Notre Dame Breakout Players For 2021 - Defense Edition
Every team loses top players every offseason, but the best teams are able to keep rolling even when they suffer key personnel losses.
Notre Dame finds itself in that boat heading into the 2021 offseason, as the Irish must replace All-American linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, both of its starting ends (Daelin Hayes, Adetokunbo Ogundeji), a starting safety (Shaun Crawford) and its best cornerback (Nick McCloud).
Part of the fun of following a college football team is seeing breakout players step into the spotlight each season and go from a rotation player to a standout, and in some cases from a player who saw little action to a standout.
There are several defenders that will have an opportunity to become breakout players for the 2021 defense, and it could be an even greater number this offseason as Notre Dame transition into a defense system with a new defensive coordinator.
There are four defenders who I view as having the best opportunity to be breakout players for the 2021 Notre Dame defense.
DE ISAIAH FOSKEY, JUNIOR
2020 Stats: 20 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 1 fumble return TD
Foskey was a key rotation player for Notre Dame as a sophomore, finishing second on the defense with 4.5 sacks. It was his first season in the rotation, and heading into his junior season he has a tremendous opportunity to turn into one of the team’s top defenders.
Foskey has truly elite raw tools, possessing top-notch size (6-5, 255), elite length and his athleticism for his size is truly impressive. More of a tight end than a defender in high school, Foskey is still learning the position, and the 282 snaps he gained this season should launch him into the offseason in position to see a major jump in his play and production.
With Hayes and Ogundeji gone I expect Foskey to step into the spotlight as the team’s best edge player. He must improve his consistency as a run defender and keep enhancing his pass rushing repertoire, which is expected with yet another offseason under his belt.
If he starts to turn his talent and potential into consistent production he’ll explode onto the national scene this fall. Foskey will get every opportunity to become a difference breaker for Notre Dame in 2021.
DT JAYSON ADEMILOLA, SENIOR
2020 Stats: 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sack
Ademilola has tantalized with his potential for much of his career, but for a number of reasons he has yet to put it all together. In 2018 and 2019 he graded out as Notre Dame’s best run defender in the middle, and then in 2020 he became the team’s best pass rusher inside.
He was rarely used as a pass defender the first two seasons and was more of a third-down pass rusher in 2020 that was rarely on the field in run downs. Ademilola must now show he can be more of an every down defensive tackle, one that can handle the run and pass, and one that can stay on the field for a full season.
Should Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa get action at end this spring, which is something I’m told could happen, it would open up even more opportunities for Ademilola inside. If he can stay healthy, stay focused and take advantage of those opportunities he’ll turn in a breakout season in 2021.
If the light goes on for Ademilola this season I fully expect him to become Notre Dame’s most disruptive interior player since Jerry Tillery back in 2018.
LB MARIST LIUFAU, JUNIOR
2020 Stats: 22 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sack
Despite playing almost 100 fewer snaps than starting Buck linebacker Shayne Simon, then sophomore Marist Liufau finished the 2020 season with eight more tackles than Simon, more tackles for loss, and according to Pro Football Focus he had twice as many run stops than did Simon.
Simon’s issue is that he’s too robotic, while Liufau’s issue is he finds himself out of position far too often. Fixing Simon’s issues are much harder, as they show a lack of instincts for the position. Now, as we saw with Asmar Bilal in 2019, it’s not unheard of for an athletic defender like Simon to have the light go on, and if that happens Simon will be a breakout player for the Irish.
But with Liufau, the fact he showed good instincts and outstanding athleticism, but not the necessary discipline or assignment dependability needed to thrive at the position is more encouraging. Liufau’s issues are much more easy to attribute to his lack of experience, and they can all be easily correctable once that experience is gained.
Getting a chance to go through his first spring gives Liufau the chance to get the necessary reps to make a leap in his game. I would not be the least but surprised to see Liufau challenge Simon for a starting role, and if he beats the veteran out I expect him to become a difference maker for the Irish defense in 2021.
CB CAM HART, JUNIOR
2020 Stats: 3 tackles, 2 break ups
This is the one big leap in this breakdown, as Hart hasn’t shown the flashes or gotten the snaps that everyone else in this breakdown has received. Hart played just six games and 88 snaps this season, and he hasn’t always been healthy at Notre Dame. Even when he struggled in coverage this past season, Hart still showed impressive size and athleticism, so the tools are there.
The converted wide receiver showed this season that he still needs a lot of technical work as a cornerback, and he’ll get an opportunity to make that growth this offseason. Hart has the size/athleticism combination that tantalizes coaches, especially those who like bigger corners. Big corners have worked well in new defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman’s system, and cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens has thrived with big corners.
Now, one question I have heading into the season is where will Hart play. Will he be an outside corner, like he was in 2020? Will he move back to safety, where he could combine with Kyle Hamilton to give the Irish impressive size and range on the back end? Will he become more of a slot defender, a player that is part slot corner and part slot linebacker, which is prominent in the Freeman defense (or at least it was at Cincinnati)?
Hart is the defender I’m most curious to see this offseason. There’s just as much of a chance that he never plays meaningful snaps as there is that he becomes a difference maker on defense, but his tools are too enticing to ignore.
To comment below be sure to sign up for a FREE Disqus account, which you can get HERE.
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content, our premium message board and gets you a FREE subscription to Sports Illustrated! Click on the link below for more
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes.
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel.
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Follow me on Parler: @BryanDriskell
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook
