Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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TOP FIVE QUESTIONS BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 25 1. How quickly can the defense adapt to Mike Elko's system? The new coordinator worked wonders at Wake Forest with far less of a talent base. Even former Notre Dame quar- terback DeShone Kizer had commented to Irish defenders how in the 28-7 win over Wake Forest in 2015 (one TD was by the Notre Dame defense while the Irish had a season-low 282 yards of total offense) had him the most flummoxed. The Irish offense should continue to average 30 to 35 points per game. Defense and special teams im- provement will dictate whether it can get beyond the 8-4 status quo. 2. How will Brandon Wimbush perform? Replacing a second-round draft pick as an inexperienced junior is a tall order, but Wimbush's arm strength and athletic skills surpass even Kizer's, and he will have the benefit of a veteran cast around him on offense like his predecessor did in 2015. Wimbush does not have to carry the operation, so equally important is minimizing the negative plays and setbacks as much as showcasing his individual skills. 3. Can the defensive line play playoff caliber football? Controlling the line of scrimmage is the essence of football, and the defensive line on paper is classified as an Achilles heel, especially with the two most productive linemen from last year — Isaac Rochell and Jarron Jones — having graduated. Having enough bodies is not the issue with the presence of 18 scholarship defensive linemen, or nearly five full teams. What can't happen again is finishing last among 65 Power Five teams in defensive linemen sacks (three) and finishing in the bottom half of the country in run defense, which the Irish did last season even with a couple of senior NFL prospects starting. 4. What pass catchers emerge after Equanimeous St. Brown? As a sophomore, St. Brown went from one reception as a freshman to 58 for 961 yards and nine touchdowns, all easily team highs, with any other combined two receivers barely coming close to his totals. Nevertheless, if junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush is going to make this offense hum to its potential, he will need the opposing defense to ac- count for more than just St. Brown on the pass patterns. Lindy's Sports ranks Notre Dame's pass catching corps — tight ends included and highlighted by Alizé Mack — No. 4 in the country, based mainly on projection more than actual overall production. Mack is the likely next option, but a consistent vertical threat also is needed, which is part of the reason why graduate transfers from Arizona State (Cameron Smith) and Michigan (Freddy Canteen) have enrolled. 5. How big of an impact will the new strength and conditioning staff make in year one? Any time a new strength and conditioning crew arrives on any campus in the United States, there is the inevitable rhetoric about how it is so much more intense/energized/ draining/better organized/efficient and a "game changer" from the previous regime. That honeymoon period is there now for new coordinator Matt Balis and right- hand man David Ballou. That's in great part because a lack of direction, motiva- tion and results in the weight room were identified in head coach Brian Kelly's exit interviews with the players last December as a primary albatross, including people having to get gym memberships off campus to aid their development. Some of it was manifested in the fourth quarter, where Notre Dame in 2016 lost a single-season school-record five games in the final 15 minutes of regulation when it held a lead, and a sixth where it was tied. Over the final eight games, Notre Dame was outscored 58-22 in the fourth quarter, with one of the Irish touchdowns coming in the closing minute at USC as window dressing when the game was lost far earlier. The real question is how could an entire operation be so asleep at the wheel for an entire year (if not more) in one of the most fundamental aspects of an athletics program? Also, will about nine months of work under a new regime compensate for previous setbacks? Equanimeous St. Brown had an outstanding sophomore cam- paign (a team-best 961 receiving yards and nine scores), but the Irish need additional receivers to emerge to alleviate some of the pressure on first-time starting quarterback Bran- don Wimbush. PHOTO BY RICK KIMBALL