Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 SEPT. 12, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Notre Dame's pass defense was solid in 2015, ranking 27th in passing yards allowed with just 197.1 yards per game. Senior cornerback Cole Luke leads the Irish secondary, which is low on experi- ence but high on promising young depth. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. NEVADA RUN DEFENSE Nevada struggled to slow down opposing ground games last season, giving up 191.4 yards per game to rank 89th nationally. Seven times Nevada op- ponents rushed for at least 204 yards. That is bad news for the Wolf Pack. The Notre Dame ground game went for 207.6 yards per game last fall, the program's best mark since 1998. Its 5.6 yards per rush is a Notre Dame modern record. The Irish entered the 2016 season without run- ning back C.J. Prosise (1,032 yards in 2015), All- American left tackle Ronnie Stanley and two-time captain Nick Martin at center. All three players were selected in the first three rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft. Despite the losses, Notre Dame is set for another dominant season on the ground. The rushing at- tack will be anchored by senior left tackle Mike McGlinchey and junior left guard Quenton Nelson, who were both selected by Pro Football Focus as preseason All-Americans. Notre Dame's backfield remains loaded as well. Senior running back Tarean Folston returns af- ter missing all but one quarter of one game of the 2015 season. Folston rushed for 1,359 yards his first two seasons and was poised to be Notre Dame's top back before last year's knee injury. GAME PREVIEW: NEVADA Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. RT 73 Austin Corbett 6-4 300 Jr. 65 Clifford Porter 6-5 295 R-Fr. RG 64 Sean Krepsz 6-5 320 So. 63 Daren Echeveria 6-4 290 So. C 62 Nathan Goltry 6-2 300 Sr. 74 Ilya Lopez 6-3 285 Jr. LG 72 Jeremy Macauley 6-1 300 Sr. 53 Tyler Rosentreter 6-5 310 Jr. LT 79 Jacob Henry 6-4 295 Sr. 65 Clifford Porter 6-5 295 R-Fr. TE 47 Jarred Gipson 6-1 240 Sr. 45 Austin Carrow 6-3 245 Sr. WR-X 19 Wyatt Demps 6-4 200 Jr. 12 Hasaan Henderson 6-5 220 Sr. or 2 Dominic Christian 6-1 200 R-Fr. WR-F 83 Andrew Celis 5-11 190 So. 3 Ahki Muhammad 5-9 185 So. WR-Z 84 Jerico Richardson 5-11 190 Sr. 87 Brayden Sanchez 5-11 200 Sr. RB 20 James Butler 5-9 210 Jr. 22 Akeel Lynch 5-11 220 Sr. QB 15 Tyler Stewart 6-4 220 Sr. 6 Ty Gangi 6-2 205 So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 90 Malik Reed 6-1 245 So. 17 Jarid Joseph 6-2 245 So. NT 97 Salesa Faraimo 6-2 290 Sr. 91 Kalei Meyer 6-1 285 So. or 55 Nakita Lealao 6-2 310 Jr. DT 99 Korey Rush 6-1 280 So. 96 Hausia Sekona 6-1 275 So. DE 95 Patrick Choudja 6-3 250 Jr. 93 Jordan Silva 6-4 250 So. LB 56 Alex Bertrando 6-2 230 Sr. 10 L.J. Jackson 6-0 210 Sr. LB 7 Gabe Sewell 6-0 230 R-Fr. 50 Austin Paulhus 6-1 230 Jr. LB 34 Travis Wilson 6-1 220 Jr. 24 Lucas Weber 6-0 225 So. CB 4 E.J. Muhammad 5-11 175 R-Fr. 18 Elijah Moody 5-11 175 So. FS 2 Asauni Rufus 6-0 200 So. 8 Jaden Sawyer 6-0 195 Jr. SS 5 Dameon Baber 5-11 180 So. 35 Riley Brand 6-1 210 R-Fr. CB 26 Kendall Johnson 6-0 185 Jr. 28 Elijah Mitchell 5-8 180 Sr. NEVADA DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. PK 40 Brent Zuzo 5-10 180 Sr. 48 Spencer Pettit 5-9 170 Fr. P 46 Alex Boy 6-3 200 Sr. 40 Brent Zuzo 5-10 180 Sr. LS 42 Wes Farnsworth 6-1 200 Fr. 66 Thomas Newton 6-1 250 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. H 46 Alex Boy 6-3 200 Sr. 87 Brayden Sanchez 5-11 200 Sr. KR 3 Ahki Muhammad 5-9 185 So. 84 Jerico Richardson 5-11 190 Sr. PR 83 Andrew Celis 5-11 190 So. Special Teams Sophomore safety Dameon Baber picked off six passes as a rookie, and he's looking for even bigger achievements this fall. PHOTO BY JOHN BYRNE/COURTESY NEVADA FOOTBALL