2016 Notre Dame Football Preview

2016 Notre Dame Football Preview

Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview

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84 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY BRYAN DRISKELL W ith tackle Sheldon Day and end Romeo Okwara off to the NFL, the Irish have plenty of production to replace from what were the team's two best defensive linemen in 2015. Day earned first-team USA Today All-America honors after leading the Irish with 15.5 tackles for loss, while Okwara paced the team with eight sacks among his 12.5 tackles for loss. All told, Notre Dame will have to replace the duo's 93 total stops, 28 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and 20 quarterback hurries. Just as im- portant as the loss of production is the leadership vacuum that gradu- ated with Day, a two-time captain that served as the emotional leader of the defense last fall. Defensive line coach Keith Gilmore — a 31-year veteran — knows full well how important it is to cultivate leadership up front. Gilmore and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly have pointed to senior end Isaac Rochell as the one player who must help fill the leadership void, tough as the task might be. "I'm trying to give him that opportunity to be a leader," Gilmore said. "He's played enough football around here that he's a leader by example by what he does on the field, but I want him to be a little more vocal and step up. "It's been cultivated, trying to get Isaac to take the reins. It's tough to replace Sheldon. We have to put them in leadership positions. 'Isaac, you're in charge of getting guys in order.' " Rochell needs to provide more than just leadership during his final season; he must become a more productive player. Rochell registered 3.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss the last two seasons combined. The tools are there; Rochell just needs to put it all together. "He's got the strength, he's got the size, he's got the experience," Kelly said of Rochell, who put up 26 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press as a freshman. "Now he's just got to get in and let it go, get a little extra fuel and a little bit more energy. It's got to happen for him. "He's got to make a few plays that he didn't make before. Once that happens, he'll really get on fire." Rochell is not the only senior that must finish his career on a strong note if Notre Dame wants to field a championship-caliber defensive line. There were times during the 2014 season when then-junior nose guard Jarron Jones was Notre Dame's best defensive lineman. His dominance against Florida State was arguably the best performance by an Irish defender in the last two seasons. Jones missed all but a handful of plays of the final three games of the 2014 season due to a foot injury, and his 2015 season essentially ended in fall camp when he suffered a torn MCL. Jones returned for the Fiesta Bowl, but he was a shell of the player fans saw during the 2014 season. Now a fifth-year senior, Jones must heal his mind as much as his body if he wants to cap off his career on a strong note. "I think he's making great progress with it," Kelly told The South Bend Tribune in June. "… I like the little things that he's doing and maturing to the point where he recognizes, 'This is it for me, it's one and done.' "He's 6-foot-6, and it's hard to stay in there and hunker down for as long as he can. But I think he's taken a step these last few weeks after he's got his degree and graduated. That does something to a kid. He feels good about himself, and I think that's going to carry him into the season." Notre Dame missed his production last fall, and getting that back into the lineup would provide a major boost. Despite playing in just 11 games, Jones registered 40 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and seven quarterback hurries during the 2014 season. His 2015 replacements — true freshman Jerry Tillery and sopho- more Daniel Cage — had a combined 30 tackles, six tackles for loss, one sack and zero quarterback hurries. DEFENSIVE LINEMEN LAYING THE FOUNDATION Notre Dame's veteran front must be the building blocks of a championship defense BY THE NUMBERS 4.6 Yards per rush allowed by the Irish defense, which put Notre Dame in the bottom half of the national rankings (87th). 11 Total number of career sacks from the returning defensive linemen. Notre Dame received just four sacks from returners during the 2015 season. 28 Total number of tackles for loss Notre Dame lost when defensive tackle Shel‑ don Day and defensive end Romeo Okwara graduated. Year TFL 2006 46.0 2007 26.5 2008 26.0 2009 36.0 2010 32.5 Year TFL 2011 32.5 2012 51.0 2013 28.5 2014 39.0 2015 45.0 YEAR-BY-YEAR TACKLES FOR LOSS BY DEFENSIVE LINEMEN Fifth-year senior nose guard Jarron Jones — who produced 40 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and seven quarterback hurries in 10 games in 2014 — will be counted on to be a disruptive force in the middle of the Irish line. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND

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