Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com APRIL 2018 27 BY THE NUMBERS 3 For the first time ever, Notre Dame has three freshman early enrollees at linebacker in the spring — Bo Bauer, Jack Lamb and Ovie Oghoufo. 4 L a s t s e a s o n m a r ke d the first time in a Notre Dame football season that linebackers finished first through fourth in tackles: Te'von Coney (116), Nyles Morgan (92), Drue Tranquill (85) and Greer Martini (75). 116 Tackles by Coney last year represented the most in one season by a Fighting Irish player since All-Amer- ican Manti Te'o totaled 133 in 2012. LINEBACKERS 2018 SPRING FOOTBALL PREVIEW Returning Returning Year-End Year Starts Tackles Tackles 2017 35 377 402 2018 45 462 — Brian Kelly's Take "Drue [Tranquill] has got to play the Buck, he's got to play it well, and we've got to settle it on him. Asmar [Bilal] has to do some cross-training, and Jonathan [Jones] has got to do a great job of being a guy there that can give Te'von [Coney] a blow when he needs one." PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH The move of Drue Tranquill inside to Buck line- backer opened up a hole at the rover spot he han- dled so well a season ago. He and Te'von Coney should form a potent duo inside, but someone will have to replace Tranquill on the outside. Senior Asmar Bilal was the backup to Tranquill in 2017 and he'll get the first chance to win the start- ing spot this spring. Sophomores Jeremiah Owusu- Koramoah and Isaiah Robertson — a safety last season — will get plenty of cracks at unseating Bilal. Notre Dame is deeper and more athletic at rover this spring, but the question is whether it will be as effective. A major reason why Clark Lea was pro- moted to defensive coordinator once Mike Elko departed for Texas A&M was because of his work developing the linebackers last season. A major problem area in 2016, the line- backers became the strength of the defense in 2017. Notre Dame's linebackers racked up 402 tack- les, 36 stops behind the line, 15 quarterback hurries and five forced fumbles — all significant improvements over the previous season. Gone are captains Nyles Morgan and Greer Martini, and there are questions about those who return. Senior Te'von Coney was brilliant against the run last season, making 116 tackles and 13 tackles for loss. The presence of Morgan as the ringleader and Martini's strong all- around game allowed Elko to use Coney pri- marily as a run defender. Only 64 of Coney's 485 snaps last season came on third down, and many were goal-line or late-game mop- up snaps. How will Coney handle calling the de- fense, having to communicate to the front and having an expanded role in pass cover- age? How will Tranquill — who was superb as the rover last season — handle moving inside on a full-time basis? Tranquill did play inside on third down and against certain boundary-heavy defensive looks, but being a Buck full-time will be different. On paper the duo is poised to be a strength, but there is a lot each will have to prove han- dling the every-down rigors of their new po- sitions. If the answers are positive the back- ers will once again be a strength. Senior Asmar Bilal will battle with sopho- mores Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Isa- iah Robertson for the open rover spot. None has Tranquill's size and power, but Owusu- Koramoah is the best athlete at linebacker. WHO'S GONE Nyles Morgan A steady player who was the emotional leader of the Irish de- fense. Greer Martini A jack-of-all-trades, he made seven starts and registered 75 tackles a sea- son ago. WHO'S BACK Fifth-Year senior Drue Tranquill Emerged as a top playmaker last season, registering 85 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss. Senior Te'von Coney Started just seven games, but still led the defense with 116 tackles and 13 stops for loss. TOP NEWCOMERS Sophomore Jeremiah Owusu-Kora- moah Still just 18 years old, but his athleticism will be hard to keep off the field in 2018. Freshman Jack Lamb Enrolling early will give the top-100 prospect an opportunity to crack the two- deep of a thin inside linebacking corps. Freshman Bo Bauer A physical linebacker that has been noted for his work in the weight room as an early enrollee. TE'VON CONEY