Midweek Musings

Thoughts on Notre Dame football, its recruiting efforts and college football.

SOPHOMORES READY TO STEP UP - DEFENSE EDITION

Safety Kyle Hamilton and defensive tackle Jacob Lacey were the only position players from the 2019 class to get serious burn last season, but that’s likely to change in 2020. On top of Hamilton and Lacey, there are several other talented players from the class that will compete this spring with hopes of earning serious playing time - if not a starting spot - in 2020.

Marist Liufau, Linebacker — I heard throughout the 2019 season that one freshman that constantly stood out in practice was the native Hawaiian, who impressed with his combination of length, athleticism, motor and energy.

Liufau is an instinctive, rangy and athletic player that actually began his high school career as a cornerback. That experience helped him develop into a strong coverage linebacker as a prepster, but once he moved to linebacker he immediately developed a nose for the football and a taste for attacking the line of scrimmage.

That rare combination makes Liufau ideally suited for the Buck linebacker position, but he could also spend time outside at the rover spot. The only concern with Liufau is a lack of ideal girth and whether or not he has the necessary weight room strength to be a full-time player.

At the very least I expect Liufau to be a rotation player and a standout on special teams. If Liufau can hold up at the point of attack, block destruct and handle a high volume of snaps he’ll have a legitimate chance at cracking the starting lineup at Buck in 2020.

Isaiah Foskey, Defensive End — If you wanted to make a case that Foskey was the most physically gifted end on the roster, I can assure you that I would not push back against that opinion. Foskey is still a big ball of clay, but he’s a very talented ball of clay. How quickly defensive line coach Mike Elston can get Foskey up to speed will determine how much of an impact he’ll have in 2020.

Foskey lacks the lateral agility and coverage skills of Daelin Hayes, but his burst off the line is outstanding and he has impressive natural power in his hands. Foskey has a tremendous frame that could allow him to add more weight and actually get quicker and more explosive.

Right now I think Foskey is in competition for a role in the nickel and dime packages, where his athleticism, length and power could allow him to develop into a disruptive pass rusher. He got a little bit of action in that role last season, and I think Elston will look for ways to get Foskey onto the field next season.

If Foskey can enhance his hand technique, become assignment sound and expand his repertoire at the snap he could earn more and more regular down snaps.

Isaiah Rutherford, Cam Hart and KJ Wallace, Cornerback — The reality is the lack of depth at the position means at least one of the rising sophomores will play next season. The question is which players will emerge, and will they play simply out of necessity, or will they develop enough to give the coaches confidence that they can help the defense win games.

Rutherford is a smooth athlete that did more damage as a running back in high school than he did corner. He was effective as a corner in high school due to his combination of length and deep speed. Rutherford’s raw tools are impressive, but the question is how quickly can he develop the necessary technique to thrive.

Hart began his career at wide receiver, but when his recruitment began he actually preferred defense, and I’m of the opinion he actually has the most upside of any cornerback currently on the roster due to his combination of elite length, change of direction traits and his strength. Like Rutherford, Hart needs a lot of technical work, but he’s a competitive player and has top-notch tackling potential.

The good news for Rutherford and Hart is that new position coach Mike Mickens has a proven history at getting young players ready to play at a high level.

Wallace spent his first practice playing both safety and cornerback. For the life of me I cannot think of any reason to have him play both on the first day of practice other than the staff has been impressive with his work and feels they must find a role for him some way, some how.

Wallace could play both nickel corner, he could play outside and he could play safety. That versatility gives him a much greater chance at finding a role this season.

TOP 15 HEAD COACHES

This past week The Athletic reporters Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel released their Top 25 head coaches list. I was critical of Feldman’s list, so I felt it only right to create my own list, although I am going going Top 15.

My criteria is a combination of overall record, recent success (last five seasons), championships won, big game performances and maximizing the most out of the program (recruiting, players, etc).

1. Dabo Swinney, Clemson — Swinney is 69-5 the last five years with two national titles and a pair of runner-up finishes. He’s done a tremendous job with the Tigers, and I would argue his overall talent hasn’t been as good as what Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia have had.

2. Nick Saban, Alabama — Saban is 66-6 the last three years, and I’m not going to even touch that right now. The Tide won two titles in the last five years, and I’d argue the 2017 title was Saban’s second best coaching job, but he’s also underachieved a bit in recent seasons.

3. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma — I struggled with putting Riley here simply because he’s only been a coach for three years, but he has three Big 12 titles and has gone 36-6 during that stretch, which includes a beatdown of Ohio State in the Horseshoe.

4. Dan Mullen, Florida — This is probably where there will be the most debate and controversy, but Mullen inherited a Florida roster lacking in top talent yet he’s gone 21-5 in two years at Florida after taking over a 4-7 team. He’s done a tremendous job maximizing talent.

5. Jeff Brohm, Purdue — I know I know, Purdue went 4-8 last year, but that 4-8 was even a sign of his brilliance as a coach. He’s recruited well at Purdue and took arguably the worst roster in Power 5 to back-to-back bowl games. His in-game coaching is absolutely brilliant, and if you gave him a roster even close to that of other top coaches and he’d be competing for championships.

6. Ed Orgeron, LSU — Orgeron’s team underachieved a bit his first two years, but he did what good coaches do and he make the necessary change, hit the right buttons and his team dominated in 2019. That followed a year in which the Tigers ranked in the Top 10. The Tigers are 40-9 under him.

7. Kirby Smart, Georgia — Smart is here because of the record (44-12) and the recruiting, plus the fact his team played for a title, but I would argue he’s gotten less out of his talent than most other coaches. He went to the title game with a roster filled with Mark Richt’s players, but he’s 0-2 against LSU and 0-2 against Alabama.

8. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame — Notre Dame is 47-17 in the last five years, and Kelly has helped turn Notre Dame into one of the nation’s top programs the last three years. His lack of success in big games the last three years (4-4 vs. Top 15 teams, 0-3 vs. Top 10 teams) drags him down this list. I wanted to put Kelly ahead of Smart because I think Smart has done less with more, but the head-to-head wins for Smart have him ahead of Kelly on this list.

9. David Shaw, Stanford — Shaw was a Top 5 coach for me not that long ago, but the 4-8 season of 2019 and the downward trend for Stanford the last three years has him down on my list. I thought about dropping him even more, but his game day coaching and ability to do more with less has him still in my Top 10.

10. Scott Satterfield, Louisville — This might be a little early to have him in the Top 10, but I loved what he did at Appalachian State and he turned a 2-10 team into an 8-5 bowl team in just one year. The Cardinals are going to keep getting better and better in a down ACC.

Next 5: 11. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan; 12. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa; 13. James Franklin, Penn State; 14. Kyle Whittingham, Utah; 15. Mike Leach, Mississippi State.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Cool story about former Notre Dame and current Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith.

The @dallascowboys LB is using his platform to make a difference.

In his words, @thejaylonsmith describes how he lives his mission.#IrishInTheNFL #GoIrish https://t.co/UU4tnbrHPy
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) March 11, 2020

FILM TO WATCH

Over the next several weeks in this space I'm going to provide film of the top cornerbacks on the board for Notre Dame. To kick things off let's take a look at Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon cornerback DJ Harvey.

In the comments section below let me know what you think about Harvey, who is high on Notre Dame.