Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 NOV. 7, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED three seasons. The Midshipmen averaged 19.3 yards per completion and 11.5 yards per attempt through six games. Navy's best weapon is senior wide receiver Jamir Tillman, who had 19 receptions for 286 yards in the first six games. Tillman has 1,281 career re- ceiving yards, which is the second-best mark in Navy history, trailing only Rob Taylor (1965-67). His nine career touchdown receptions rank fourth, with Taylor and former New York Giant and Super Bowl champion Phil McConkey's career mark of 13 within striking distance. The 6-4, 212-pound Tillman is a big-play target. He can stretch the field and is a strong one-on-one pass catcher. If he played in a traditional offense, he would likely put up big-time numbers. Notre Dame ranked a respectable 56th nationally in pass defense through its first seven games, but those numbers were boosted by playing NC State during Hurricane Matthew. The Wolfpack passed for just 41 yards in that game. A better representation of Notre Dame's pass defense was its 91st national ranking in yards per completion (12.9) and 97th ranking in yards per at- tempt (7.8). The Irish ranked 81st in pass efficiency defense during the same stretch. Notre Dame's penchant for giving up big plays is especially troubling against Navy, whose entire pass game is built around stretching the field with its play-action pass game. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. NAVY RUN DEFENSE Navy's run defense has improved since giving up 162 yards in the opener against Fordham Sept. 3 and 240 yards in a victory versus Tulane Sept. 17. The Mids followed that up by holding fellow triple- option foe Air Force to 173 yards (118 yards below its season average), and limiting Houston and Mem- phis to just 111.5 yards per contest. Just as impressive is the fact Air Force, Houston and Memphis rushed for just 3.4 yards per carry. Through six games, Navy held its opponents to just 3.8 yards per carry, which ranked 37th in the nation. Junior inside linebacker Micah Thomas was Navy's top tackler through six games. The 6-1, 249-pounder registered 46 stops during that stretch, while junior outside linebacker D.J. Palmore led the defense with 8.0 tackles for loss. Sophomore Hudson Sullivan and senior Mike Kelly are being tasked with replacing senior inside linebacker Daniel Gonzales, whose career is over after suffering a Lisfranc injury against Air Force. Gonzales finished his Navy career with 174 tackles and was the team's second-leading tackler when he went down. Notre Dame's ground attack — which ranked 91st nationally through seven games — was a key con- tributor to Notre Dame's 2-5 start. After rushing for 207.6 yards per game last season, the Irish averaged just 150.0 yards through its first seven outings. The Irish offense was neither efficient nor explo- sive during that stretch, averaging just 4.0 yards GAME PREVIEW: NAVY Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 6 E. St. Brown 6-5 205 So. 81 Miles Boykin 6-3½ 222 So. WR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. 15 Corey Holmes 6-0½ 190 Jr. LT 68 Mike McGlinchey 6-7½ 310 Sr. 70 Hunter Bivin 6-5½ 308 Sr. LG 56 Quenton Nelson 6-4¾ 325 Jr. 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3¼ 300 So. C 53 Sam Mustipher 6-2¼ 310 Jr. 75 Mark Harrell 6-4 306 5th-Sr. RG 62 Colin McGovern 6-4½ 310 Sr. 66 Tristen Hoge 6-4¼ 310 So. RT 71 Alex Bars 6-6 320 Jr. 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-4¾ 315 Fr. TE 80 Durham Smythe 6-4½ 245 Sr. 82 Nic Weishar 6-4 240 Jr. WR 16 Torii Hunter Jr. 6-0 195 Sr. 29 Kevin Stepherson 6-0 181 Fr. QB 14 DeShone Kizer 6-4¼ 230 Jr. 9 Malik Zaire 6-0 225 Sr. RB 33 Josh Adams 6-1½ 220 So. 25 Tarean Folston 5-9½ 214 Sr. or 2 Dexter Williams 5-10¾ 210 So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DL 98 Andrew Trumbetti 6-3½ 255 Jr. 9 Daelin Hayes 6-3½ 250 Fr. or 93 Jay Hayes 6-3 285 Jr. DL 75 Daniel Cage 6-1 315 Jr. or 94 Jarron Jones 6-5½ 315 5th-Sr. DL 99 Jerry Tillery 6-6½ 310 So. 58 Elijah Taylor 6-2¾ 285 So. DL 90 Isaac Rochell 6-3½ 290 Sr. 55 Jonathan Bonner 6-3 286 Jr. LB 5 Nyles Morgan 6-0¾ 245 Jr. 48 Greer Martini 6-2½ 240 Jr. LB 17 James Onwualu 6-1 232 Sr. 44 Jamir Jones 6-2½ 225 Fr. LB 4 Te'von Coney 6-1 235 So. 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 230 So. CB 27 Julian Love 5-10½ 190 Fr. 35 Donte Vaughn 6-2 200 Fr. S 23 Drue Tranquill 6-1½ 225 Jr. 21 Jalen Elliott 5-11¾ 195 Fr. S 14 Devin Studstill 6-0 198 Fr. 28 Nicco Fertitta 5-8¼ 185 So. CB 36 Cole Luke 5-11 195 Sr. 24 Nick Coleman 5-11½ 195 So. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KO 19 Justin Yoon 5-9¾ 190 So. 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. PK 19 Justin Yoon 5-9¾ 190 So. 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. P 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. 42 Jeff Riney 5-9¾ 165 So. H 4 M. VanGorder 6-0½ 215 Jr. 14 DeShone Kizer 6-4¼ 230 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 61 Scott Daly 6-1½ 250 5th-Sr. 54 John Shannon 6-1¾ 220 Fr. PR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. 10 Chris Finke 5-9¼ 180 So. KR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. 10 Chris Finke 5-9¼ 180 So. Special Teams Junior outside linebacker D.J. Palmore recorded a team-high five sacks during the Midshipmen's 5-1 start. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY