Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 93 every practice, that physical toughness to our defense," Kelly said. "Joe Schmidt was a smart player, he was a heady player — but he wasn't the most physically gifted player that we had. Nyles Morgan is a tough, physical football player. "What we've asked him to do is be himself. You're not Joe Schmidt. He's doing a great job of getting us lined up. Now that you've got that and that's not an issue, he's a physical, tough player. We want that personality to come out and if that does, he will bring others around [him] and that toughness will start to show itself." Morgan said it was around midseason last year when the VanGorder defensive vernacular began to click with him. Now that he has the position all to himself (sophomore Josh Barajas is the one undergoing the major learning curve now at Mike), his confidence in the system and in his skills are combining to bring him to the forefront. With the loss of six starters on defense, notably Day and Smith, it has been easier for Morgan to wrest the leadership mantle. "I feel like my knowledge of the game has grown so much," Morgan said. "There's so much I know now that I wish I knew then. And then just my physicality — I've put on 20 pounds. With that and then adding the technique, I feel I'm way better now than I was then. "I finally got all that down, got all that together. … The offense moves, I can check it right, I can check it where I can give alerts." Still, his calling card as a player is aggression and relishing contact. He believes it is his job as the middle linebacker to set a tone of not merely procuring physical play, but one that is even "savage." "You have to show the young guys what to do and what to expect for next year," Morgan said. "If you don't, I feel like things will fall apart. This is what VanGorder wants, and I believe this is what the rest of the team wants as well. "Me as the middle linebacker, how would I be looking playing soft or not playing to the level that I can?" In a year's time, his role has changed 180 degrees. "You can't think of it as pressure," he said. "I think of at it as my chance, and I embrace it." Morgan is finished with dress rehearsals. Taking the grand stage in the lead role has arrived in act three. ✦ CUE UP THE NEW MIKE When Nyles Morgan signed with Notre Dame in February 2014, the expectation was that he would be the program's next great Mike linebacker. He was issued the No. 5 jersey donned by Manti Te'o (2009‑12), the most decorated linebacker in the history of college football. Outside of replacing an injured Joe Schmidt late in his freshman season, how‑ ever, Morgan was relegated to special teams and mop‑up duty his first two years. If Notre Dame is going to field a championship‑caliber defense in 2016, Morgan must become an All‑American in college like he was in high school. Prior to Schmidt's devastating injury suffered against Navy on Nov. 1, 2014, the Irish were yielding only 102.7 rushing yards per game and 3.1 yards per carry. In the 18 games since then, Notre Dame has been gashed to the tune of 191.8 yards per game on the ground and 4.7 yards per carry. The valiant Schmidt never returned to full speed in 2015, which prevented him from making plays from the middle. He frequently was unable to get to the foot‑ ball, or when he did arrive he often wasn't in position to make the play. The com‑ plexity of the defense also had Schmidt spending too much time making checks when the ball was being snapped, further hindering his ability to make plays. Finally, in early August 2015 the AC joint of his left shoulder (surgically repaired this spring) was damaged some, and a tear in his posterior labrum handicapped him even more — but the staff couldn't take him off the field because of his knowledge. "Being injured and being hurt are two different things," Schmidt told ESPN this spring. "I knew I could still participate and contribute … I thought I just needed to manage it and be smart about how I went the rest of the year." Despite Schmidt's supreme courage, Pro Football Focus gave him a minus‑27.3 overall grade in 2015, ranking him as the third worst inside linebacker in college football. Notre Dame cannot be a playoff contender with that level of production — or lack thereof — at Mike linebacker. Morgan has the physical talent to improve upon Schmidt's production while becoming an impact player. Teams can scheme to get the Will linebacker out of the box, and they can double‑team Notre Dame's more stout run defenders up front (seniors Jarron Jones and Isaac Rochell). Avoiding the Mike linebacker is a far more difficult task, as Te'o demonstrated during his dynamic 2012 season as a playmaker versus the run and pass. Vital to Morgan will be getting comfortable enough with the vast complexity of the defensive schemes to allow his immense physical gifts to flourish. If that happens, it could be argued that no player could have a bigger impact on the fortunes of the Irish defense. — Bryan Driskell Morgan earned Freshman All-America accolades from the Football Writers Associa- tion of America and Sporting News in 2014 after recording 47 tackles. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA "Impressive. How he's persevered, how he's shown toughness, went through some hard times. This is his time. He's done a really good job. I think he's a much different middle linebacker right now relative to the other players' trust. His communication has been solid." DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BRIAN VANGORDER ON MORGAN'S GROWTH THIS SPRING