Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/669106
BY BRYAN DRISKELL I n order to advance to the College Football Playoff, the Irish defense must improve. Making that difficult is the loss of consensus All-American Jaylon Smith at linebacker, All-American Shel- don Day at defensive tackle, captain Joe Schmidt at Mike linebacker, leading sack man Romeo Okwara at defensive end, three-year starter KeiVarae Rus- sell at cornerback and two-year starter Elijah Shumate at strong safety. Expecting an upgrade after losing so much experience and talent is hard to fathom, but several upperclassmen are now veterans looking to take charge, and a pair of newcomers in the second- ary have provided a significant boost. Questions always remain entering the summer, but these five players took maybe the most significant steps to- wards providing quality answers. JUNIOR MIKE LINEBACKER NYLES MORGAN After taking over for an injured Schmidt late in the 2014 season, the top- ranked Irish defensive recruit in that class posted double digits in tackles for three straight games, but he could not build on that production as a sopho- more. Now the unquestioned starter, Morgan is primed to become a force. He played with a great deal of hun- ger and passion during the spring. In open practices, Morgan flew around the field and was constantly around the football while his speed, instincts and power were on full display. Morgan was also praised all spring by head coach Brian Kelly and defensive coor- dinator Brian VanGorder for his ability to get the defense lined up correctly, which has proven to be just as impor- tant — if not more so — than produc- tion in VanGorder's scheme. At 245 pounds, Morgan also is 20 pounds heavier than when he enrolled. "[He's] bringing that physicality to every practice, that physical tough- ness to our defense," Kelly said. "Joe Schmidt was a smart player, he was a heady player — but he wasn't the most physically gifted player that we had. Nyles Morgan is a tough, physical football player." If Morgan can continue to build on his spring success he could emerge as Notre Dame's top defender in the fall. SOPHOMORE CORNERBACK SHAUN CRAWFORD Crawford's breakout was supposed to happen last fall, when he was a true freshman. Notre Dame's defen- sive staff immediately fell in love with his athleticism and intelligence, and made him the starting nickel back. But two weeks into fall camp, Crawford's freshman campaign was ended by a torn ACL in his right knee. Even though he is not yet at full speed, Crawford was a standout dur- ing spring practice. Kelly, VanGorder and secondary coach Todd Lyght were effusive in their praise for the native of Lakewood, Ohio. The injury forced Crawford to spend even more time enhancing his tech- nique and understanding of the de- fense. By the end of spring, Crawford was much closer to full speed, and his production took off. He shined in coverage and as a dis-