2018 Notre Dame Football Preview

2018 Notre Dame Football Preview

Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview

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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 87 DEFENSIVE LINEMAN POSITION COACH Mike Elston enters his 20th year of collegiate coaching and his ninth at Notre Dame. This will mark his first sea‑ son as associate head coach and his second back in charge of the defensive line, following one sea‑ son as assistant head coach and two as the program's recruiting co‑ ordinator and linebackers coach. He previously worked with the Irish defensive line‑ men from 2010‑14. He guided a resurgent Irish front four in 2017 after inheriting seven linemen that had seen previ‑ ous game action over their respective careers and combined for a total of just four career sacks. Last year, those same seven players recorded 16.5 sacks. In addition, his starting foursome of Jerry Tillery, Daelin Hayes, Jonathan Bonner and Jay Hayes all posted career highs in tackles, stops for loss and sacks. In 2016, Elston oversaw a unit that produced four of the team's top tacklers. The quartet accounted for 286 of the team's 879 stops (32.5 percent) and also compiled 26 tackles for loss with 10 sacks. Elston's first linebacking corps in 2015 featured the team's top two tacklers in Jaylon Smith (114 stops) and former walk‑on Joe Schmidt (78). Smith became the lone Power Five linebacker to eclipse 100 tackles in both 2014 and 2015 en route to All‑America hon‑ ors and the 2015 Butkus Award, which is presented to the nation's top linebacker. In his two years in charge of Notre Dame's recruit‑ ing efforts, the Irish brought in a pair of consensus top‑15 classes. In his previous stint as the program's defensive line coach, Elston mentored players such as Sheldon Day, who went on to be selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He also helped groom Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix, who in 2012 became Notre Dame's first pair of de‑ fensive linemen to earn All‑America honors in the same season since 1989. In 2014, that duo also became the first pair of Irish defensive linemen to be selected in the top three rounds of the same NFL Draft since 1997. He also doubled as the special teams coordina‑ tor in his first two years in South Bend, and helped former walk‑on kicker David Ruffer finish as one of three Lou Groza Award (the nation's best kicker) finalists in his first season. Elston, who played outside linebacker at Michigan from 1994‑96, has worked for Irish head coach Brian Kelly every year since 2004, when he was hired to mentor Central Michigan's defensive line. He added the title of co‑defensive coordinator the following year before he shifted his focus to linebackers and special teams coordinator in 2006. When Kelly left for Cincinnati in 2007, Elston fol‑ lowed as the recruiting and special teams coordina‑ tor, plus he coached tight ends. That arrangement lasted for two seasons, and then he shifted to de‑ fensive line coach, special teams coordinator and assistant head coach for the 2009 campaign. His other coaching stops include Michigan (1999‑2000), where he also worked as a student as‑ sistant and video intern from 1997‑98, and Eastern Michigan (2001‑03). RETURNING PLAYERS JONATHAN BONNER • NG 5th-Sr. • Chesterfield, Mo. Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 293 Career Highlights: Made the move to nose guard during the spring after starting all 13 contests at three‑technique tackle in 2017 … Notched career highs in tackles (30), tackles for loss (3.5) and sacks (two) … Saw ac‑ tion in all 12 contests and made one start in 2016 … Contributed nine tackles and forced one fumble … Played in 10 games in 2015 … Recorded five tackles, one sack and one forced fumble … Redshirted in 2014. Prep: Listed by Rivals as a three‑star recruit and the No. 13 prospect in Missouri … Finished his high school career with 206 tackles, 40 tackles for loss and 34 sacks at Parkway Central … Compiled 70 tack‑ les and 17 sacks as a senior … Tabbed as a second‑ team MaxPreps All‑America selection … Was named The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Defensive Player of the Year … Tabbed as a first‑team Class 5 all‑state pick as a junior and senior by the Missouri Football Coaches Association. Personal: Born June 17, 1996 … His uncle, Dan Knott, was a reserve running back on Notre Dame's 1977 national championship squad … His grandfa‑ ther, Elmon Hampton, is a godfather to former Irish safety Sergio Brown … Enrolled in the Mendoza Col‑ lege of Business, majoring in information technology management. Year G-GS Solo Ast. Total TFL Sacks 2015 10‑0 1 4 5 1.0 1.0 2016 12‑1 3 6 9 0.0 0.0 2017 13‑13 15 15 30 3.5 2.0 Totals 35-14 19 25 44 4.5 3.0 MICAH DEW-TREADWAY • NG Sr. • Bolingbrook, Ill. Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 309 Career Highlights: Participated in nine contests in 2017, but did not record any statistics … Did not see any game action in 2016 due to a broken foot … Redshirted in 2015. Prep: Rated as a three‑star prospect, the No. 36 recruit in Illinois and the No. 11 defensive tackle nationally by Rivals … Had 50 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, eight sacks and four forced fumbles his senior season … Named to The Champaign News-Gazette's all‑state football team … Played in the Semper Fidelis All‑American Game. Personal: Born Dec. 19, 1997 … Enrolled in the Col‑ lege of Arts and Letters, majoring in film, television and theatre with a minor in Africana studies. DARNELL EWELL • NG So. • Norfolk, Va. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 324 Career Highlights: Redshirted in 2017. Prep: Rivals rated him as a four‑ star talent, the No. 6 prospect in Virginia, and the No. 9 defensive tackle and No. 139 overall player in the country … As a senior, notched 44 tackles, three sacks and three forced fumbles … Also a key blocker on an offense that racked up 4,393 total yards and aver‑ aged 42.5 points per game en route to an 11‑2 record … Selected USA Today first‑team All‑USA Virginia as an offensive lineman following his se‑ nior campaign … Named to the 2016 Virginia High School League Group 4A all‑state first team as an offensive lineman. Personal: Born June 17, 1998… Is the first recruit from the South Hampton Roads area to sign with Notre Dame since Isaiah Gardner in 2003 … Enrolled in First Year of Studies. DAELIN HAYES • DE Jr. • Belleville, Mich. Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 264 Career Highlights: Started all 13 games at drop end in 2017 … Recorded 30 total stops, 6.5 tack‑ les for loss, three sacks and two fumble recoveries … Saw action as a reserve in all 12 games in 2016 after enrolling in January … Contributed 11 tackles (five solo), one forced fumble and one pass broken up. Prep: Ranked as a five‑star talent, the No. 1 player in Michigan, and the No. 7 outside linebacker and No. 31 overall prospect in the country by Rivals … Totaled 14 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a touchdown in three games before a shoulder injury ended his senior season at Ann Arbor (Mich.) Skyline … Selected to participate in the U.S. Army All‑American Bowl, but did not play due to injury. Personal: Born May 16, 1998 … His father, Derrick Hayes, was an all‑state basketball player at Detroit Southwestern and played at Iowa State (1993‑95) and the University of Detroit Mercy (1996‑98) … His mother, Lakeshia Neal, ran track at the University of Defensive line coach Mike Elston appears to have his deepest assembly of talent up front in his nine seasons at Notre Dame. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 87

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