Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING Defending The Defense In December, Irish head coach Brian Kelly danced around the question of de- fensive coordinator Brian VanGorder's job performance in his two seasons at Notre Dame. That wasn't the case during National Signing Day Feb. 3. Kelly rejected the premise that Notre Dame had to "sell" recruits on its defense or the scheme of VanGorder after the co- ordinator's unit struggled often again in 2015. The Irish signed seven defensive backs, three defensive ends and three linebackers. "I didn't have to sell it," Kelly said. "I've got a great defensive coordinator in Brian VanGorder, great experience, former Bro- yles Award winner, is [one of the most] outstanding assistant coaches in the coun- try. "Look, we made a pretty substantial change in defensive philosophy from a 3-4 two-gapping defense that played cover two, to a 4-3 attacking defense that played cover one. That's a huge change, and it requires a bit of a transition." Part of the transition included surren- dering 5.57 yards per play last season, which ranked 64th in the nation with a number of starters that have piqued the interest of professional scouts. During Notre Dame's Fiesta Bowl preparations in Arizona, VanGorder used the word "inconsistent" several times to discuss the 2015 defense. Any doubts that Kelly was prepared to give VanGorder a third season in South Bend were laid to rest with the head coach's ringing endorsement. "As we were transitioning, we were winning some football games along the way," Kelly said. "We're not where we want to be defensively, and we're not going to apologize for the fact that we had injuries. … We're going to play great defense under Brian VanGorder and the staff that we've put together." In 2016, the Irish will replace six defensive starters, including linebacker Jaylon Smith, the Butkus Award winner. Notre Dame hopes the comfort of the personnel being in its third year of this defensive installa- tion will offset the loss of talent. — Andrew Owens The Irish signed seven defensive backs, three defensive ends and three linebackers to add to coordinator Brian VanGorder's defense. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND