What's Next: Overcoming The Injury To DE Julian Okwara

A look at what happens next at defensive end for Notre Dame now that Julian Okwara has been lost for the season.

Notre Dame dominated Duke last night on the field, but it was a costly victory for the Irish defense. Standout defensive end Julian Okwara went down with an ankle injury during the second half, and head coach Brian Kelly announced this afternoon that Okwara would be out for the season.

If Notre Dame wants to continue playing outstanding defense over the next three games, the Irish must find a way to replace their standout end.

BASE DEFENSE

When the season began the expectation was that Jones would take a redshirt season and then replace Okwara and senior Daelin Hayes in the lineup next season. Jones was thrust into the lineup in game four after Hayes was lost for the season with a shoulder injury. Now, Jones is being tasked with replacing Jones in the starting lineup.

Jones has been a bright spot for the defense all season, but he will have a lot more on his plate now that both Hayes and Okwara are out of the lineup.

Okwara has been the team’s top pass rusher this season, with a 15.3-percent pass rush success rate according to Pro Football Focus. Jones hasn’t been far behind, posting a 12.2-percent success rate.

Jones, however, has been much better at actually getting to the quarterback. The senior has arrived at the quarterback on 7.8-percent of his pass rushes, while Okwara has arrived at the quarterback on 4.5-percent of his pass rushes, and senior Khalid Kareem has gotten to the quarterback on just 2.8-percent of his pass rushes.

When opponents run the football we’ve seen Jones actually out-perform Okwara. According to PFF, Jones has generated 11 run stops on just 77 run snaps while Okwara has produced just nine run stops on 128 run snaps. Kareem has made 14 run stops on 189 run snaps, which means Jones has a much better run-stop success rate than both of the starting ends.

Jones has also proven himself capable in coverage, which means he can handle all the primary duties of the drop end position.

The answer to who replaces Okwara in the starting lineup is easy, but now we will have to wait to find out if Jones can be as effective as the starter as he has been as a rotation player.

Another question is who replaces Jones as the backup, and the answer might not be so simple. Sophomores Justin Ademilola and Ovie Oghoufo could both be in line for additional snaps.

Ademilola hasn’t played many snaps the last two seasons, but when he has gotten on the field he’s shown himself to be a stout run defender. He has the body type, strength and motor to be an effective run defender. Ademilola would be a quality rotation player on early downs for the Irish defense.

Oghoufo would provide the defense with more of a pass rushing skillset, which I discuss in more detail below.

NICKEL DEFENSE

Hayes was replaced by Ade Ogundeji in the nickel defense, and when Jack Lamb went down against Virginia Tech, Jones replaced him as the nickel linebacker. With Okwara now out, there is an opening in the nickel lineup that has a less obvious line of succession.

There are three options for the defense.

One is to go with a more base four-down look that would keep two defensive tackles in the game. Part of that option could mean keeping both junior Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and sophomore Jayson Ademilola in the lineup to give more of a pass rushing look.

Option two is to simply replace Okwara with Oghoufo, who is more of a situational player at this point in his career. While Oghoufo lacks the strength and girth to be an every-down run defender, but he brings athleticism and a good feel for getting after the quarterback in the pass game. This would leave Jones in his current role on third-down.

Oghoufo has been a special teams player all season and he’s played 41 snaps on defense, which means he should have enough seasoning to step into a rotational role.

Option three is to move Jones into Okwara’s front four role in the nickel package and insert a linebacker into the role Lamb previously held and Jones now holds. There are two good options for this role, with one being current rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who could provide a unique pass rushing and coverage role into that position.

While I believe Owusu-Koramoah could thrive in that role, it might be better for Notre Dame’s present and future to allow sophomore linebacker Shayne Simon to step into that role. Simon provides a bigger body than Owusu-Koramoah, but he also has a unique ability to handle coverage duties and provide a pass rushing threat in that nickel role.

Not only would this give Simon an opportunity to make an impact this season, it would also give him much-needed experience for the future.

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