February is the hardest month of the football calendar. College football fans suffering the effects of withdrawal after the end of bowl season are given a brief reprieve until early February when the Super Bowl officially wraps up the football season. And while games won’t start anew until late August, spring football is only a few short weeks away, and UHND will preview the major challenges confronting the Notre Dame program heading into 2016. The first challenge is arguably the most daunting: how will Notre Dame generate a pass rush?
If you were one of the 111.9 million viewers of Super Bowl 50 you witnessed what an effective pass rush can do. NFL MVP Cam Newton was hit nearly as many times as he completed passing attempts as the Denver Broncos did to Carolina what they had done to New England in the AFC Championship two weeks prior, a game in which star quarterback Tom Brady was either sacked, hit or hurried 41 times. While Peyton Manning winning a championship in what is likely his last season was a great story line, the truth is the Denver Broncos are Super Bowl champions because of their pass rush. And a major contributing factor as to why Notre Dame has failed to enter the top echelon of football programs is because of its lack of one.
Over the past three seasons Notre Dame has never been higher than No. 74 nationally in team sacks, tying with the likes of Western Kentucky, Nevada and Hawaii and trailing the likes of Eastern Michigan and Louisiana-Lafayette. Notre Dame accumulated 25 team sacks last season with only four players recording more than one sack. Defensive linemen Romeo Okwara and Sheldon Day accounted for nearly 50-percent of total sack production, and with both having exhausted their eligibility, a serious question remains: how does Notre Dame replace the most productive pieces in what was overall a mediocre pass rush?
The Good News
Defensive line coach Keith Gilmore is an impact coach. After attending a spring practice session last year I wrote this about Gilmore:
“New defensive line coach Keith Gilmore is a really impressive coach. I wasn’t entirely sure what Notre Dame had landed in the former North Carolina line coach, but all skepticism was removed this weekend. Gilmore is an engaging and laid back personality who will recruit very well at Notre Dame. The hand drills being run were even more exciting, and I fully expect the defensive line to penetrate effectively this fall. Notre Dame should have a lot more tackles for loss this season.”
Gilmore’s emphasis on hand technique and getting off blocks made last year’s prediction come true. Notre Dame jumped from No. 75 in the nation in tackles for loss to No. 54 in just one year, and increased their overall production by 15-percent.
The new defensive line coach has also proven capable of getting the most out of his players. The scouting report on Romeo Okwara was one of a raw athlete with lots of pass rush potential that had been unable to translate that potential to on field production. After three seasons at Notre Dame Okwara had only managed 4.5 career sacks, yet in one season with Gilmore Okwara nearly doubled his career total with eight.
The Bad News
Keith Gilmore will have his work cut out for him this season. The two most likely candidates to fill the weakside defensive end spot vacated by Okwara are junior Andrew Trumbetti and senior Doug Randolph who, combined, have two career sacks. The prospects aren’t much better at Will linebacker, the former home of likely first round NFL Draft selection, Jaylon Smith. Sophomore Te’Von Coney registered 13 tackles his freshman season and Josh Barajas redshirted, offering extremely limited experience at the position.
The x-factor will be the addition of five-star outside linebacker Daelin Hayes, who was listed as the No. 7 outside linebacker in the nation according to Rivals.com. Measuring in at six-feet-four inches and weighing 249 pounds, Hayes has the size to contribute early and has drawn comparisons to NFL star Justin Tuck. And his status as an early enrollee will only accelerate his acclimation to the college game. But questions remain regarding his ability to make an impact as a freshman. Hayes suffered a labrum injury that forced an early end to his senior season in high school, and the Notre Dame coaching staff has yet to determine if his future will be at Will linebacker or weakside defensive end.
If it appears the pros are outweighed by the cons it’s because they currently are. Notre Dame has far more questions than answers heading into the spring practice session. And the news has only become worse.
The one silver lining to Notre Dame’s pass rush was its future with Daelin Hayes and the commitment of Robert Beal, a four-star prospect rated as the No. 2 weakside defensive end in the nation for the Class of 2017. The combination of Hayes and Beal would have finally given Notre Dame the pass rushers it has coveted since head coach Brian Kelly’s arrival, which made the news of Robert Beal’s recent decommittment all the more devastating.
The answer to where Notre Dame’s pass rush will originate, unfortunately, is unknown. And the battle for the weakside defensive end and Will linebacker positions is one Irish fans should keep a close eye on this spring.
Scott Janssen is a blogger for the Huffington Post and has authored several nationally-featured articles, including an appearance on MSNBC as a sports contributor. He talks football 24 hours a day, much to the chagrin of his wife and those around him. Scott can be reached at scottjanssenhp@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter.
But not the best ever to grace a sideline anymore?
We need a great DC now!!!!!!!!!!
For the record- I omitted an important word-
WITH
meaning: With no pass rush= no 11 wins, and a dismal inadequate number of TOs, again!
WITH a pass rush and pressuring next year’s QBs, the opportunities to get to that Promised Land are real!
Just to clarify my out on a limb prediction for NDs coming season-
without a pass rush will result in ND falling short of 11 wins, and
without a pass rush will result in yet another dismal inadequate # of TOs forced again next season.
The Bears taught us in ’85 that victory is fueled by pressuring the QB, as we watched QBs week in and week out forced into TOs, and many weeks it took more than four to diminish foes’ QBs.
Denver reminded us in 2015 that even the likes of Tom Brady and Cam Newton could not lead their teams to victory with QB pressure applied on them, often even when it required successful blitzing.
Finding a way to pressure opponents’ QBs and ND will be among the elite in 2016.
I’m going to go out on a limb, too –
no pass rush, no 11 wins, and a dismal inadequate number of TOs, again!
I’ve read where ND will be facing mostly inexperienced QBs next season- another reason to find a way to ratchet up a pass rush- if not with four, then with more.
Good read, Scott. Thanks.
Maybe a future look at how NDs opponents OLs and DLs project???
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Bruce wants BVG fired. I know, how could I possible know that? Just a feeling I have.
Maybe we should up the stakes and call for some type of pain to be inflicted upon bvg as well as his timely termination
Get rid of bvg
Tiger who? Or who Tiger?
Good article Scott. How time flies with spring only a month away already. March Madness , MLB Opening Day , Tiger on leader board at Masters and best of all Notre Dame spring practices. I think Gilmore is going to find the right guys and have a D-line ready with a pass rush this season. That’s where it all starts–with the front four. There are going to be battles at all positions–not only the D-line , LB’s and secondary , but also on offense for starting slots. This ND spring practice is going to be one of the most wide open never before seen in South Bend. Hey , Justin Yoon how you feel’in–knowing you’re the only lock on a starting position this spring. Gonna be fun folks come April.——— I just moved to SEC country a month ago and being ND fan thought I’d have trouble with the locals. Was surprised to learn — they hate Alabama with a passion. Go Irish.
An effective pass rush can be very important to ND’s success. As a Giants fan, I remember the pass rush well in the 2008 Superbowl against the Pats. Brady got to the point he just wanted to get rid of the ball ASAP because he didn’t know who would put him down next (Tuck was a beast :)).
I sort of find it ironic ND isn’t better, being as BVG’s bread and butter is the blitz. You’d think we’d be better at the pass rush. I really do think BVG needs to simplify his system and emphasize player assignments anymore. The only noticeable improvement I’ve noted on defense these last 2 years is against the triple option–and what made our defense improve against the triple option—sticking to assignments.
BVG will get one more year I figure to right the ship. But I do believe he will need to show an improved defense to keep his job. They don’t have to be the number 1 defense, but they have to be better. The offense should be good enough to carry the team if we at least have an average defense that can make key stops when they need to.
BJ, your message is clear and to the point, as every article about our defensive ineptitude comes to statistical light. Keep it up until he (VanNo) is gone. The silent majority is strongly behind you.
Sorry
What was behind Beal de-committing? Is there a story to it?
BJ, with all due respect, you have made your position on Kelly, the DC, and the AD quite known and have done so REPEATEDLY. Is there something different you can add to the discussion besides repeating your mantra? Just saying.
Did Duranko get fired?
Dang, you can’t get much worse than a sad joke.
No DC
No Defense
No recruits
No hope
Kelly is a sad joke
Fire Swarbrick
Yeah, message bar was cool. It was on the homepage only and was a relatively new feature.
I used to be able to see the most recent comments and replies. Now I can’t see them on either Chrome or Firefox. I have to go into the article and scroll down to see the comments.
bj fired it
What has happened to the messages bar that used to be on the right of the screen?
What messaged bar?