Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/728553
38 SEPT. 26, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. DUKE RUN DEFENSE Notre Dame has rushed for 222.5 yards per game through two contests, using a balanced attack. Sophomore running back Josh Adams led the way with 149 yards (7.1 yards per rush). Senior running back Tarean Folston chipped in another 115 yards, while junior quarterback DeShone Kizer registered 112 yards and a pair of scores. In the season-opening loss to Texas, the talented Irish line was inconsistent, and that hurt the offense in the fourth quarter. That began to turn around in Notre Dame's 39-10 victory over Nevada. The Irish line showed improvements, getting a good push and showing much better timing with its combination blocks. If the Irish line can continue to jell, its ground game will be dominant. This would be bad news for a Duke defense that gave up 239 yards to a Wake Forest offense that rushed for just 1,262 yards all of last season. Notre Dame has a significant size advantage over the Duke line, which averages just 265 pounds across the board. The Irish offensive line checks in at an average of 315 pounds. Fifth-year senior A.J. Wolf is the one veteran up front for the Blue Devils, but he is flanked by an inex- perienced front seven that must grow up quickly if it wants to hold up against Notre Dame. Redshirt freshman linebacker Joe Giles-Harris has been a pleasant surprise for Duke in the early going with a team-leading 21 tackles. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. DUKE PASS DEFENSE The Blue Devils have a pair of talented corner- backs that have combined for 44 career starts. GAME PREVIEW: DUKE Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 6 E. St. Brown 6-5 205 So. 81 Miles Boykin 6-3½ 222 So. WR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. 15 Corey Holmes 6-0½ 190 Jr. LT 68 Mike McGlinchey 6-7½ 310 Sr. 70 Hunter Bivin 6-5½ 308 Sr. LG 56 Quenton Nelson 6-5 325 Jr. 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3¼ 300 So. C 53 Sam Mustipher 6-2½ 310 Jr. 75 Mark Harrell 6-4 306 5th-Sr. RG 62 Colin McGovern 6-4½ 310 Sr. 66 Tristen Hoge 6-4¼ 310 So. RT 71 Alex Bars 6-6 320 Jr. 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-4½ 315 Fr. TE 80 Durham Smythe 6-4½ 245 Sr. 82 Nic Weishar 6-4 240 Jr. WR 16 Torii Hunter Jr. 6-0 195 Sr. 29 Kevin Stepherson 6-0 181 Fr. QB 14 DeShone Kizer 6-4¼ 230 Jr. 9 Malik Zaire 6-0 222 Sr. RB 33 Josh Adams 6-1½ 220 So. or 25 Tarean Folston 5-9½ 214 Sr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DL 98 Andrew Trumbetti 6-3½ 255 Jr. 9 Daelin Hayes 6-3½ 250 Fr. or 93 Jay Hayes 6-3 285 Jr. DL 75 Daniel Cage 6-1 315 Jr. or 94 Jarron Jones 6-5½ 315 5th-Sr. DL 99 Jerry Tillery 6-6½ 310 So. 58 Elijah Taylor 6-3 285 So. DL 90 Isaac Rochell 6-3½ 290 Sr. 55 Jonathan Bonner 6-3 286 Jr. LB 5 Nyles Morgan 6-1 245 Jr. 48 Greer Martini 6-2½ 240 Jr. LB 17 James Onwualu 6-1 232 Sr. 44 Jamir Jones 6-2½ 225 Fr. LB 4 Te'von Coney 6-1 235 So. 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 230 So. CB 24 Nick Coleman 5-11½ 195 So. 35 Donte Vaughn 6-2 200 Fr. S 23 Drue Tranquill 6-1½ 225 Jr. 8 Avery Sebastian 5-10 200 6th.-Sr. S 14 Devin Studstill 6-0 198 Fr. 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0 195 Fr. CB 36 Cole Luke 5-11 195 Sr. 27 Julian Love 5-10½ 190 Fr. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KO 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 190 So. 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. PK 19 Justin Yoon 5-9½ 190 So. 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. P 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. 42 Jeff Riney 5-10 165 So. H 4 M. VanGorder 6-4½ 230 Jr. 14 DeShone Kizer 6-4¼ 230 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 61 Scott Daly 6-1½ 250 5th-Sr. 54 John Shannon 6-2 220 Fr. PR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 180 So. KR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. or 2 Dexter Williams 6-0 210 So. Special Teams Fifth-year senior defensive tackle A.J. Wolf produced nine tackles and a team-best three sacks through two games for the Blue Devils. PHOTO BY GRANT SHORIN/DUKE