Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1105789
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2019 21 side linebacker corps was last sea- son. In the Blue-Gold Game, seven different ends were credited with 10 sacks. The next step for senior starters Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem, both of whom contemplated turning pro, is finishing and polishing. "We put together a highlight video for Julian where he had 27 missed sacks last year," head coach Brian Kelly noted. "If he just half of those, he leads the country in sacks. So finishing for Julian, plays where he can be the leading sack guy in the country. He can be a menace to teams. We want that. "Khalid, just cleaning up his overall game in all areas, just the little things. [He] lined up off-sides. He's a dedi- cated player, but we just want to clean up all the little things in his game. He's a guy that can do a lot for us, in the run game and the pass game." CAPTAINS TO BE ANNOUNCED LATER In 2017 and 2018, the team cap- tains were already designated prior to spring practice, although another one was also added both times after- wards. This year, head coach Brian Kelly said he and the staff want to do more evaluations. "Guys are doing a nice job, but we need some more situational kind of scenarios for our guys to lead through," he said. "I want to see some more times where our guys are put into some different situa- tions through the summer. We'll do some more leadership work with them now that we have some more time with them, and we'll have some time in June. They just need a little more seasoning. "This is a different team and a dif- ferent group of guys. We probably won't announce captains until we get into camp." Notre Dame had a record seven captains in 2017 and four more last season. The best bets this year are from the octet who this winter were named leaders of the Spring Workout Accountability Team (SWAT) units that is a competition amongst their teams where points are awarded based on performance in many fac- tors such as strength and condition- ing, academic achievement and even locker room cleanliness. The eight were senior quarterback Ian Book, fifth-year senior wide re- ceiver Chris Finke, senior left tackle Liam Eichenberg, junior right tackle Robert Hainsey, senior defensive ends Khalid Kareem and Julian Ok- wara, and senior safeties Jalen El- liott and Alohi Gilman. PERSONNEL NOTES • Junior running back Jafar Armstrong's ver- satility was showcased in the spring game with team highs in rushing yards (85 on nine carries) and catches (four for 71 yards). The former wide receiver recruit has been coming into his own and will share the bulk of the backfield action with senior Tony Jones Jr., who sat out the spring game while recovering from an injury. "He's starting to find a running back's vision where he's really starting to understand how to stay perpendicular and cut," head coach Brian Kelly said of Armstrong. "Last year, he was a 45-degree cut and that was it. Now he stays square. He's just learning. We knew he was a physical player, all those backs run physical. He's taken that step up. "I've been singing the praises of Tony Jones all spring. It's too bad he couldn't play, but he's had a great spring. I think those two guys are really going to help our running game." • Junior Josh Lugg has been designated as "the Swiss Army Knife" for the offensive line by Kelly, or the ultimate "sixth man." "He can play center, he can play guard, he can play tackle for us," Kelly said. "Lugg's that guy. [Fifth-year senior Trevor] Ruhland is a guy we have as well. They give us some flexibility. "What we'd like to see is maybe the develop- ment of one of those freshman tackles to see how maybe they can fit in there." • Kelly sounded cryptic about the future of senior wideout Javon McKinley, who was tempo- rarily suspended for an off-campus incident this winter but began practicing with the team again later this spring. He has no career receptions but was targeted numerous times in the spring game, finishing with one catch for 13 yards. Cracking the two deep will be a challenge. "We targeted him on purpose," Kelly said. "We're clearly trying to figure out what he can do. He's been here too long for us to still have a question mark about him. "We're going through our exit interviews, we'll evaluate his performance and make some deci- sions. We're going to re-evaluate his status at the end of spring." — Lou Somogyi Sophomore Justin Ademilola (19) was among the seven different defensive ends that were credited with 10 of the team's 15 sacks. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA