Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 JANUARY 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED A dominant pass rush has been the driving force behind that success. PFF ranked the Notre Dame pass rush as the fourth-best in the country. Ac- cording to the outlet, junior defensive end Julian Okwara ranked fifth in the country with 58 total pressures, which includes quarterback hurries, quarterback hits and sacks. Fellow junior ends Daelin Hayes and Khalid Kareem combined for 59 more pressures. Senior Jerry Tillery ranked second among de- fensive tackles nationally with 44 total pressures. It isn't all about the front for Notre Dame. PFF ranks the Irish coverage unit ninth in the country. Junior cornerback Julian Love — a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation's top defensive back — is ranked by PFF as the seventh- best cover corner in the country. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. CLEMSON RUN DEFENSE Clemson has been just as good at stopping the run as it has been at running the football, ranking first in the nation in yards allowed per attempt (2.4) and third in yards allowed per game (93.0). The Tigers also are second in the country with 121 tackles for loss. What makes these rankings even more impres- sive is looking at their quality of the competition. Clemson faced three triple-option attacks and seven units that rank among the top 50 in rushing offense, including three in the top 20. Against those seven top-50 rushing offenses, the Tigers allowed merely 104.9 rushing yards per game and 2.5 yards per attempt. Just those aver- ages alone would rank the Clemson defense 11th and second in the country, respectively. Like Notre Dame, Clemson is fueled by an elite defensive line and one of the nation's top inside linebackers. PFF grades Clemson with the best run defense nationally. Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Christian Wilkins ranks third in the country in run defense and junior nose tackle Dexter Law- rence ranks 16th in run defense according to PFF. Senior linebacker Tre Lamar finished the season with just 69 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss, but that didn't keep him from being named a finalist for the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation's top linebacker. Notre Dame has been wildly erratic with its ground game. The Fighting Irish rank 49th in the country in yards per game (190.4) and 57th in yards per attempt (4.6), but at times the ground attack has been lethal. PFF ranked Florida State as the best run defense (19th in the country) Notre Senior linebacker Tre Lamar, who has compiled 69 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss this season, was a finalist for the Butkus Award (nation's top linebacker). PHOTO BY CARL ACKERMAN/COURTESY CLEMSON GAME PREVIEW: CLEMSON Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 81 Miles Boykin 6-4 228 Sr. 4 Kevin Austin 6-2 210 Fr. WR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 180 Sr. 18 Joe Wilkins 6-1½ 185 Fr. LT 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 308 Jr. 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-4½ 290 Fr. LG 69 Aaron Banks 6-6 319 So. 76 Dillan Gibbons 6-4 313 So. C 53 Sam Mustipher 6-2½ 306 5th-Sr. 61 Colin Grunhard 6-0½ 280 So. RG 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-6 316 Jr. or 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3½ 295 Sr. RT 72 Robert Hainsey 6-4½ 295 So. 75 Joshua Lugg 6-7 314 So. TE 86 Alizé Mack 6-5 247 Sr. 84 Cole Kmet 6-5½ 258 So. or 82 Nic Weishar 6-5 246 5th-Sr. WR 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 227 Jr. 87 Michael Young 5-10 192 So. QB 12 Ian Book 6-0 203 Jr. 7 Brandon Wimbush 6-2 222 Sr. RB 2 Dexter Williams 5-11 215 Sr. 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 220 Jr. or 8 Jafar Armstronng 6-1 218 So. 3 Avery Davis 5-11 204 So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 42 Julian Okwara 6-4½ 241 Jr. 9 Daelin Hayes 6-4 265 Jr. DT 99 Jerry Tillery 6-7 305 Sr. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 284 Fr. NT 55 Jonathan Bonner 6-4 295 5th-Sr. 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 295 So. DE 53 Khalid Kareem 6-4 265 Jr. 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4½ 255 Jr. Buck 23 Drue Tranquill 6-2 235 5th-Sr. 2 J. Genmark Heath 6-1 225 So. Mike 4 Te'von Coney 6-1 240 Sr. 52 Bo Bauer 6-3 225 Fr. or 45 Jonathan Jones 5-11½ 227 Jr. ROV 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 225 Sr. 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 222 Fr. CB 27 Julian Love 5-11 193 Jr. 8 Donte Vaughn 6-3 211 Jr. S 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 202 Jr. 14 Devin Studstill 6-0 200 Jr. S 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0½ 205 Jr. 24 Nick Coleman 6-0 194 Sr. or 3 Houston Griffith 6-0 205 Fr. CB 5 Troy Pride Jr. 5-11½ 190 Jr. 35 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 170 Fr. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 198 Sr. 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 200 So. P 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 214 5th-Sr. 42 Jeff Riney 5-11 181 Sr. KO 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 200 So. or 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 198 Sr. H 17 Nolan Henry 6-0 202 Sr. 12 Ian Book 6-0 203 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 54 John Shannon 6-2 235 Jr. 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 228 Fr. KR 87 Michael Young 5-10 185 So. 3 Avery Davis 5-11 204 So. PR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 180 Sr. 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 202 Jr. Special Teams