Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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defense with proven experienced vet- erans such as Rochell and fifth-year se- nior Jarron Jones, both of whom have the ability to play in the NFL. Jones was tentative most of spring while re- covering from an injury, but began to regain some of his previous form later. The junior contingent of Trumbetti, Hayes, Cage and Bonner should begin coming into its own and help build a potentially deeper rotation. If young- sters such as Tillery and Daelin Hayes blossom before their time, this can be a formidable unit. Three-technique is the top question mark. It's possible either Jones or Ro- chell could slide over in an effort to get the four best linemen on the field, or at least until Tillery develops better consistency. LINEBACKERS Top Story: After playing only 41 snaps last season behind the gradu- ated Joe Schmidt at Mike linebacker, junior Nyles Morgan could possibly be the top enforcer along the front seven. Other News: With junior Greer Mar- tini and sophomore Te'von Coney both sidelined this spring because of Janu- ary surgeries, the Irish had only four scholarship linebackers available, lead- ing two redshirts from last year — Josh Barajas and Asmar Bilal — to shift to Mike and Will, respectively. Consequently, sophomore walk-ons Devyn Spruell (son of the 1987 offen- sive tackle/captain Byron Spruell) and Brandon Hutson (whose father Tim was a star first baseman for the Irish from 1986-88), played extensively at Sam and Will. Summary: Senior James Onwualu, who has 21 career starts, quietly put to- gether a quality spring at Sam, but the Will position — which must replace Jaylon Smith — joins three-technique as probably the top question mark on defense, specifically relating to experi- ence. Bilal made appreciable strides after moving from Sam, but Coney — who missed all of spring while rehab- bing his shoulder — was deemed the heir apparent to Smith. The wild card is Martini, who can play any of the three positions. With 60 career tackles his first two years, mainly versus option or power sets, Martini could vie to be the top Will. CORNERBACKS/NICKEL Top Story: To VanGorder, sopho- more nickel Shaun Crawford could be a game-changer who allows more flexibility overall on defense. He bounced back well from an ACL tear last August. Other News: Junior Nick Wat- kins, who suffered a broken humerus April 2, is the likely starter opposite Cole Luke at corner, but Crawford will be active in many packages. Summary: Last spring, the Irish practiced with three scholarship cor- ners. Adding the freshman trio of Crawford, Nick Coleman and Ashton White doubled the total, although Wat- kins' injury was a setback. If Luke — fully capable of playing at the next level — returns to his 2014 form, that would be a good start to an overall upgrade on the back end. SAFETIES Top Story: Even though senior Max Redfield's 143 career tackles are the