Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 85 DEFENSIVE LINEMEN A rotation player his first two seasons, Cage emerged this spring as more of a playmaker for the Irish defense. Carrying that into the fall would give the Irish a pair of stout run stuffers up the middle, an absolute must in defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder's schemes. Day's replacement in the starting lineup will be Tillery, who moved to defensive tackle in the spring. Til- lery has found himself in the spotlight ever since arriving at Notre Dame, but his production underwhelmed during his first season. Now a sophomore, Tillery is ex- pected to play with more focus and fire, with the end result being greater results. "The expectation becomes really high and everybody wants him to do everything correct right now," Gilm- ore noted during spring practice. "I have to remind myself that he's a freshman, keep coaching him. He'll be where we need him to be when the time comes. "I'm still pushing, that hasn't changed. He's just starting to become a little more mature as young men do. From one year to the other they're going to get better; he's starting to get it. … He's in this pos- tion that we've got to have him step up like he's an upperclassman and really become a factor." Getting consistent effort — and production — from Tillery is a must, as the Irish lack experienced depth behind him. Gilmore is hoping that one of his sophomores — Micah Dew-Treadway or Elijah Taylor — emerges in fall camp, which would allow him to keep Jones and Cage at nose guard. The benefit is keeping the two plus- sized nose guards fresh throughout the season, something that did not happen the last two years. "I'm hoping another three-tech- nique develops and we can have two for two," Gilmore said, referring to having two players at each interior line position. "Jarron knows enough about our defense to play some three-technique, and if it comes to that, he can possibly do that." Production from the seniors can only take the Irish line so far. For the line to flourish this season, the weakside end position must be a strength. Okwara played solid football for the Irish last fall, but more impact plays are needed from the spot. The game of college football has changed a great deal the last decade, and Notre Dame's defensive inability to keep up with the new trends has held the program back. In 2005, there were two offenses (USC and Mis‑ souri) that ran at least 980 plays. In 2015, there were 33 offenses that ran at least 980 plays. In 2005, there were 29 teams that passed for at least 3,000 yards and just four teams that sur‑ passed the 4,000 yards mark through the air. No team that season passed for more than 5,000 yards, with Texas Tech's 4,666 yards serving as the national high. In 2015, there were 53 offenses that surpassed the 3,000 passing yards mark, 18 teams that surpassed 4,000 yards and four teams that piled up more than 5,000 yards through the air. Teams are throwing the ball more frequently and getting passes out quicker. The best defenses are able to control the line of scrimmage and disrupt the quarterback. Just look at the national championship games the last seven years. Last season, Alabama and Clemson played for the title and both teams ranked in the top five in sacks. The Crimson Tide ranked third with an average of 3.53 sacks per game, while the Tigers were fourth with 3.2 sacks per contest. In 2014, Ohio State averaged three sacks per game and Alabama averaged 2.47 sacks per game. In 2013, national champion Florida State averaged 2.5 sacks per game. In 2012, national champion Alabama averaged 2.5 sacks per game. Over the last seven seasons, only Alabama (2.29 in 2009 and 2.31 in 2011), Auburn (2.29 in 2013) and Oregon (2.47 in 2014) played for the title averaging fewer than 2.5 sacks per game. Notre Dame averaged just 1.92 sacks per game in 2015 and just 2.0 sacks per game in 2014. Defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder's defense simply has not created enough pressure. It's not a coincidence that Notre Dame went 12‑1 and made the BCS National Championship Game in the lone season under head coach Brian Kelly it averaged more than 2.5 sacks per game. VanGorder must be able to figure out a way to create pressure. Much talk centers on Notre Dame's lack of an elite individual pass rusher, but Oklahoma registered 39 sacks and earned a berth to the playoffs last season despite no player making more than 7.5 sacks. "Collectively, what we have to be able to do is activate more players," Kelly said of his pass rush. "We have to activate some more pressures from the boundary, some more pressures from the field." More individual production is still being counted on this fall. "We're looking for [Isaac] Rochell to give us more," Kelly said. "This is a big year for Jay Hayes. [Jerry] Tillery has got to give us more. This is a big year for [Grant] Blankenship. We're looking for something from Daelin [Hayes]." Regardless of where it comes from, the trends are clear: If Notre Dame wants to win a national championship in 2016, the pass rush has to show up in force each week. — Bryan Driskell Sophomore Jerry Tillery will slide over to the three-technique tackle in 2016 and look to build upon a solid rookie campaign in which he played in 12 games, made three starts and posted 12 tackles (two for loss). PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA IRISH DEFENSE MUST CREATE MORE PRESSURE "The bottom line is to win the game, and I'm go- ing to put the guys in that I think are ready to win the game. But I would like to get more of a rota- tion and guys not playing as many snaps as those guys did last year. You get past 50 [snaps], you've got to have a special guy. You don't want to go much above that with any guy if you can help it." DEFENSIVE LINE COACH KEITH GILMORE