Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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breakout player during the spring, consistently matching up well with Notre Dame's top receivers. He will add significant depth to the position and should become a major player on special teams. Fertitta is not in the mix at safety, but his toughness and quickness should help him make a push for a number of special teams roles. 6. Defensive Tackle — Notre Dame's four-man haul of defensive tackles did not make much of an impact last season outside of 6-6½, 310-pounder Jerry Tillery, who made three starts at nose guard after then- senior Jarron Jones was lost for the regular season with a knee injury during fall camp. Tillery is now on pace to replace All-American Sheldon Day at defen- sive tackle. The Shreveport, La., na- tive is a rare combination of size, nat- ural strength and athleticism, but his freshman production (12 tackles) did not match his skills. He continued to struggle to make plays in the spring, which raises questions about his abil- ity to replace Day on a full-time basis. Talent is not the issue with Tillery. He was more physical during the spring and has a chance to become a playmaker, but learning to get off blocks and get to the football should come with time. A pair of his 2015 classmates — Micah Dew-Treadway and Elijah Taylor — will head into the fall in competition to serve as Tillery's pri- mary backup (although senior Isaac Rochell at end or Jones could slide over if needed). Tillery's lack of proven production and the lack of development from his classmates could result in a posi- tion switch by an upperclassman, but unless that happens the 2015 class will be called upon to produce at the position. Fellow sophomore Brandon Tias- sum is an athletic player for his size (6-3½, 302), but he is still a year away from a development standpoint to being able to compete for a rotation spot at nose guard. 7. Quarterback — The most tal- ented player in the 2015 class might well be signal-caller Brandon Wim- bush. Malik Zaire's season-ending ankle injury forced Wimbush on to Sophomore Class Review Players Signed: 24 Players Available in 2016: 21 (Three-star defensive end Bo Wallace never enrolled, ultimately sign- ing with Arizona State; and three-star wide receiver Jalen Guyton and four-star safety Mykelti Williams have transferred) 2015 Recruiting Rankings: Scout (No. 6), Rivals (No. 11), 247Sports (No. 13) and ESPN (No. 13) Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Josh Adams RB 6-1½ 219 Looking to become a mainstay offensive figure after successful freshman campaign. Josh Barajas* LB 6-1½ 240 Will look to earn a special teams role this season.