Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/941859
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2018 13 UNDER THE DOME was No. 6 (16.4), Penn State seventh and Auburn 12th. Big 12 champ Oklahoma was the outlier again at No. 68 (27.1 points per game), but in their shootout conference they finished No. 3 nationally in scoring offense at a 45.1 clip. It should be noted that under former Brian Kelly defensive coordinator Bob Diaco (2010-13), Notre Dame never finished lower than No. 27 in this category. Turnovers Forced: Tied for 50th — 20 A substantial improvement after finishing 114th in 2016 with 14. However, over the final four contests Notre Dame generated only one turn- over, although it was a crucial one on a fourth quarter Troy Pride Jr. intercep- tion versus Navy at the Irish 14-yard line when the Midshipmen trailed 24-17. Sacks Recorded: Tied for 83rd — 24 (1.85 per game) There was no place to go but up in this category after finishing tied for 117th in 2016 with 14, the second fewest among Power Five schools. Furthermore, only three of the 2016 sacks were by linemen, whereas in 2017 that total was 16.5 — led by nose guard Jerry Tillery's 4.5. As a corollary, Notre Dame also finished tied for 58th in tackles for loss with 79, or 6.1 per game. Red-Zone Defense: 29th — 79.2 (38 scores allowed in 48 attempts) Another improvement this year after finishing 45th last year at 81.0. More pertinent, 35 of the 46 red-zone opportunities by the opposition finished with touchdowns. In 2016 the opposition scored touchdowns 76.5 percent of the time, but in 2017 it dropped to 65.8. How important is that? Ask LSU, where a goal-line stand by the Irish per- haps helped result in the Tigers going for only a field goal from the one-inch line for a 17-14 lead with 2:03 left in the contest. Notre Dame went on to win, 21-17. Third-Down Percentage Defense: 37th — .353 (73 of 207) Notre Dame ranked 60th last year with a 39.0 figure, so this was yet an- other area that had some upgrade. Net Punting: 64th — 37.88 An improvement from the No. 106 finish in 2016 (35.28). Special teams co- ordinator Brian Polian's target was a minimum 39.0 average (which 41 teams achieved), so the Irish came up a little short. Kickoff Returns: 84th — 20.34 The longest return this year (52 yards) came in game 10, versus Wake Forest by C.J. Sanders, who will earn his degree later this year and become a gradu- ate transfer at another school. Kick Return Defense: 91st — 22.56 The longest return was 58 yards by North Carolina State's Jaylen Samuels, but far too often the opposition began field position beyond its 25-yard line after an Irish kickoff. Among the 84 total kickoffs by junior Justin Yoon (52) and freshman Jona- than Doerer (32), 57 were returned, 24 were touchbacks and three went out of bounds. Punt Returns: 83rd — 6.24 yards Junior Chris Finke replaced Sanders last year in this department because he is more sure-handed. This unit was relatively uneventful until a 41-yard return by Finke in the regular-season finale at Stanford. Overall, his 24 returns averaged 6.5 yards. Punt Return Defense: 82nd — 8.41 yards The opposition's 27 returns netted 227 yards, with a long of 28 (plus a blocked punt for a score by North Carolina State). Ranking among the top 50 in coming years would seem to be a reasonable target. JUNIOR JUMP On Feb. 17, 1990, the NFL declared that it would allow college football players who had completed their junior years to be eligible for the spring draft. It was the last major professional sports organization to allow this practice. Since then, 16 Notre Dame juniors have used that option, with running back Josh Adams and wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown the most recent this past January. Our definition of turning pro "early" is the junior year. It doesn't apply to not returning for a fifth season of eligibility. Former Irish standouts such as nose guard Chris Zorich (1987-90), center Jeff Faine (1999-2002), defensive end Justin Tuck (2001-04), tight ends An- thony Fasano (2002-05) and Tyler Eifert (2009-12), nose guard Louis Nix III (2010-13), offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (2012-15) and most recently guard Quenton Nelson (2014-17) all had a fifth season of eligibility — but because they were on pace to graduate (or already had graduated) as seniors, we do not consider them "early entries" after their senior years. In recent years it has become more common, although next year the lone prime candidate might be cornerback Julian Love. Here are the 14 other Notre Dame players who did turn pro after their junior season: 1991 — Receiver/return man Raghib "Rocket" Ismail 1993 — Running back Jerome Bettis and cornerback Tom Carter 1995 — Cornerback Bobby Taylor 2007 — Running Back Darius Walker 2010 — Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wide receiver Golden Tate 2011 — Tight end Kyle Rudolph 2014 — Defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt, tight end Troy Niklas and running back George Atkinson III 2016 — Wide receiver Will Fuller and linebacker Jaylon Smith 2017 — Quarterback DeShone Kizer 2018 — Adams and St. Brown Will Fuller is one of four Irish wide receivers — tied for the most at one position with running back — to bypass his senior year at Notre Dame in favor of early entry into the NFL Draft. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND