Despite missing key players, Notre Dame's defensive line displayed physicality and generated pressure, hinting at future dominance.
Yesterday, Notre Dame wrapped up it's big jersey scrimmage we see every year during spring training and there were a lot of takeaways on both sides of the ball. Offensively, it was an aggressive unit that didn't back down from this loaded defense. Unfortunately, some of the evaluation from the defense is incomplete because we didn't get to see players like Jason Onye, Drayk Bowen, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, or Dallas Golden. Still, there was a lot of good from the Fighting Irish defense yesterday that head coach Marcus Freeman can evaluate and it starts with the defensive line.
"I've seen it and I've felt it," Freeman said about the size in the trenches. "We've brought in some massive human beings at those positions, but they play big, too. They're not big guys that play soft. They play big and they're physical. Francis Brewu was out for a couple of practices with a bicep strain, but it was good to see him back. Tionne Gray, he's a big human being and I watched one play that he made. It was a great double team and he just split it. They're all doing really, really well. I'm glad we have them, and they're making us better."
Another player you could consider a 'newcomer' is rising senior Christian Gray. He's not a newcomer in his overall presence at Notre Dame, but he's learning a new position and he's finding his footing at the nickel corner position where he played, almost exclusively, yesterday during the jersey scrimmage. Gray has been the starting field corner on this defense the past two seasons. Now, he looks to make the move inside during his fourth and final year in South Bend.
"He's done a really good job," Freeman shared. "We thought he would be a natural nickel. We thought this would be a good move for him and he's really worked out. Like, anytime you're trying to improve, you're going to go through some of the failures that he went through early in the spring. And he'll continue to go through failures, but those make you better. But he's really done a good job. He's definitely been improving this entire spring."
One of the things we saw from the front four was the amount of pressure that was generated from the four-down lineman on the first and second team. This is something Freeman and new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge have been intentional about this offseason and it's starting to pay dividends this spring. They still have a ways to go to become that elite defensive line, but they had some good wins in yesterday morning's scrimmage.
"You're going to put your defense in a negative position if you have to bring pressure to create pressure," Freeman explained. "We start with being able to create pressure with our defensive ends in a four-man rush in whatever way we do that. You recruit elite, talented players like Bryce Young and Boubacar Traore then you have to be creative. Do we simulate pressure or are we going to bring one more than they have to protect? There's a lot of different ways, but it all goes down to the foundation of being able to create pressure in a four-man base pass rush and our guys did a pretty good job today."
Yesterday, the defense flashed, but they still have a ways to go before they're game ready, like every defense in the country after April 18. When you consider that they were down their starting middle linebacker and captain from last season, a veteran defensive tackle in Onye, one of the most talented players on the team in Viliamu-Asa and a rising impact player in Golden, it adds context to their fiery performance yesterday. This is a team that's poised for a big season; the work they're putting in now will reflect in fall camp and during the season.
-------
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!