B gap defender, but he must be able to flow quickly outside against perimeter runs, which is why speed is so important at this position. He must be able to effectively take on and beat blocks when the ball is run in his direction, making him re‑ sponsible for more production than the SLB. When the ball is run away from him, he is the pursuit player that will play from the backside A gap and over, depending on the downhill angle the running back takes. The WLB has a great deal of cov‑ erage responsibility and is ideally the best cover linebacker. He is often asked to run with seam routes and play downfield coverage. He is also asked to quickly recognize and pursue perimeter screens. ✦ Bryan Driskell has been a football analyst for Blue & Gold Illustrated since April 2015. He can be reached at bdriskell@blueandgold.com.