Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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trolling the line of scrimmage up front. If there is one identity that head coach Brian Kelly believes he has been able to forge entering his third season at Notre Dame, it is strength up the middle, to use a baseball analogy, on both sides of the line. "We're going to be be able to physi- ver the past three seasons, Notre Dame's total defense ranking among 120 teams has improved from 86th in 2009 to 50th in 2010 to 30th last season. Above all, it has emphasized con- O Notre Dame's 2012 strength begins in the trenches BY LOU SOMOGYI "MIDDLING" ALONG DEFENSE NOT cally handle ourselve in the trenches against anybody in the country," Kelly said on Aug. 16. "That's a good feeling right away … that in itself gives you a chance to win all your games." Despite graduating four-year main- stays Darius Fleming (Cat linebacker/ end) and Ethan Johnson (end), nose guard regular Sean Cwynar, plus see- ing 2011 Freshman All-American end Aaron Lynch transfer to the Univer- sity of South Florida, Kelly expects the defense to remain stout in the middle, and hardly middling. The front-line nucleus of fifth-year senior Kapron Lewis-Moore, junior nose guard tandem Louis Nix III and Kona Schwenke, and sophomore Stephon Tuitt hold down the fort to facilitate senior Mike linebacker Manti Te'o in his All-America candi- dacy. Playing center field most of the time are the veteran safety tandem of fifth-year senior Jamoris Slaughter and senior Zeke Motta, who have started 16 games apiece. "We need to continue to develop Stephon Tuitt capped a strong freshman season with three quarterback hurries and a sack in the Champs Sports Bowl against Florida State, and he could make an even bigger impact in 2012. on the perimeter, both on offense and defense," Kelly said of the outside linebackers, cornerbacks and wide receivers. "That development will go a long way in deciding how success- ful we are." Some of the top storylines on de- fense this August included: 54 PRESEASON 2012 was established early this August. No one was going to supplant Slaughter and Motta at safety, and junior Ben- nett Jackson had been the standout at corner despite taking only 65 snaps on defense last year while apprentic- The starting defensive backfield 1. SECONDS IN SECONDARY PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA ing behind the senior duo of Robert Blanton and Gary Gray. Lo and behold … junior Lo Wood then quickly began to cement his place at field corner, but a torn Achilles tendon suffered on Aug. 20 ended his season before it began. Sophomores Josh Atkinson and BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED