Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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104 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW DEFENSIVE BACKS Y outh often must be served in college football, but for the 2016 Notre Dame secondary it was overdone. Never was a Fighting Irish defensive backfield younger than the 2016 edition when four different freshmen combined for 24 starts. It wasn't planned that way, but circumstances intervened. The top four corners and nickel backs were "supposed to be" senior Cole Luke, plus Nick Watkins, Shaun Crawford and Devin Butler. Luke played all year, but the latter three all were sidelined with injuries. Watkins was out with a broken arm suf- fered in spring practice, Butler had a frac- tured foot and then was suspended pend- ing the resolution of an arrest for fighting (he has since moved on to Syracuse as a graduate transfer), and Crawford suffered his season-ending Achilles tendon injury early in game two. Meanwhile, senior Max Redfield — a for- mer five-star recruit — was "supposed to" return and be a force at free safety, but a preseason arrest led to his dismissal. The preseason nightmares carried over into September with the firing of defensive coor- dinator Brian VanGorder after a 1-3 start. The focus then became learning what to do on the field instead of learning how to be a bet- ter player. The unit included freshman Devin Studstill as the free safety starter, not-yet- ready sophomore Nick Coleman forced into action at cornerback, and the necessity of three more freshmen in Julian Love (eight starts), Donte Vaughn (four starts) and Troy Pride Jr. (three starts) taking on major roles at corner, plus classmate Jalen Elliott at strong safety. "It was hard because we had to focus so much on structure and scheme," cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght admitted. "Especially when you're working with young players, it's really good to do position specific drills." Lyght will exclusively instruct the corner- backs in 2016, while new coordinator Mike Elko will mentor the safeties. "We can really define some technique and hone that down. That will really be good for the young players and their development," Lyght said. The baptism by fire in the secondary last year should reap some payoff this season, but question marks linger, especially at safety, where Studstill was supplanted by Coleman, who had dropped to third-team corner last year. At the other safety, Elliott did take 117 snaps last season (less than 10 per game) but remains a nascent figure. At cornerback, there is expected to be an upgrade with the return of Watkins and Crawford, and Lyght believes the "someone else might make the play" mindset should no longer be the factor it was in 2016. "We can play with a lot more confidence and make a play when it is time," Lyght said. ✦ AFTER THE BAPTISMAL FIRE The secondary remains the youngest and greenest position group, but it is a little more seasoned Julian Love started eight games at cornerback, made 45 tackles — the third most ever by a Irish freshman defensive back since 1972 — and intercepted one pass as a rookie last year. PHOTO BY RICK KIMBALL