Second Half Predictions: Breakout Players For The Irish Defense
Clark Lea’s unit has been good this season, and at times the Notre Dame defense has been outstanding. Consistency has been an issue, partly because of the struggles from a number of veteran players.
Perhaps struggle is too strong of a word, a better way of phrasing it might be that the expected “standouts” having been as good as they can be, and should be.
Running the table and getting back to the College Football Playoff will require the defense to be even better than it has been. It requires the unit to be elite, something it is capable of being over the next month and a half.
Here’s my prediction for the breakout players for the Notre Dame defense, and if I’m right, the next six Irish opponents are going to have a hard time scoring points.
DE Julian Okwara
The senior end certainly hasn’t been bad through the first half of the season. He leads the defense with five sacks, but his overall production has been well below the standard he set for himself last season.
Three of Notre Dame’s final six opponents rank in the Top 15 nationally in sacks allowed (Boston College, Duke, Navy), so a breakout from Okwara is needed, especially with three of the final six games being on the road. The best teams have a defense that travels well, and for Notre Dame to get that it needs Okwara to be at his best.
Okwara’s biggest area where improvement is needed is in the run game. He’s on pace for only 13 run stops, which is half of what he produced last fall. Notre Dame needs him to be more physical and impactful on the edge down the stretch, and I’m confident it will happen. All six of Okwara’s run stops and 21 of his 27 quarterback pressures have come in the last three games, which tells me Okwara is on the verge of taking off.
DT Jayson Ademilola
An argument could be made that junior defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa has been Notre Dame’s best defensive lineman during the first half of the season. His outstanding play has limited the snaps for Ademilola, but when the sophomore has gotten on the field he has been highly productive.
In an attempt to keep Tagovailoa-Amosa fresh, and to get Ademilola more playmaking opportunities, it would behoove the Irish defensive staff to up the snaps for Ademilola. With Navy, Boston College and a long road game at Stanford to finish the season, Notre Dame will need both players to be as fresh as possible.
If this happens, and I believe it will, I expect Ademilola to make the most of it. His ability to disrupt the opposition ground attack will be needed, and it will give Notre Dame an impact 1-2 punch up the middle of the defense down the stretch.
LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Owusu-Koramoah has been one of Notre Dame’s top playmakers already this season, but another jump of production is possible, needed, and predicted. Cleaning up his game is key to making this happen, and the six games of experience he gained thus far, combined with the ability to self-scout during the break, should have the talented junior ready to up his game.
Notre Dame will need it when you look at the next six games. All fix of Notre Dame’s final six opponents will stress him from both a formational, schematic and personnel standpoint. Owusu-Koramoah will need to be aggressive taking on and beating blocks, he’ll need to make more plays on the ball and he’ll need to be better in the pass game.
With Notre Dame playing teams that are good at protecting the quarterback, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see Lea use Owusu-Koramoah more as a blitzed down the stretch as well.
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