Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 105 DEFENSIVE BACKS is something I need to be a little more conscious of and be sure that everybody is conscious of it, and being a leader at this point." Junior Drue Tranquill has all the qualities to be one of the team's premier leaders through his work ethic, production and with his ver- satility at different spots. Late in the second quarter of Notre Dame's third game of the 2015 season, the then-sophomore safety suffered a torn ACL while celebrat- ing breaking up a pass in the end zone. As if that wasn't bad enough luck in itself, it marked the second time in two seasons the Fort Wayne, Ind., product went down with a season-ending knee injury. Replacing both Tranquill and freshman nickel back Shaun Crawford, who suffered a torn ACL last August, limited the defense's arsenal on the back end. Where Tranquill will attempt to improve most is playing off the hash marks. "He's a great box safety," Kelly said. "He's great close to the line of scrimmage, he's a good tackler. The areas of development are in our speed package, working line games, working his pass rush technique." The junior maintained an upbeat spirit despite the setbacks. "It's all you can do at that point," he said. "You're physically out, so your mental game is really the only thing that can grow. Your leadership can grow as well. It's just encouraging guys and helping that next man in. "It's kind of how I saw my role develop the past couple years. It's just being more vocal with my leadership and just taking younger guys and helping them because ultimately we're only as strong as our weakest link, and we have to get those guys [ready] and we have to get depth." Unfortunately for Tranquill, he had already learned the skills nec- essary to stay positive during a long rehabilitation process. "It's just your mindset going forward," he said. "A lot of guys tend to dwell on, 'Dang, I'm out for the season.' But once you can kind of turn the corner and flip the switch in your mind and just see it as a learning opportunity, you can progress and move forward a lot faster. "The second time around, it was hard but I got over myself in a day or two and said it's only going to get better from here, so I have to put my head down and get back to it." As a freshman, Tranquill registered a substantial amount of playing time on third-down packages for the Irish. He sees the value he brings to that situation, but also thinks he is ready to be an every-down safety. "It was great competition with Shumate last year," he said. "We were kind of going back and forth, but they can obviously use me in a lot of different packages. My role as safety will take up a little bit more, so I'm excited for that, but I'm assuming they'll use me in some different packages as well." PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★ National Title Caliber; ★★★ Playoff Contention; ★★ Top 25 Potential; ★ Too Unproven Starters ★★ Notre Dame returns two players with significant starting experience, but one has had a roller-coaster career entering his senior season — Max Redfield. It would not be a shock to see the highly athletic talent put it all together in his final year in an Irish uniform, but it seems just as likely that freshman Devin Studstill could take over the starting role altogether. Cole Luke returns at cornerback and is as steady as they come in college football. Now that he's out of KeiVarae Russell's shadow — at least in personality — expect Luke to become more appreciated by Notre Dame followers and possibly on the national stage as well. Experience ★★★ Outside of Luke and Redfield, there is little experience in the Notre Dame defensive backfield. Junior safety Drue Tranquill and his backup, sixth-year senior Avery Sebas- tian, have both played a decent amount of college football, but their injury histories make them question marks heading into the fall. Expect a number of new faces, such as sophomore Shaun Crawford and freshmen Studstill and Jalen Elliott, to shake things up for Todd Lyght's unit. Depth ★★ At least on paper, there does not seem to be a significant amount of depth in Notre Dame's secondary, and the ability to overcome an injury to a key player seems dicey. Returning players such as junior Nick Watkins and sophomore Nick Coleman will have to emerge in addition to the regular names such as Redfield, but the depth will largely be determined by how quickly the freshmen absorb defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder's system. Overall Grade ★★ Notre Dame's starting defensive backs boasted a future third-round pick (Russell) and undrafted free agent signee (Elijah Shumate) last fall, not to mention a possible day-two pick (second and third rounds) in 2017 (Luke) and the highly coveted Red- field. That unit still proved to be prone to yielding big plays and a lack of consistency. It seems unlikely that the loss of Russell and Shumate will improve the unit, but there are a number of young players that seem ready for the opportunity this fall, a list that begins with Crawford and Studstill, who impressed in spring ball, and Elliott, who drew rave reviews from head coach Brian Kelly and Lyght before the Virginia native even stepped on campus. "We'll have some young guys that are going to come in this fall and be able to make an impact right away. That's what we've got to do. We've got to put the most athletic guys, the guys that give us a chance to make plays on the back end and guys that can prevent big plays so we can be successful defensively." DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH TODD LYGHT ON THE INCOMING FRESHMEN Junior safety Drue Tranquill hopes to stay healthy in 2016 after ACL tears end- ed his first two seasons in South Bend prematurely, limiting him to 14 games and 42 career stops. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA