Replace and Reload: Notre Dame Must Find Answers At Defensive Tackle

Notre Dame built a strong tradition in recent seasons for strong defensive line play. The Irish line was good in 2022, but it wasn't quite as good as it had been in recent seasons, and that must change in 2023.

Notre Dame will need to make those improvements without arguably its two best big men from this past season. Losing Isaiah Foskey is clearly a big loss, but replacing Jayson Ademilola will also be a challenge.

That's what good teams do, they replace and reload, and that's what the Irish must do at defensive tackle.

WHAT WAS LOST

Notre Dame lost junior Jacob Lacey during the regular season and starting defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola to graduation. Losing Ademilola was expected since he's out of eligibility, but the loss of Lacey looms large heading into the 2023 campaign. By losing Lacey, the Irish could be forced to move another player inside who otherwise might have helped outside (see the next section).

Ademilola racked up 13 tackles for loss and 6.5 tackles for loss over the last two seasons. He was a penetrating player that had some clutch moments for the Irish. Despite battling some nagging injuries he was able to answer the bell and provided some disruption skills the last two seasons.

According to Pro Football Focus, Ademilola finished second on the defense in quarterback pressures and was second among defensive linemen in run stops.

Ademilola also provided a great deal of experience, playing over 1,600 career snaps (PFF). Ademilola was originally slated to see his career at Notre Dame end following the 2021 season, but the Covid season in 2020 allowed him to play a fifth season in 2022.

WHAT TO DO WITH RYLIE MILLS

The loss of Ademilola and Lacey combines with some recruiting misses in recent seasons to put Notre Dame in a challenging spot. There aren't a high number of pure interior players on the roster, and there is even less experience. That means the Irish staff will likely need to move current defensive end Rylie Mills inside.

At this point my expectation is that Mills takes over the role that Ademilola vacated. This is for a number of reasons, with the most obvious being that it's exactly what Notre Dame did in the Gator Bowl win over South Carolina once Ademilola was ruled out with an injury. Mills played exclusively inside during the game and he played good football.

The other reason is that Mills showed improved production skills inside this season. In the past he always looked more comfortable on the edge, but his improved size and strength allowed him to be a bit more impactful when lined up on the interior.

Mills has shown flashes during his career, but he has yet to put it together in a way that allows him to become a dominant player, or a consistently impactful player. He'll need to be more of that player in 2023 if the Irish defense is going to have a defense capable of being the foundation of a championship unit. Big things will be expected of Mills next season, and the defense needs him to step into more of a playmaker role. Despite playing on the edge last season, at 6-5 and 292 pounds, Mills adds much more length and more mass than what Ademilola did inside.

COULD CROSS BE AN OPTION

Mills isn't the only player that Notre Dame needs to figure some things out with in 2023. Rising fifth-year senior Howard Cross III has spent much of the last two seasons playing nose tackle, but the reality is he's 6-0 and 276 pounds. Cross isn't the ideal nose tackle, and his game would be better suited if he could spend more time a gap outside, at least at times.

If younger players like Gabriel Rubio, Aidan Keanaaina and possibly Jason Onye can provide more and more snaps at the nose spot it could free the Irish staff to use Cross at defensive tackle as well. This might not be a permanent move, it could at last give them a bit more flexibility with him and allow Cross to use his quickness and penetrating ability to be more productive.

The reality is Cross wore down as the season dragged on, and if there's a way to lighten his load from a snaps standpoint and get him out of the A Gap a bit more he could be a more productive player over a longer period of time.

JUNIOR CLASS WILL GET ITS SHOT

Speaking of Rubio and Onye, they could be two keys to the interior of the defensive line having the depth and size to be an impact unit. Rubio spent a lot of time playing three-technique this season, and he could very well end up staying there in 2023. After redshirting in 2021, Rubio played more and more as the 2022 season wore on.

The 6-5, 295-pound sophomore played just 14 snaps in the first four games, but he became a more regular part of the rotation against BYU. He played a season-high 44 snaps against Stanford and played a total of 59 snaps in the final three games.

From a positional standpoint, Rubio can impact the defense in two ways. One is that he continues being the next man in at defensive tackle, which means he and Mills would likely earn most of the snaps.

Rubio was solid in his role, but with another year in the weight room I could see him being even more valuable as a nose tackle. At 295, Rubio already has more size than what Notre Dame got out of the nose last season, and a good year in the weight room could result in him getting another 5-10 pounds to go on top of that. If he's willing and able to play more over the nose I could see his game really taking off. He would bring more playmaking ability to the nose than what he did at DT, and he would give the position a boost in size and length. If he makes the kind of growth gains I anticipate, and if he moves inside a gap, I could see Rubio making a huge jump in production, which would be significant for the defense.

Onye is a unique player from a size-athleticism standpoint, but he's quite raw. He played just two years of high school football and his game is still evolving. According to sources, Onye has a lot of potential but consistency has been the thing holding him back. Another year in the weight room will be huge for him, and this spring is when I expect him to start making a move towards being a member of the rotation. If Onye has a breakout this spring and forces himself into the rotation it could also coincide with a shift of Rubio to being more of an A Gap player. That combination would make me feel much, much better about the interior of the defensive line.

YOUNG BIG MEN WILL PUSH

A trio of young players will also get a crack at making a push up the defensive tackle depth chart.

Rising sophomore Tyson Ford is one of the more physically talented defensive linemen on the roster. I expect another year in the weight room to result in him moving beyond the 6-4 and 275 pounds he was listed at as a freshman. Ford is a very long player with impressive athleticism for his size. He is also quite raw, and he needed some time to develop, and the freshman also battled injuries this season.

Ford needs to become a pet project of defensive line coach Al Washington. A smart coach will look at Ford's unique skills and potential and make it a priority to do what it takes to get him ready to play in 2023. Ford possesses arguably the most playmaking ability of any interior lineman on the roster. The question is will he tap into that in 2023 or will he need more time? I don't know the answer, but if Washington doesn't put in the work to do what it takes to get Ford ready to play he's simply not doing his job effectively.

Classmate Donovan Hinish made his presence felt on the scout team this season, and sources close to the program have told Irish Breakdown that Hinish has a chance to be a really good player for the Irish. He's a bit more athletic than his brother and he's an advanced player technique wise. Hinish didn't come with the recruiting pedigree of most of the players along the line, but don't be surprised if he forces his way into the rotation early in his career.

When we get to spring ball I'll also have my eye on freshman Devan Houstan, who is an early enrollee for the Irish.

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