Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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96 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW LINEBACKERS and be physical," linebacker coach Mike Elston said of Morgan. "He's going to be making a lot of plays." Morgan is expected to fill the leadership vacuum lost by the de- parture of Smith and Schmidt, but he will not be alone. Senior James Onwualu is the most experienced returning linebacker, with 17 starts under his belt the last two seasons. When Kelly was asked during the spring about who was to emerge as a leader for the 2016 team, Onwualu's name was constantly mentioned. "James Onwualu is as solid of a guy as we have relative to how he goes about his business daily," VanGorder noted. "Preparation, on-field effort, he's consistent, very knowledgeable. Not a real vocal guy." Primarily a Sam linebacker his first two years, Onwualu was moved around in the spring depending on the personnel package the Irish sought to utilize. Morgan and Onwualu are entrenched as starters, but the replace- ment for Smith has yet to be determined. Shoulder injuries kept junior Greer Martini and sophomore Te'von Coney out all spring, pushing back a decision on a starter. Martini has started games at three different positions during his career, and Coney served as Smith's primary backup last season. Having a player with Martini's versatility is crucial to the Irish linebacker corps. He is the primary back up to Onwualu at Sam, a possible replacement for Morgan should he go down, and a likely challenger for the starting Will position in the fall. "Greer would afford us the opportunity to cross-train him," Elston explained. "We go to a nickel package and we put a dime in the game. Greer's got very good understanding of our coverages … so Greer could go from the Sam and when we put a nickel in for the Sam, he could pop over and play the dime position. Greer's got a lot of flexibility." Their absence in the spring created an opportunity for sophomore Asmar Bilal to make an impression on the staff. A Sam during his freshman season, Bilal was moved inside during the spring, and he got off to a rough start at his new position. "Lot of cleaning up to do in reaction, how to diagnose. Not where we'd like them to be," VanGorder said of Bilal early in spring prac- tice. "But he's got a good sense of urgency and it's getting better and he's a very good athlete, very good physical traits. … He's going to be a very good player for us." Bilal's willingness to work at his craft resulted in constant im- provement. So much so that by the end of spring, Bilal had emerged as one of the defense's top playmakers. "He's got great potential. He works hard, he's a very aggressive, physical football player," Elston praised. "He learns really well. … He's got great potential and Jaylon had to start somewhere, and that's where Asmar is. He's at the starting point of what we see as a prom- ising career. Knock on wood, barring he stays healthy, he's doing a really, really good job and he should do really well this year." The emergence of Morgan and Bilal, the veteran presence of Onwualu and the pending return to health of Martini and Coney combine to give the Irish coaching staff a great deal of confidence heading into the fall. "Assuming Te'von and Greer come back healthy at the level that they were and they can move their game forward during summer and fall camp, we're going to have a very solid linebacking corps," Elston said. Questions still abound, and on many levels every linebacker on the roster still has a lot to prove. But this season, Notre Dame will have plenty more options to choose from. If the talent can shine on Sat- urdays with any consistency, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Notre Dame could get its best linebacker play — as a unit — of the last 10 years. ✦ Year Player Total Tackles 2006 LB Maurice Crum 100 2007 DL Trevor Laws 112 2008 S Kyle McCarthy 110 2009 S Kyle McCarthy 101 2010 LB Manti Te'o 133 Year Player Total Tackles 2011 LB Manti Te'o 128 2012 LB Manti Te'o 113 2013 LB Dan Fox 95 2014 LB Jaylon Smith 112 2015 LB Jaylon Smith 114 YEAR-BY-YEAR LEADING TACKLER Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder runs a complex system that looks to attack and disrupt offenses, but over the last two seasons it has not been able to consistently produce to the levels needed to field a championship‑caliber unit. Despite the presence of consensus All‑American Jay‑ lon Smith, now a member of the Dallas Cowboys, the Irish starting linebackers totaled just 19 tackles for loss, six sacks and 10 quarterback hurries last fall. That level of production is not good enough considering the system. Notre Dame lacked playmakers outside of Smith, and a lack of depth at both linebacker and defensive back kept the Irish in their base defense for much of the sea‑ son. Heading into 2016, it appears the Irish are in posi‑ tion to get more production from the unit thanks to the emergence of junior Nyles Morgan at Mike linebacker and the presence of an athletic group of sophomores. Morgan took control of the linebacking corps dur‑ ing the spring and showed himself to be a playmaker, something Notre Dame has not had at the position the last two seasons. VanGorder likes to use his Mike linebacker as a blitzer from both the inside and outside, but 2015 starter Joe Schmidt lacked the explosiveness to make many plays, finishing with just four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Morgan brings greater size, speed and range to the position, which should result in a major bump in pro‑ duction from the position this fall. Even with Morgan in the lineup, Notre Dame needs more linebackers to emerge as legitimate playmakers, especially when it goes to its nickel (five defensive backs on the field) and dime (six defensive backs on the field) packages. VanGorder should have a number of options to choose from, but he will have to push the right buttons and find the right combinations. Sophomore Asmar Bilal might become VanGorder's best situational weapon. Bilal could end up as Notre Dame's starting Will linebacker, but even as a sub player he will be given an opportunity to become a major fac‑ tor in passing situations. Bilal has outstanding speed, which gives him the range to make sideline‑to‑sideline plays and the ability to disrupt as a blitzer. Bilal emerging gives VanGorder better flexibility. Schmidt was limited on passing downs opposite Smith, but Bilal has the physical talent to disrupt the quarter‑ back and cover. VanGorder will not have to use one linebacker to protect another, like he did last season with Smith and Schmidt. That diversity makes it hard for offenses to set their protections with confidence, not knowing which linebacker is going to come, and from which alignment. A return of health by strong safety Drue Tranquill gives Notre Dame another pass rushing weapon. If Morgan, Bilal and Tranquill can provide the defense with consistent pressure, Notre Dame will be able to field a far more disruptive defense even without any improvement from the line. — Bryan Driskell INCREASED SPEED COULD MEAN INCREASED PRESSURE "If we had everybody healthy right now, we would be [feeling] very, very good. Assuming Te'von [Coney] and Greer [Martini] come back healthy at the level that they were and they can move their game forward during summer and fall camp, we're going to have a very solid linebacking corps." LINEBACKERS COACH MIKE ELSTON IN MID-APRIL