2014, defensively, was Notre Dame’s Year of Living Dangerously. The scheme change to the aggressive, multiple 4-3 had to be made sooner or later. And retooling inevitably brings a downtick in performance before the new, hopefully improved, technical plateau is reached.
The Spring Bonus was the career-ending injury for the able sub, Tony Springmann, coupled with the slow return to health of Nicky Baratti and Jarrett Grace.
But then came Summer’s Bonus, with the Frozen Five, which discriminated against the defense. Four of the Frozen Ones were upperclass defensive players: Ishaq Williams, KeiVarae Russell, Eilar Hardy and Kendall Moore.
Just when Van Gorder thought it was safe to wade out in the defensive depth chart water, 5th year senior and co-captain Austin Collinsworth was injured on the very eve of the opener with Rice. While Collinsworth returned, he was on fumes and was unable to stabilize the bewitched, bothered, and bewildered safeties.
Voila!@ 5 true sophomores (the root definition of that phrase means ‘wise fools’) started on defense: Isaac Rochell, Jaylon Smith, James Onwualu, Cole Luke and Max Redfield.
Many near Cartier heard a violent, ripping sound. It was redshirts being prematurely torn off true frosh at every level of the defense.
In a perfect world, only Nyles Morgan, Andrew Trumbetti and perhaps Drue Tranquill would have played as true frosh. In Notre Dame’s decidedly imperfect world, those three were joined by Grant Blankenship, Daniel Cage, Jay Hayes, Kolin Hill and Greer Martini.
That was then, this is now.
Cody Riggs was the biggest loss from the 2014 defense, with only Justin Utopu, Eilar Hardy and Ben Councell on the auxiliary loss list.
It is 2015, a Brave new Defensive world.
Not since the Irish militia joined William Wallace’s Battling Scots against Longshanks have there been such vibrant reinforcements as KeiVarae Russell, Jarrett Grace, Avery Sebastian, and, fresh from the hardscrabble borough of Brooklyn, Ishaq Williams charging late to join them.
In just one year, Notre Dame’s defense has changed from one of College Football’s least experienced units into its graybeard.
The caterpillar survived 2014, entered and departed the chyrysallis phase and has emerged gloriously the butterfly, papillon. Enough of butterflies, what objective measures can we use to certify the defense’s maturity?
Well, Phil Steele on Page 29 of his most recent issue, rates Notre Dame’s defense as #1 in the Nation with a “returning tackles” percentage of 90.9%. But if you add back in the tackles from 2013, when Grace stopped playing after his gruesome injury against ASU in Arlington, and Russell’s tackles, Notre Dame returns over 100% of its 2014 tackle numbers, creating a Secretariat-like margin over the rest of the teams. Simply, Phil Steele’s #1 rating of Notre Dame’s defensive experience UNDERSTATES Notre Dame’s defensive experience advantage.
With Utopu, somehow, getting an interception and Riggs getting one, Notre Dame returns perpetrators of 14 of its 16 interceptions.
On sacks, albeit a low number of 26, only Utopu’s one sack departs with players making 25 of the 26 returning.
Further, players making 68.5 of the 73 tackles for loss return.
Returning starters? On the front line, Rochell, Okwara, Trumbetti, Day, Jones, Hayes Matuska (Yes, Virginia, while girding their loins for battle in the Coliseum, Utopu, Matuska, Martini and Butler all started for the Irish) garnered starts.
At linebacker, Smith, Onwualu, Schmidt, Morgan and Martini all started. And Grace returns from 2013.
Luke, Butler, Shumate, Redfield and Tranquill all started.
And let’s not forget Farley. In all, Notre Dame returns 5 players (Russell, Luke, Shumate, Redfield and Farley) who have started 10 football games in a given year. Avery Sebastian had six starts at Cal and Tranquill posted 3 last year.
That is 18 players who have started before adding in Russell and Grace, to bring the Irish to 20 players who have starting experience.
Finally Notre Dame returns Okwara, Day, Grace, Russell and Shumate who played in the national championship game against Alabama.
In one simple yearly cycle, blending the increased age, starting experience and the returning injured and prodigals, the 2015 Irish defense is America’s most veteran, by a margin.
Notre Dame will not start an underclassman unless Nyles Morgan is able to race past BOTH Schmidt and Grace in August camp, an unlikely result.
This is a one time phenomenon, a confluence of suspensions, injuries and strange events. It is highly unlikely that Notre Dame will field so veteran a defense in the next decade. Some may be better than 2015’s defense, some weaker, but none more experienced. Enjoy it. We may not pass this way, defensively, again.
Go Irish!
DEFENSE still wins championships…if Oregon could move the ball against Ohio State do you think their offense could have kept up? It really is about Defense and ANY move in the right direction with our D makes me happy. Of course Georgia Tech will be a huge test to our D, if they can figure out the option (which we used to run) then the defense should have a good year. Enough “if’s for one post….
If we lose 4 or 5 with this experience, then the writing is on the wall for Kelly.
AJ, GA TECH was remarkable down the stretch, but there are three factors that make me relatively sanguine about this one.
First, GA TECH lost a lot of their skill players, as in 7 of their top ten rushers. Now their QB is a load and I think he’s more explosive than Keenan Reynolds of Navy. Nevertheless that is a lot of moving parts to reload or replace.
Second, it’s been my anecdotal, non-empirical, observation that option teams, back to the bone and the veer, take some time to get revved up, are better and more fluid in October than September, even more so in November. We catch them early.
Third, please investigate the Miami-GA Tech series, which went Miami’s way until they got stuck with a true frosh, Brad Kaaya, at QB
Fourth, and most important, there is a bitter feud between Van Gorder and Johnson. VAn gorder went into Georgia Southern and tossed out the beloved option game, much to the consternation of the GA Southern faithful and particularly Paul Johnson. Johnson wants to destroy Van Gorder, but VAn Gorder just won’t let him. In a vendetta, my tendency is to go with muscle and ordnance. That’s the Irish.
Duranko, do not sleep on Georgia Tech. I am excited to see this game as they will be the first true test for the Irish. if we lose to Texas or Virginia, then we will have another 4-5 loss year so that will prove nothing except we are incapable of being competitive.Tech however will test our defensive speed and conditioning. They will execute well and be very fast. We have to jump on them early and be faster meaning our technique will have to be nearly flawless. Our offense will help if we slow our pace down and run more (like the LSU game) and score early. Everyone who watches the option game knows this is the best way to stop it, but if we are not technically sound on defense or we lack the poise to handle long sustaining drives, we will lose.
To finish my point, we will only go as far as our head coach goes. Love the guy, but when it comes down to big decisions, I need him to be decisive and have a plan. Too many times last year it was clock management, play management, etc. Get your offensive and defensive coaches prepared for any 2 minute drill that may happen. Go Irish!!
I agree that Schmidt is unproven against big time opponents, but I’m sure Van Gorder has a plan to interchange he and Morgan. Jaylan should make up for any problems in the middle, and WILL ADD PRESSURE WE HAVE NOT SEEN IN YEARS, MARK MY WORDS, SPECIAL. We’ll hold up better than expected against the the run with the depth on d-line starting with Day and Jones. Back end could be better than advertised with Redfield and Shumate. I know, pipe dream, I get it. But if Maliek is able to get the ball down field with some arc….he has the best (long threat, possession, and duel threat RB) of any team he plays. You never know. Oh, by the way,vKelley CA
Archangel, by the strange confluence of circumstances this squad is more experienced and deeper than any I can recall. Now, the due bill may be paid in a couple of years, when all the frosh who SHOULD have redshirted will run out of eligibility. But the experience these guys got was in live fire, not mop up duty.
I’m comfortable we have ten to twelve DL who can play and hold their own. We are two deep at linebacker, and two deep in the secondary.
Last year, when injuries on successive Saturdays to Schmidt, Day and Jones gutted the middle of the defensive front, there was no depth.
On the schedule, Clemson actually has 17 days between their game at Louisville and when they entertain us. But I see the schedule with three HUGE obstancles, Clemson, USC and Stanford. I can’t speak for others, but if we have subpar, sandwich game performances in some of the other games, I will not worry about style points.
Van Gorder will have no excuses for anything less than optimal performance. Hopefully, he has learned a thing or two since his D. imploded down the stretch last year.
I think it comes down to the pass rush. The secondary will no doubt be better but we are facing
some outstanding QB’s. You have to rush the passer.
@ Bob R, Thanks for the reply. Not to take anything away from Joe Schmidt (I’m a big fan), but I think you should account for the fact that those numbers (19 ppg) are largely attributable to games against the likes of Rice (66th in ppg), Syracuse (121st), Purdue (98th), Michigan (112th), and Stanford (80th), all offensively terrible teams. While having Schmidt in those final few games would have helped, no one can say how much (there were other injuries as well, but you seem to lean on Schmidt alone, so I’ll just address that). Would he have been the difference of 22 ppg? I don’t think so. As for the influx of returning guys, I also don’t see see how Williams or Grace are significant additions to the defense. While Russell will undoubtedly be a huge help in the secondary, and Sebastian might bolster the secondary, I’ve never been impressed by Grace (and I can’t seem him returning in a better condition than before his injuries), and Williams has yet to come anywhere close to expectations. Returning all of your tackles is great, but when you see that the Irish were tied for 76th in tackles for loss last season, those returning tackles have much less significance. I don’t mean to be a naysayer. It’s just that nearly every summer we get overhyped and see the team fail to live up to expectations. Kelly has had enough time to saturate the depth chart with talent. If the defense loses a few guys, we shouldn’t see such a severe meltdown. Are the younger/less experienced guys underdeveloped? Why aren’t some guys living up to expectations? From an outsider’s perspective, these are unanswerable questions, but they’re the exact concerns I have with this team. So while I hope you’re right, and I hope Duranko is right (not that he’s makes a direct “prediction,” but the article is highly suggestive that the Irish will have a top defense), I think I’m justified in being apprehensive about any sort of “defensive experience advantage.”
Duranko, have you seen this wealth of ND D’star potential depth and true game experience in a while?
Last year, even before the injuries and suspensions,I feared a new DC and scheme would provide a learning curve difficult to master in its premier season. With the returns of Grace, Schmidt, K. Russell and perhaps Ishaq, and if Day and Jones emerge healthier, and with the experience gained by so many, there will be high expectations and less tolerance for anything less than a dominant D.
I still believe wins are never easy to come by, especially with all the favorable schedule advantages bestowed upon most of our ACC opponents (3 byes and a 9 day prep before playing ND). Wins are what count- but here’s expecting the quality of D’ that makes us not want to miss out on watching them and enjoying a lot more three and outs and forced TOs this time around.
It’s great to have so much returning experience. It’s a big piece of the puzzle to a championship team. The other big piece is coaching. IMO the jury is still out on Vangorder. He seemed to struggle with fast paced offenses and making substitutions in his defensive schemes. How he and his staff improve will be as big of test as the returning players.
This is one of the best written articles I’ve seen online. Keep up the great work!
@Jake W: I think the point of the article is that we are NOT returning the same squad that gave up 29 ppg last year. But perhaps Duranko is wrong and you are right. To back up his point of view, he cites the return of Russell, Grace and possible Williams, among other points.
In order to prove that it was indeed the same squad, you would somehow have to show how Russell, Grace and possibly Williams were actually part of the squad last year. Perhaps the frozen five was an elaborate media hoax, for example.
But further, you are saying it is the same squad that gave up 29 ppg last year. So, you would also have to prove that the squad gave up 29 ppg last year with Schmidt in the lineup, since he’s in the current one. Since the arithmetic shows that ND gave up 19.75 ppg with him in and 41.2 with him out (leaving out the 14 points that Navy scored after he was hurt), you either have to disprove the laws of arithmetic or show that Schmidt wasn’t really hurt and actually played in those other five games.
Against such daunting evidence refuting your point of view, it’s not hard to see why you fail to back it up.
I agree with the accolades. Basically, a kick-ass article. (highlighting kick-ass TRUTH!)
Yes it is a veteran defense. But we all know that, even who is back and what schemes we will run. As for the writer–ho hum. It could have been said in easier fashion. Instead we get a literary example of Rumblesilkskin.
Experience aside, I have a hard time getting excited about returning the same squad that gave up over 29 ppg last year. The talent is there. The execution is not.
“Not since the Irish militia joined William Wallace’s Battling Scots against Longshanks have there been such vibrant reinforcements as KeiVarae Russell, Jarrett Grace, Avery Sebastian, and, fresh from the hardscrabble borough of Brooklyn, Ishaq Williams charging late to join them.”
I love it!
Well done! I especially liked this one…
“Not since the Irish militia joined William Wallace’s Battling Scots against Longshanks have there been such vibrant reinforcements….”