Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/699309
78 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY LOU SOMOGYI N otre Dame's 2015 offense lost three of its starting five linemen, includ- ing a first- and second-round choice; a first-round, game-changing wide receiver in Will Fuller plus its other two start- ers there; and a 1,000-yard rusher … yet the expectation is that it should continue to thrive in 2016. It's the defense that will be watched with a more wary eye. It too is in a rebuilding mode after losing six of its 11 starters, most notably Butkus Award winner Jaylon Smith at linebacker. Problem is, the cynic will tell you the 2015 Fighting Irish defense wasn't good enough to have to "rebuild." Third-year defensive coordinator Brian Van- Gorder's veteran 2015 troops had an undistin- guished year, especially after closing out with 38-36 and 44-28 losses to Stanford and Ohio State, respectively. With a possible College Football Playoff bid on the line, it allowed the Cardinal to drive 55 yards in 25 seconds for the game-winning field goal as time elapsed. VanGorder's NFL scheme often is cited as the scapegoat for Notre Dame's defensive woes the past two years, although in fairness a plethora of injuries also contributed. Said an opposing Power Five coach to ESPN of VanGorder's defense: "Schemati- cally, he does more than double that of any of our other opponents. This is hard for us to prepare for, but it apparently is very hard for them to get right as well. Many of the big plays you saw against the 2015 defense on film were from missed assignments in the secondary." Brian Kelly discussed the Notre Dame de- fense with Blue & Gold Illustrated in an exclu- sive interview on June 9. Blue & Gold Illustrated: Offense is con- sidered your forte, but you made your bones on defense when you began coaching. Right now you have five assistants on offense and you are seen as the main play caller, while you have four assistants on defense. Do you see yourself taking on a greater role on defense, in practices and games? Brian Kelly: "I spend a lot more time on defense than people think I do: game planning, preparation, understanding what we're doing and why. "I feel really comfortable with the transition we've made on defense the past few years. We made a pretty big change from a 3-4, two- gap, cover-2 defense [under Bob Diaco from 2010-13] to a 4-3, fire-zone defense [with third-year coordinator Brian VanGorder]. We've caught up. "We'll begin to see the benefits of that in our recruiting. Our recruiting on the back end has changed considerably and we're going to begin to reap the benefits of that." BGI: How is the defense going to be better without your Butkus Award winner Jaylon Smith at linebacker, two-time captain Shel- don Day up front and several others when, in Coach VanGorder's own words, the unit was so inconsistent last year? BK: "Collectively we will have to be better across the board. Jaylon made up for a lot of mistakes last year. If we make a lot of mistakes again, we'll miss Jaylon every play. If we play collectively better as a defense, we'll then miss only a great player. We can't afford to miss him every play. "If we're cutting gaps loose and making bad plays, we're going to need that eraser we had last year — and it was called Jaylon Smith making up for bad plays." BGI: What have been the biggest issues DEFENSE Q&A Kelly noted the personnel that the Irish had the past couple of years didn't necessarily fit coordinator Brian VanGorder's scheme, which has been addressed in recent recruiting classes and should start to pay off in 2016. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA Brian Kelly addresses shifts and schemes in the defense the past couple of years Complex QUeSTIoNS