Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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36 OCT. 26, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. MICHIGAN RUN DEFENSE Slowed by injuries to junior starter Jafar Arm- strong and sophomore backup Jahmir Smith, Notre Dame's running game expectedly struggled early this season. The Irish showed signs of life and perhaps found a launch to steady improvement against Virginia when they hit the Cavaliers for 120 of their 178 rushing yards in the fourth quarter. They followed that up with a 233-yard effort against overmatched Bowling Green, with senior tailback Tony Jones Jr. leading the way with 102 yards on just seven carries. The Notre Dame offensive line is showing steady improvement and with its stable of running backs refortified, this unit is becoming more than re- spectable after a rocky start. Jones filled in admirably in the absence of Arm- strong and Smith, and he remains an important part of what is becoming a complement to the Irish offense. Through five games, he had three 100-yard efforts, was averaging 76.2 yards per game and ranked 15th in the country in yards per carry (6.93). GAME PREVIEW: MICHIGAN Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 229 Sr. 88 Javon McKinley 6-2 220 Sr. WR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 184 5th-Sr. 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10½ 173 So. 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 84 Cole Kmet 6-5½ 250 Jr. 89 Brock Wright 6-4½ 246 Jr. or 24 Tommy Tremble 6-3½ 235 So. WR 87 Michael Young 5-10 190 Jr. 25 Braden Lenzy 5-11½ 180 So. QB 12 Ian Book 6-0 212 Sr. 15 Phil Jurkovec 6-4½ 227 So. RB 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 224 Sr. 8 Jafar Armstrong 6-0½ 220 Jr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 42 Julian Okwara 6-4½ 248 Sr. 44 Jamir Jones 6-3 255 Sr. DT 95 M. Tagovailoa-Amosa 6-2½ 286 Jr. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 279 So. NG 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 295 Jr. 54 Jacob Lacey 6-2 293 Fr. DE 53 Khalid Kareem 6-4 265 Sr. 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4½ 253 Sr. Buck 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 225 5th-Sr. 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 232 So. Mike 40 Drew White 6-0 230 Jr. 52 Bo Bauer 6-3 230 So. Rover 6 J. Owusu-Koramoah 6-1½ 216 Jr. 13 Paul Moala 5-11½ 216 So. CB 5 Troy Pride Jr. 5-11½ 194 Sr. 9 Cam Hart 6-2½ 208 Fr. S 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 201 Sr. 14 Kyle Hamilton 6-4 210 Fr. S 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0½ 210 Sr. 3 Houston Griffith 6-0 198 So. CB 28 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 170 So. 8 Donte Vaughn 6-3 212 Sr. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. KO 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 23 Jr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. PK 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 203 Jr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. P 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1 188 Fr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. H 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1 188 Fr. 17 Nolan Henry 6-0 193 5th-Sr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. LS 54 John Shannon 6-2 225 Sr. 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 224 So. PR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 184 5th-Sr. 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 201 Sr. KR 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10½ 173 So. 18 Joe Wilkins 6-1½ 194 So. Special Teams Through five games, senior linebacker Khaleke Hudson's average of 10.4 stops per contest ranked 17th in the nation. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL