2018 Notre Dame Football Preview

2018 Notre Dame Football Preview

Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview

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DEFENSIVE BACKS Navy transfer Alohi Gilman, who starred as a freshman in a 2016 win versus Notre Dame, appeared to nail down a starting spot this spring. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL QUOTABLE: NOTRE DAME DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR CLARK LEA ON NAVY TRANSFER ALOHI GILMAN'S EMERGENCE AT SAFETY THIS SPRING: "He's a special kid. He's a guy that in a year has made an impact from a leadership standpoint. The guys follow him, they listen to him, they trust him. It's apparent. He's consistent, he's dependable — all the things you want. "He's got 'it' as a leader. We want to harness that and let that shine." Starter ★★★ ½ Phil Steele's ranked Notre Dame with the 17th best secondary in the country. That projection be- gins with junior cornerback Julian Love, who was named by Athlon Sports as a preseason first-team All-American after registering a program-record 20 passes broken up last season. Cornerback Troy Pride Jr. took over late in the 2017 season, and the speedy junior is coming off an outstanding spring. Love and Pride give Notre Dame potentially its best cornerback pair since 2002 (con- sensus All-American Shane Walton and third-team Associated Press All-American Vontez Duff). Navy transfer Alohi Gilman becoming eligible and an extra year of experience for junior safety Jalen Elliott give the safety position a chance to improve in 2018, which is essential to the second- ary reaching its full potential. Experience ★★★★ Notre Dame returns 72 career starts and 5,590 snaps to its 2018 secondary, numbers that do not include the 12 starts safety Alohi Gilman made at Navy in 2016. There are eight defensive backs returning with at least three career starts; four at cornerback and four at safety. This is a total reversal from the last two seasons when the Irish were an exceptionally young sec- ondary. Notre Dame felt so good about its safety depth that it moved sophomores Jordan Gen- mark-Heath and Isaiah Robertson to linebacker. When last season ended, Notre Dame had five sophomores and freshmen in the two deep, three of them starters. When the 2018 season kicks off, the Irish will likely have just one such player in the two deep. Depth ★★★ ½ Notre Dame returns eight players with starting experience and features nine former four-star recruits in its secondary. After two years of trotting out young and largely inexperienced players, the Fighting Irish enter the season with much experience and a roster with improved athleticism and talent. However, there is still not quite enough proven production to warrant a top 10 or national title grade. Overall Grade ★★★ ½ Expectations are quite high for the Notre Dame secondary, which finally seems to have the depth, experience and star power to carry its weight on defense. The past two seasons have been about potential and improvement. Now the focus must be on consistency and production. Expect defensive coordinator Clark Lea to take advantage of his unit's experience and skill by play - ing more aggressive coverages. If the unit can thrive in those situations it will give Lea the opportunity to use his linebackers to attack the opposition's ground game and to pressure the quarterback. If the secondary can't handle that role, the Irish will struggle to play championship defense. BY THE NUMBERS 10.50 Time in the 100 meters run by junior Troy Pride Jr. in the qualifying heat of the 2018 ACC Outdoor Championships, where he finished seventh in the finals with a 10.56 mark. Pride also finished sixth in the 60-meter dash (6.78) in the ACC Indoor Championships. 43 National overall ranking of freshman safety Houston Griffith on Rivals, the highest of any mem- ber in the incoming Irish freshman class and the second best in the Rivals era (starting in 2002) of any incoming safety, behind Max Redfield's No. 25 in 2013. The early enrollee Griffith seriously vied for action this spring and is expected to do so once the season begins. 76 Tackles recorded by Notre Dame junior safety Alohi Gilman when he was a freshman at the Na- val Academy in 2016. That total was the second most on the team, highlighted by a career-high 12 during a 28-27 victory against the Fighting Irish. Gilman sat out the 2017 season at Notre Dame because of the transfer. PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern 106 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

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