Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 PRESEASON 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Elko said of his freshman defensive tackles. "So have some of the kids that have been here. It's not necessar- ily just the new guys. "Across the board the defensive line is working hard and is going to be a good group." Elko's confidence comes from what he has seen in practice. However, the Irish defensive coordinator knows the group is not quite where it needs to be. "Everybody has shown us flashes of what they're capable of," Elko said. "It's just our ability to consis- tently play at that really high level, and that's what we need to do across the board. "We need to be consistent at what we're capable of." TILLERY FIGURING THINGS OUT Notre Dame's only experienced player inside is junior Jerry Tillery. After receiving considerable praise during the spring of his freshman season, Tillery has had an erratic ca- reer for the Irish. He is in position to become a main- stay on the Irish defense, and his play will have a vital impact on the overall success of the Irish line. That will come only when the Shreveport, La., native learns to bal- ance football with his many other interests. "Jerry is coming into a good spot for himself where he's balancing his priorities with football with his ec- centric view of life," Elko said. "Jerry is interested in a lot of things, and there are a lot of things that pique his interest. "Since we've been here, we've been very happy with his balance of mak- ing sure he stays committed to foot- ball as number one and not taking away from that." Elko knows that Notre Dame re- cruits a different type of student-ath- lete than most of the nation's premier programs. But having other interests does not mean football can't, and shouldn't, be a priority along with those other interests. "This is Notre Dame. We're recruit- ing well-rounded kids," Elko con- tinued. "I embrace that side of it, as long as it doesn't interfere with the balance — which is that football at Notre Dame has to be top priority. "Jerry has done a better job of re- centering his priorities. He is learn- ing how to balance all of his interests with his burning desire to be a great football player, and he is learning how much of his time and energy are needed to go into football to reach that goal." WEIGHT ROOM PLAYING ITS ROLE The work put in with director of football performance Matt Balis and co-director of football strength and conditioning David Ballou has paid dividends with the defensive players. Improving the overall strength and conditioning of the players should be innate within any major college football operation, but the mental improvements have been impactful as well. "I think they're getting more confidence because they're a little stronger," Elko explained. "That's allowing them to play harder and faster … and each day that they go out and have a little bit of success gives them confidence they can be better. "Certainly Matt has done an un- believable job with those guys in the weight room. From the start of us getting here to fall camp, the kids all got bigger and stronger." TRANQUILL POISED FOR A BREAKOUT Elko brought with him a new de- fensive alignment, with the Irish shifting from its 4-3 defense under former coordinator Brian VanGorder to a 4-2-5 alignment. With that comes a new position — the rover has replaced the Sam (strongside linebacker). Elko chuckles at the constant ques- tions about the rover position, choos- ing to instead focus on the player who is starting there and not about the unique nature of the spot. "Drue Tranquill is a tremendous player," Elko said. "He's extremely dynamic and very physical. He has the ability to make a lot of plays on both the perimeter and in the box. "He's very versatile in what he can do and the things we can do with him. I don't know if he fits the pro- totype of the rover, I just think he's a Balancing football and life away from the field is key to junior defensive lineman Jerry Tillery living up to his on-field expectations. PHOTO BY RICK KIMBALL