Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 105 DEFENSIVE BACKS QUOTABLE: NOTRE DAME CORNERBACKS COACH TODD LYGHT ON JULIAN LOVE BUILDING UPON HIS 2017 ALL-AMERICA SEASON: "His key to success and the key to his development in getting to the next level is going to be focus and attention to detail. He'll make a big play, and then he'll go in a little bit of an auto-pilot mode where he will relax a little bit and not really push himself past his comfort level. I just continually stay on him about his focus, his intentions, his attention to detail and his pre-snap readiness. "The way our defense is set up, the boundary corner has to win a lot of one-on-ones, and he was able to do that for us." 2017 VS. 2018: STOCK UP OR DOWN? There were some good moments for the 2017 secondary, but in the end there was too much youth and not enough playmaking at safety for the unit to truly excel collectively. All four starters return, and the depth chart is bolstered by Navy transfer Alohi Gil- man becoming eligible at safety. When the 2017 season ended, the Irish had three soph- omores starting in the secondary, and all three are expected to start this season as well. That group is now a year older, and it should benefit from last season's up-and- down performance. They showed flashes of that during the spring, especially at safety, where a jump in production versus the pass game is a must. The arrival of the best pair of safeties signed (Houston Griffith and Derrik Allen) under head coach Brian Kelly to complement four corners also bolsters the Irish depth chart. X-FACTOR Notre Dame's safeties combined for only five passes broken up and zero interceptions in 2017. To become a playoff-caliber defense, those figures must im- prove significantly. Much of the offseason talk has centered around Gilman, the new face in the starting lineup, but if Notre Dame's safety position is going to make legitimate strides this fall it needs junior Jalen Elliott to make more plays. A star high school quarterback, Elliott was learning the nuances of safety last season. At times his athleticism played up, but his lack of experience as a defender caused far too much indecision and inconsistency. During the spring Elliott seemed more comfortable, settling in better at the field safety spot after playing in the boundary as a sophomore. FRESHMAN OUTLOOK The Fighting Irish signed a whopping seven defensive backs in the 2018 class, and the group will make an immediate impact. When spring practice began, Houston Griffith was playing cornerback, but when he moved to safety midway through the practice ses- sions he thrived. He finished the spring as the backup to Gilman, and do not be surprised if classmate Derrik Allen makes just as quick of a rise when he arrives in the fall. DID YOU KNOW? Last season, cornerback Julian Love became the first sophomore defensive back at Notre Dame to earn All-America recognition (second team on Sports Illustrated) since Bobby Taylor in 1993. The honor was earned because Love: • Finished second nationally in passes defended with 23 (20 passes broken up and three interceptions), behind Iowa's Josh Jackson's 26 (18 passes broken up and eight interceptions). No Irish player previously had been listed with as many as 20. • Was second in the country with his 20 passes broken up, behind the 21 by Wisconsin's Nick Nelson. Love's mark shattered the previous school re - cord of 13 (not including the bowl game then) by Clarence Ellis set in 1969. • Tied the Notre Dame school record for interceptions returns for touch- downs in a season with game-changing 59- and 69-yard scores versus Michigan State and North Carolina State. Stud Safety 21 Jalen Elliott (6-0½, 203), Jr./2 14 Devin Studstill (6-0, 198), Jr./2 28 Nicco Fertitta (5-9, 171), Sr./1 7 Derrik Allen (6-2, 215), Fr./4 Whip Safety 11 Alohi Gilman (5-10½, 200), Jr./3 3 Houston Griffith (6-0, 196), Fr./4 24 Nick Coleman (6-0, 191), Sr./1 13 Paul Moala (5-11, 196), Fr./4 Field Cornerback 5 Troy Pride Jr. (5-11½, 185), Jr./2 20 Shaun Crawford (5-9, 178), Sr./2 10 TaRiq Bracy (5-11, 170), Fr./4 18 Joe Wilkins Jr. (6-2, 180), Fr./4 Boundary Cornerback 27 Julian Love (5-11, 189), Jr./2 8 Donte Vaughn (6-3, 205), Jr./2 16 Noah Boykin (6-2, 176), Fr./4 12 DJ Brown (6-1, 180), Fr./4 NOTABLE DATA For the first time since two-platoon football was used for good in 1964, the 2017 season saw an Irish safety not record an interception. The posi- tion also accounted for only five passes broken up. "To have zero is tough luck … it's almost im- possible to happen," first-year safeties coach Terry Joseph said. Limiting big plays was a priority fulfilled for the most part under then first-year coordinator Mike Elko (now at Texas A&M), who also coached the safeties. While Elko had to teach the bigger picture overall on defense, Joseph can concentrate solely on the safeties, with new coordinator/linebackers coach Clark Lea carrying on the continuity of a de- fense that finished a laudable and much improved 20th overall in the Fremeau Efficiency Index. Improving the interceptions and passes bro- ken up totals, winning more jump balls and just having a greater impact on the game are the next steps at safety. SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS (16) Listed after the class year is the years of eligibility remaining. As a sophomore in 2017, cornerback Julian Love shat- tered or tied several Notre Dame records while earning second-team All-America notice from Sports Illustrated. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL