Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 NOV. 6, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME As a 2016 sophomore, linebacker Te'von Coney started nine games and finished fourth on the team in tackles with 62. This year, he been in a three-for-two rotation inside with senior captains Nyles Morgan and Greer Martini, but his impact as a playmaker and with his physicality has been much more profound. With Martini sidelined against USC while recovering from a procedure on his knee, Coney made his presence felt from the outset. On the Trojans' opening play he sacked quarterback Sam Darnold, stripped him of the foot- ball and set up Notre Dame's first touchdown by recovering the ball. He fin- ished with a game-high 11 tackles, came off the field only in nickel and dime situations, and even recorded three stops on special teams while providing tremendous emotion. "He played his butt off," Irish head coach Brian Kelly praised. "It was his best performance at Notre Dame." It also was one of the best nationally on defense, which is why Coney earned the Bednarik Player of the Week award on defense. Kelly said new linebackers coach Clark Lea has established a trust with Coney, and the aggression of the linebackers has enhanced the play of the defensive line. "Generally, if you're getting pushed off the ball, it's because linebackers are allowing double teams to occur," Kelly said. "Our backers are attacking the line of scrimmage and getting those double teams to disengage. Now it's single blocks because our linebackers are really attacking. "Clark Lea has done a great job of teaching how to be part of that front and fit. Te'von has done a great job of trusting his teaching." The trust has come easier to Coney with the new staff and system. "I feel like it gives players a chance to do what they can do — not too much thinking, just go out there and play hard, play tough," Coney said. "Coach puts you in the right position to do what you need to do and won't put you in bad positions. "It makes it easier to make plays because they put you in the right spot, tell you where it's going to happen … you just need to play." When Notre Dame lost its opener last year at Texas, 50-47 in double- overtime, the Irish defensive line al- ready appeared gassed after only one game. The general threshold the Notre Dame staff looked at for a defensive lineman was 50 snaps, with 60 push- ing it. In that Texas game, senior Isaac Rochell took 83 snaps, sopho- more Jerry Tillery 78 and junior An- drew Trumbetti 60. Not much had changed three weeks later when the Irish dropped to 1-3 after a loss to Duke in which Rochell, Tillery and Trumbetti took 70, 60 and 57 snaps, respectively. The 38-35 defeat also led to the fir- ing of defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, and one of the results then was getting more linemen in- volved in the rotation. What a difference a year makes. In this year's 49-14 win over USC, eight Notre Dame defensive linemen played at least 22 snaps and none more than 47. The one who had only 22, sophomore end Khalid Kareem, received the game ball for his two sacks. A ninth lineman, freshman nose tackle Kurt Hinish, played an effective 14 snaps. Through seven games, Tillery's 53 snaps per game led the defensive line, while sophomore Daelin Hayes was second with about 41 snaps per contest. Part of the reason for the better bal- ance and use of depth is Notre Dame has been blowing its foes out, win- ning five straight games by at least 20 points. However, head coach Brian Kelly said it's also about a philosophical plan that first-year defensive coor- dinator Mike Elko always has pro- moted in his background. "We felt like last year when we started to get into a deeper rotation with players, we saw how the culture began to change within our defense in terms of camaraderie, in terms of close- ness, in terms of guys being into what we're doing on a day-to-day basis," he explained. "Part of the decision to hire Mike was, 'How do you feel about get- ting guys involved in rotations?' "That was part of who he was coming up through the ranks. So this was just connecting with an- other philosophical alignment that we had." Player development under line coach Mike Elston — who coached the linebackers from 2014-16, after mentoring the line from 2010-13 — also was cited by Kelly. "They're at a point where they can really come in and impact the football game," Kelly said of the depth that has been advanced under Elston's tutelage. Irish Defensive Line Depth Also Building Camaraderie Sophomore end Khalid Kareem — who notched a pair of sacks — was one of eight Irish defensive linemen to log at least 22 snaps against USC. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL TE'VON CONEY NAMED BEDNARIK PLAYER OF THE WEEK