Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com APRIL 2018 33 scoring defense (27.8 points allowed per game) to 31st (21.5) and ranking No. 20 in the Fremeau Efficiency In- dex (FEI) — prompted a desire to not have to start all over again with the nomenclature. "I did know that continuity could be an advantage, and I feel 100 per- cent prepared to assume that role," the 2004 Vanderbilt University grad- uate said. "I'm going to have to learn, I'm going to have to grow — and that's okay, too — but I've trained myself as a coach, as a communica- tor, as a teacher. "So what I'm going to look to do is kind of lean on those skills and then approach my job every day with my eyes open, ears open and gather opin- ion and perspective from other staff members. That's how you grow." The continuity aspect was particu- larly vital with the return of 10 of the 11 starters, plus nine of the top 11 reserves. "The goal would be to proceed as though nothing changed," Lea said prior to the start of spring practice March 6. "Defense evolves naturally, so you address problems that maybe came up last year, things you to need to fix — no different than if there had been no staff change. … As things evolve naturally and that process takes hold, things may tweak but it won't be anything drastic. "Coach Elko and I are schemati- c a l l y a l i g n e d , p h i l o s o p h i c a l l y aligned, we're really close friends. I don't know if you're going to see that big of a difference. … You want your team, your unit, your defense to take on your personality in subtle ways. I hope that if I'm communicat- ing effectively that there will be small changes, but I don't know if it neces- sarily will be noticeable." To Lea, the worst he can do to him- self and the entire operation is to be- lieve he has all the answers. More than ever, pride and ego cannot be al- lowed to subvert continued progress. "The message I'm trying to con- vey, especially when I'm sharing that with players, is that we can never be content," Lea said. "The minute that you feel like you've arrived, you're going to be humbled. "That's that internal feeling for me … knowing that your best days and best accomplishments are out in front of you and so kind of setting your sights each day to make sure you're not missing out on the little details you need to perform to keep those long-term goals within reach." Lea said his most meaningful ad- vice and interactions the past couple of months have been with Kelly and director of athletics Jack Swarbrick. "Their support, their confidence, their decisiveness, the fact that they observed me for a year and said this is the guy we want was deeply im- pactful," he said. "Now it's my re- sponsibility to make them right and to make good on this opportunity, and I don't take that lightly." Enhancing the optimism about the 2018 defense was the return of top lineman Jerry Tillery and leading tackler/linebacker Te'von Coney, both of who had submitted their name into the NFL Draft evaluation process. Furthermore, despite receiving his engineering degree and having a marriage date on July 14, senior cap- tain Drue Tranquill also was hungry for one more go-round with the Irish. The return of that trio could be to the 2018 defense what the return of Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nel- son was to the 2017 offense. "It's a huge blessing for me and an absolute testament to Coach Kelly and the program he's built," Lea said. "This has become standard now — returning experienced play- ers who have NFL careers in front of them. "They believe in what he's doing and his vision for the program, and they know that extra year in his sys- tem is going to pay dividends for them long term." Hopefully it will for Lea as well. ✦ Most Improved, With A Chance To Get Even Better Under the tutelage of linebackers coach Clark Lea, there might not have been two more im- proved players on the 2017 Notre Dame team than Drue Tranquill and Te'von Coney. Coney led the team in both tackles (116) and stops behind the line of scrimmage (13) — quite an upgrade from his previous year totals of 62 and 1.5, respectively. Shifting from safety, Tranquill blossomed at rover, finishing third in tackles (85), second in tack- les for loss (10.5) and first in fumble recoveries (three). This spring, he will shift to Buck while Co- ney is likely to take over full-time at Mike, where the graduating Nyles Morgan played last year. "They are going to be leaned upon and their ex- amples are going to be the model," Lea said of the duo. "I'm excited for them to have that burden of responsibility with their teammates' eyes on them. "When I see them now in the weight room or in the hallway, they both have this look in their eye where they're anxious to go to work every day." Shifting Tranquill again might be perceived as adjusting something that is not broken. But Lea and the staff envision the best is yet to come for him, especially becoming freer to use his skill set. "He has one year of experience playing at the second level, so there's a broad spectrum of things he's going to enhance in little ways," Lea said. "He's an engineer by trade, so [he's] getting to release some of the rule-driven thought process and getting to think big picture and allowing him to harness that athleticism and that skill and go play. "That's something we'll be working this time of the year." Another aspect that will be worked on is the fast twitch needed to play linebacker. "The mechanics of being a good blitzer, understanding the blitz track, executing that blitz track and winning in a pass-rush scenario," Lea summarized. The primary question marks on defense for now are filling the rover spot and bolstering the depth at linebacker. Lea will have a chance to do that during spring because three of the four linebackers signed this year enrolled in January: Matthew "Bo" Bauer and Jack Lamb on the inside, and Ovie Oghoufo at Buck and maybe even rover. "In the course of spring we'll take a look at different options, and by the time we wrap up spring have a great idea of what the depth chart will look like in the fall," Lea said. — Lou Somogyi Under Lea's tutelage, Te'von Coney put together a breakout junior season while leading the team in both total stops (116) and tackles for loss (13). PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL