Notre Dame Spring Preview: Key Storylines - Defense Edition
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Notre Dame kicks off its 2023 spring practices today, which means we'll get our first glimpse of what the latest installment of the Irish football program will look like. As is the case every year, there will be plenty of interesting storylines this spring, and here's a look at the five most intriguing on defense.
1. Will Al Golden Adjust At All - Notre Dame had a solid defense in 2022, but simply put, it wasn't good enough. It's up to defensive coordinator Al Golden to make adjustments and find answers. That requires adjustments to how the defense practices, how much time it focuses on technique compared to scheme, and how he implements his defense.
This spring will give us a chance to see what, if any changes that Golden is going to implement on defense.
2. Who Steps Up Along The Defensive Line - Notre Dame must replace Isaiah Foskey, the school's all-time leader in sacks, and also must find replacements for veterans Jayson Ademilola and Justin Ademilola. It won't be easy, but the defensive line depth chart is a lot like the wide receiver unit. There is a lot of talent and potential, but much of it is unproven.
It's not just about finding starters this spring, it's also about finding depth players and impact players. Senior Jordan Botelho is slated to take over for Foskey at Vyper. He's certainly flashed during his career, but this spring we'll get a chance to see if he's ready to become an impact pass rusher. And what about the depth chart behind Botelho? I don't know about you, but I am very excited to see the growth sophomores Josh Burnham and Junior Tuihalamaka have made this offseason.
Burnham is an incredibly intriguing defender. He has elite length and he's a freaky athlete, but is he ready to be an impactful football player? We'll start to get a glimpse into that this spring.
Ohio State transfer Javontae Jean-Baptiste was a quality addition to the end position, and veterans NaNa Osafo-Mensah and Alexander Ehrensberger will battle with him to form the depth chart at big end. Notre Dame needs a lot more production from that position, and we should get a glimpse into whether or not this group can do that during the spring.
The interior depth chart is a bit concerning, but there are plenty of options. A couple someones needs to step up this spring. Talented youngsters Aiden Gobaira, Tyson Ford and Devan Houstan are three players I'm hoping make life difficult for veterans this spring.
3. Will There Be A True Competition At Linebacker - Notre Dame's production at linebacker was very disappointing last season, and the play of the starters was inconsistent at best. Veteran JD Bertrand has been the team's best linebacker the last two seasons and he's solid. Classmate Jack Kiser does some things very well, and if the staff can find a way to keep him limited to those situations he can be quite productive.
The question for me is where will Kiser play in 2023. Does he stay at Rover? Does he move inside to Will? Does he move around? When Kiser is allowed to attack downhill he's a pretty darn good football player, but can Notre Dame find more ways to allow him to do that while limiting some of the situations where he isn't quite as productive.
Will linebacker has been a problem for Notre Dame in two of the last three seasons. Fifth-year senior Marist Liufau was wildly inconsistent last season. Simply put, Notre Dame needs to open up the Will linebacker position and make it a legitimate competition. If Liufau can go through a legit battle against players like Nolan Ziegler, Jaylen Sneed and Prince Kollie and win that job it means he's ready to become a more productive player. If not then Notre Dame will find an upgrade at the position.
Sneed should also get a chance to battle for snaps at the Rover position, which could thrust Kiser into a situation where he can get snaps at Rover - where he started the last two seasons - and also inside at Will linebacker in certain situations.
A legit open competition is what Notre Dame needs at linebacker this spring. I don't care how it ends as long as the competition is legitimate and the most talented players are allowed to play. That's the only way Notre Dame will be able to get the linebacker play back on track.
4. How Does The Safety Depth Chart Shake Out - This should be interesting to watch this spring. Seniors Xavier Watts and Ramon Henderson will be factors at safety, and sixth-year senior DJ Brown played more snaps at the position last season than anyone else. That's what we know, but it's what we don't know that will determine how good the Irish will be at the position.
Will Watts be able to build on his quality finish to the season and become a playmaker at safety? Will the light finally go on for Henderson, and will he be able to go from being a talented athlete to a more productive football player? Can freshman Ben Minich will out the rotation, or will Thomas Harper have to cross train between nickel and safety?
Of course, the easy answer would be moving Clarence Lewis. Will that be where Notre Dame goes, or will they allow the current depth chart to compete to fill out the depth chart?
Lots of questions this spring, and hopefully by the Blue-Gold Game we have some answers.
5. How Will They Address The Red Zone Issues - I broke this down earlier in the week, but Notre Dame had an abysmal red zone defense in 2022. The Irish ranked 130th in overall red zone rate and dead last in college football in red zone touchdown rate. Notre Dame needs to get A LOT better in the red zone, and we'll get a chance to see this spring if that starts to happen.
If it does and Notre Dame doesn't take a step back anywhere else this defense will get a lot better.
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