Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 95 LINEBACKERS None will have more expectations placed upon his shoulders than junior Mike linebacker Nyles Morgan. Thrust into a starting role as a true freshman in 2014, Morgan re- sponded with a 47-tackle season that resulted in him earning Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America honors. His physical skills were obvious, but he struggled with the complexity of the defensive scheme. Those same issues apparently kept him from being anything but a special teams player and a backup linebacker last fall, with Schmidt getting the starting nod all season. Kelly believes that Morgan will rise to the occasion in 2016. "He's got nobody in front of him, and I think that's going to help him dramatically," he said. "There's no Joe Schmidt in front of him, and as much as we loved having Joe Schmidt here and as much as we'll miss him, it's going to help Nyles not to have Joe Schmidt here because now he can just go and play and not have a wall in front of him. "Nyles is extremely committed. I mean, he loves to play. This is his time. He knows it. He's got the athletic ability." While no one questioned Morgan's physical talent, his ability to lead and handle the complexity of the defense was in doubt. By the time spring practice had come to a close, talk about Morgan being able to assume the mantle of leadership seemed more of a given than the question it was just a month before. "Here's a guy that didn't play much last year and stepped into the middle linebacker role," Kelly said of Morgan following spring practice. "There was always a lot of talk about Coach VanGorder's system and it's so complicated and you've got to communicate and no one's really talked about Nyles — and it's because Nyles has been that good this spring. "He's gotten our defense lined up effortlessly. There's been great communication and he's played extremely well. I think a lot of it has to do with how hard he works at the game … we haven't talked a lot about him because he has been really good this spring in running our defense from that position." Schmidt's ability to get the defense lined up and to organize the unit prior to the snap kept him on the field last season. Simply re- peating what Schmidt did before the snap will not give the Irish the improvements it needs in the middle of the defense. Notre Dame must improve its run defense after giving up more than 170 yards per game on the ground the last two seasons. Without much improved play from the Mike linebacker, that will not happen. At 6-1 and 245 pounds, Morgan has the size and power to thrive on the inside, but what separates him from Schmidt is the dramatic improvement in athleticism Notre Dame will receive with him on the field. "He's going to get us lined up and he's going to be flying around Versatile junior Greer Martini — who boasts 61 career tackles, including 4.5 for loss and two sacks — has the ability to line up at the Sam, Mike and Will positions. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★ National Title Contention; ★★★ Playoff Contention; ★★ Top 25 Potential; ★Too Unproven Starters ★★ There is understandable excitement about junior Nyles Morgan's emergence as the starting Mike linebacker, but what Notre Dame will get from him once the ac‑ tion begins is a major question mark. He failed to beat out the respected yet much maligned Joe Schmidt last season. If Morgan's production matches his potential, Notre Dame will have found a play‑ maker at a position that proved to be its top weakness last season. Senior James Onwualu has emerged as a leader on the Irish defense, and improve‑ ments are expected now that he enters his third season as a starter. A fall camp battle will rage to determine who starts at Will linebacker, with sophomores Asmar Bilal and Te'von Coney competing against junior Greer Martini. Experience ★★ Onwualu is the most experienced player, with 17 career linebacker starts under his belt. At times last season he flashed playmaking ability, but there was too much inconsistency in his game. Now a senior, Onwualu must execute at a higher level and set the example for what is an otherwise green linebacking corps. Morgan started four games in 2014 as a true freshman, but his reps last fall were limited to mop‑up duty. Martini has made six starts during his career, three of which came as a specialist against the triple option. Like Morgan, Coney was limited to special teams and mop‑up duty last season. Bilal and sophomore Josh Barajas red ‑ shirted last season. Depth ★★½ From a pure numbers standpoint, Notre Dame does not have ideal depth. There are just eight scholarship linebackers on the roster, and two of them are true freshmen the staff would like to redshirt. What Notre Dame has is depth of talent. Even with limited numbers, Notre Dame has five linebackers good enough to start and the sixth scholarship returner — sophomore Josh Barajas — was the highest‑ranked linebacker recruit on the roster behind Morgan. The depth chart is boosted by the presence of sophomore walk‑on linebackers Devyn Spruell and Brandon Hutson. Neither are starting caliber players in the Power 5 Conferences, but both could provide depth in a pinch. Overall Grade ★★ There is just too much uncertainty to call the linebacker position a strength of the Notre Dame football team. A starter must be determined at Will and the players be ‑ ing counted on to be top playmakers — Morgan, Bilal and Coney — have very little experience. For Notre Dame, the success of the defense could hinge on the ability of the un‑ proven linebacking corps to realize its potential. If Morgan becomes the playmaker the Irish staff hopes he can be, if the sophomores back up their prep ranking, and if veterans Onwualu and Martini continue their development, the linebacker unit could go from the defense's biggest question to possibly its best unit.