Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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58 PRESEASON 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED likely out for the opener, it will be Pass that sits in best position to lead the offense. One thing working in his favor is the re- turn of a talented group of pass catchers, led by junior Dez Fitzpatrick (32 catches for 422 yards in 2018) and dynamic after-the- catch athlete Tutu Atwell (24 catches for 406 yards last year). Louisville allowed 43 sacks a season ago, which ranked 126th out of 130 teams. Pro Football Focus ranked the Notre Dame defense as the fourth-best pass-rushing squad in the country, which makes this without question the biggest mismatch in the game. Okwara finished seventh in all of college football in quarterback pressures (sacks, hits and hurries) last season, racking up 61. Notre Dame is the only team in the country with three returning ends — Okwara, Ka- reem and Hayes — to rank among the top 30 in pass-rush success rate. The Fighting Irish must replace consen- sus All-American cornerback Julian Love, but three starters return from a second- ary — Elliott, Gilman and senior cornerback Troy Pride Jr. — that led a defense which ranked second nationally in yards allowed per pass (5.6), third in touchdowns allowed (10), fourth in yards allowed per completion (9.8) and sixth in pass efficiency defense (105.57). Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. LOUISVILLE RUN DEFENSE Louisville's only season under former defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder was a complete di- saster. The Cardinals gave up 44.1 points per game, and its abysmal run defense was the primary cul- prit. Louisville surrendered 277.3 yards per game on the ground, which ranked 127th nationally. The Cardinals also ranked 126th in yards allowed per attempt (6.0) and gave up 40 rushing touchdowns, which ranked 127th. The unit allowed 542 rushing yards to Georgia Tech and 492 to Clemson, while three other op- ponents topped the 300-yard mark. VanGorder is gone, and like Notre Dame in 2017 after he was replaced by Mike Elko, there should be improvement. But the Cardinals likely aren't go- ing to go from an epically bad run defense to one that should contain Notre Dame in just one season. ND racked up 190.5 yards per game on the ground during the regular season last year, and the return of four starting offensive linemen is expected to lead to improvement in that area. The challenge will be replacing running back Dexter Williams, who rushed for 995 yards and 12 touchdowns in just nine games en route to being selected by the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Draft. Junior Jafar Armstrong (383 yards and seven touchdowns) and senior Tony Jones Jr. (392 yards, three TDs) return to lead the ground game. Junior Dez Fitzpatrick, who caught 32 passes for 422 yards last fall, will lead the way for a talented group of pass catchers this season. PHOTO COURTESY LOUISVILLE GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 229 Sr. 88 Javon McKinley 6-2 220 Sr. LT 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 305 Sr. 75 Joshua Lugg 6-7 307 Jr. LG 69 Aaron Banks 6-6 325 Jr. 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3½ 292 5th-Sr. C 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-5 300 So. 61 Colin Grunhard 6-0½ 289 Jr. RG 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-6 319 Sr. 56 John Dirksen 6-5½ 309 So. RT 72 Robert Hainsey 6-4½ 295 Jr. 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5 280 Fr. TE 89 Brock Wright 6-4½ 246 Jr. 24 Tommy Tremble 6-3½ 235 So. WR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 184 5th-Sr. 25 Braden Lenzy 5-11½ 180 So. WR 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10½ 172 So. 18 Joe Wilkins 6-1½ 194 So. QB 12 Ian Book 6-0 212 Sr. 15 Phil Jurkovec 6-4½ 227 So. RB 8 Jafar Armstrong 6-1 220 Jr. 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 224 Sr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. SDE 53 Khalid Kareem 6-4 265 Sr. 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4½ 253 Sr. NT 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 295 Jr. 54 Jacob Lacey 6-2 293 Fr. DT 95 Myron Tagovailoa 6-2½ 286 Jr. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 279 So. Drop 42 Julian Okwara 6-4½ 248 Sr. 9 Daelin Hayes 6-4 266 Sr. Mike 40 Drew White 6-0 230 Jr. 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 232 So. Buck 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 225 5th-Sr. 31 Jack Lamb 6-4 233 So. Rover 6 J. Owusu-Koramoah 6-1½ 216 Jr. 13 Paul Moala 5-11½ 216 So. CB 8 Donte Vaughn 6-3 212 Sr. 28 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 170 So. S 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 201 Sr. 20 Shaun Crawford 5-9 180 5th-Sr. S 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0½ 210 Sr. 14 Kyle Hamilton 6-4 210 Fr. CB 5 Troy Pride Jr. 5-11½ 194 Sr. 3 Houston Griffith 6-0 198 So. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 203 Jr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. KO 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 23 Jr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. P 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1 188 Fr. 30 Jake Rittman 6-3 210 So. H 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1 188 Fr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 54 John Shannon 6-2 225 Sr. 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 224 So. KR 8 Jafar Armstrong 6-1 220 Jr. 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 224 Sr. PR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 184 5th-Sr. 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10½ 173 So. Special Teams