Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 PRESEASON 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED graduate. But that's another story for another season. TOP THREE STORYLINES: AUG. 4-19 In addition to the competition for playing time at linebacker, and a state of flux at safety, several other primary themes arose on defense: 1. Land Rover No one on the second level of the defense this August may have dis- tinguished himself more than junior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, even though he redshirted as a fresh- man in 2017 and was sidelined in 2018 with a broken foot suffered in early September. The position has zero career snaps among current players aligned there, but the 6-1, 216-pound Owusu-Kora- moah's speed to cover a vast area of the field and complement his im- proved instincts make him an arche- type for the hybrid linebacker/safety position. Especially promising is the fact that his skills in pass coverage might not require the insertion of a nickel back in his place. "He certainly looks the part," Kelly said. "He's got all the physical tools necessary for us to expand on that position. He's the guy that can play the No. 2 [receiver] and not have to come off the field. He's got explo- siveness where he can set an edge and you can blitz him. "If you're really defining what that rover has wanted to look like — that's what it looks like." 2. Cover Story Although senior and All-America candidate Troy Pride Jr. played field corner the majority of spring, he has shifted to the boundary side, where 2018 consensus All-American Julian Love was stationed prior to turning pro after his junior year. "That short corner position re- quires somebody with a lot of expe- rience because you're going to get the most action," Kelly explained of the shift. "But we want to keep our options open. We need to develop more than just Troy Pride because we're going to be doing some differ- ent things at that corner position. "So we'll start him there, but he's had a lot of experience playing the wide field too." Making the switch easier was 6-3 senior Donte Vaughn returning to full health after back and shoulder problems plagued him the past two years, and surgery sidelined him in the spring. Vaughn sat out the Aug. 17 practice while tending to a quadriceps injury, but was expected to return in short order. Among the corner trio of Love, Pride and Vaughn signed in 2016, Vaughn initially appeared to possess the highest ceiling. As a freshman, There is nothing new when reporting that seniors Jalen Elliott and Alohi Gilman are one of the premier safety tandems in col- lege football. Yet no single position on Notre Dame's defense during August training camp had more news and state of flux than safety. • Sophomore Derrik Allen, redshirted last season after ranking as one of Notre Dame's marquee recruits (No. 82 nationally by ESPN) in 2018, transferred to the home state Geor- gia Tech Yellow Jackets shortly after the Fight- ing Irish completed their five-day practice ses- sions at the Culver Academies from Aug. 4-8. Regarding Allen's decision, head coach Brian Kelly stated he had face time with the safety's father and respects the decision they made as a family. "He's going to find a place that best suits him and we wish him the best," Kelly said of Allen. The transfer put Notre Dame at 84 scholar- ship players for 2019, one under the NCAA limit of 85. • With Allen's departure, fifth-year senior nickel/cornerback Shaun Craw- ford began to see the majority of his action at safety, where he was beginning to cross-train anyway even prior to Allen's transfer. Despite a long history of injuries that included ACL tears in August 2015 and August 2018 that sidelined him both seasons, and a torn Achilles early in game two of 2016 that also shelved him, Crawford's exceptional football instincts, IQ and coverage skills he flashed at nickel in 2017 began coming more to the forefront again. The more downhill nature of the safety position also might be better suited to his physical skill set following the three surgeries. "He just finds the ball, he's around it, makes tackles," Kelly said of Crawford following the Aug. 17 practice inside Notre Dame Stadium. "We're going to make sure he's on the field. He'll be the first guy in to give a blow at a number of those positions." • Seldom has a freshman so consistently stolen the show (and football) during the preseason the way 6-4, 210-pound Kyle Hamilton did in the four practices that were open to the media. In the first practice (Aug. 4), the 247Sports five-star prospect who was ranked as the No. 15 player overall nationally intercepted three passes in various one-on-one, seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 team drills. He made one pick apiece in the next two as well — in addition to forcing a fumble — and then in the final session open to the media Aug. 17 he snagged two more errant balls. His seven interceptions in those sessions were five more than anyone else. His one-on-one cover skills as a corner on occasion are more limited with his tall frame that requires backpedaling and turning of hips, but he is the prototype center fielder at safety, or in zone, who has demonstrated a proclivity to be at the right spot at the right time. Following the opening practice, Kelly main- tained he did not notice Hamilton's three interceptions because he was viewing more big-picture aspects of plays. "He's now got my attention a little bit more, so I see him more in terms of what he's doing," Kelly said after the fifth practice at Culver Academies. "Good player, no doubt." • Hired as strictly the safeties coach in 2018 to help shore up the second- ary, Terry Joseph is now listed as "defensive pass game coordinator." Throughout the spring, Joseph could be seen taking a more active role in the entire secondary, and Kelly acknowledged the change a couple of days prior to August camp. "It's a bit of a change," Kelly said of Joseph. "He's got a hand in what we're doing on the back end in terms of the entire coverage. So he works closely with [defensive coordinator] Clark [Lea] in coordinating the coverages with the fronts. It is a leadership position for him that equates the kind of work that he's doing for us." — Lou Somogyi The Safety Position Dominates Defensive News Thanks to Shaun Crawford's exceptional football instincts, IQ and coverage skills, the Irish have explored ways to get the fifth-year senior on the field. He could see action at cor- nerback, nickel and safety this fall. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER