Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/841614
LINEBACKERS POSITION COACH Clark Lea is in his first season as Notre Dame's linebackers coach. During his first 11 seasons as a collegiate coach, he has mentored one All-American and 10 all-conference selections. In 2016, Lea served in the same capacity at Wake Forest under de- fensive coordinator Mike Elko, be- fore following him to South Bend. In his lone year at Winston-Salem, N.C., he helped the Demon Deacons rank among the top 20 of the Football Bowl Subdivision in fumbles recovered (third, 15), turnovers forced (tied for 10th, 27), sacks (11th, 3.15 per game) and defensive touchdowns (tied for 19th, three). Wake also allowed only 22.2 points (23rd nationally) and 370.5 yards per game (40th). Before joining Elko at Wake Forest, Lea spent three seasons as the linebackers coach at Syracuse (2013-15). The 2014 Orange defense held nine of its 12 opponents to less than their season average for total offense and yielded only nine rushing touch- downs — making it one of four schools nationally to surrender fewer than 10. In 2013, Syracuse ranked nationally in multiple categories, including third-down defense (15th), rush defense (24th), sacks (18th) and tackles for loss (18th). In his first season working with Elko at Bowling Green in 2012, Lea was a finalist for FootballScoop.com's Line- backers Coach of the Year honor. The Falcons ranked sixth in the country in total defense (296.6 yards al- lowed per contest) and 10th in scoring defense (16.7 points allowed per game). They also finished 11th in sacks (38), 12th in rushing defense (106.5 yards given up each contest) and 13th in pass defense (190.1 yards surrendered per game). Lea also coached at UCLA for four years, serving as a graduate assistant in 2006 and 2009 before becoming the linebackers coach in 2010 and 2011. While with the Bruins, he helped Akeem Ayers gar- ner All-America accolades in 2010 en route to be- coming a second-round pick in the NFL Draft. He also coached at South Dakota State for two seasons (2007-08), where he was the linebackers mentor while also serving as the recruiting coordina- tor for one year. In 2001, Lea was a member of the Birmingham- Southern College baseball team that captured the NAIA World Series title. The following year, he played baseball at Belmont. Finally, he played fullback at Vanderbilt from 2002-04 and was a two-time All-SEC Academic Team selection. The political science major earned his bachelor's in 2004 and his master's in 2007, with both degrees coming from Vanderbilt. RETURNING PLAYERS ASMAR BILAL • ROVER Jr. • Indianapolis Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 229 Career Highlights: Played in 12 games as a reserve last season … Registered 29 stops, three tackles for loss and one sack … Redshirted in 2015 and was tabbed as the program's Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year. Prep: Rated as a four-star recruit, the No. 2 player in Indiana, and the No. 8 outside linebacker and No. 87 overall prospect nationally by Scout … As a senior, racked up 155 tackles (104 solo), six stops for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception to help Ben Davis High (12-2) win the 6A state championship … Listed as a second-team All-American by MaxPreps … Hon- orable mention pick on the 2015 Parade All-America team … Selected to the USA Today All-USA Indi- ana first team and chosen as the state's Defensive Player of the Year … Named The Indianapolis Star's Mr. Football award winner at linebacker in 2014 … Named all-state by the Associated Press as a senior and was an honorable mention pick as a junior … Saw action in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Personal: Born April 12, 1997 … Enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters, majoring in sociology. Year G-GS Solo Asst. Total TFL Sacks 2016 12-0 12 17 29 3.0 1.0 TE'VON CONEY • BUCK Jr. • Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 235 Career Highlights: Saw action in all 12 contests and made nine starts last fall … Notched 62 stops, including 1.5 behind the line of scrimmage … Played in 12 games on special teams and as a reserve linebacker in 2015 after enrolling in January … Registered six tackles on special teams and finished the season with 13 total stops. Prep: Ranked as a four-star talent, the No. 20 pros- pect in Florida, and the No. 6 inside linebacker and No. 118 player in the land by Rivals … Totaled 136 tackles, 12 sacks, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions during his senior season … Logged 172 tackles, 14 sacks, six forced fumbles and two interceptions as a junior … Named to the Associ- ated Press Class 8A second-team all-state defense his last two years in high school … Started in the Under Armour All-American Game despite being a late addition. Personal: Born June 10, 1997 … Enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters, majoring in philosophy and minoring in business economics. Year G-GS Solo Asst. Total TFL Sacks 2015 12-0 6 7 13 0.5 1.0 2016 12-9 33 29 62 1.5 0.0 Totals 24-9 39 36 75 2.0 1.0 JAMIR JONES • MIKE So. • Rochester, N.Y. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 243 Career Highlights: Played in 10 contests in 2016, primarily on special teams … Finished the year with eight tackles (seven solo). Prep: Listed as a three-star prospect, the No. 4 recruit in New York and the No. 82 outside line- backer in the nation by 247Sports … As a senior, helped Aquinas Institute finish 13-0, win the New York Class AA state championship and be named the No. 14 team in the country in the final USA Today na- tional rankings … Compiled 98 tackles, 6.5 sacks and an interception on defense while also catching 43 passes for 822 yards (19.1 yards per catch) and nine touchdowns as a tight end … Named first-team all- state at linebacker by the New York State Sportswrit- ers Association … Was a second-team pick on the USA Today All-USA New York team … Played in the Semper Fidelis Bowl and notched an interception. Personal: Born June 14, 1998 … His older brother Jarron played along the defensive line for the Irish from 2012-16 … Two other older brothers, Jonathan and Matthew, played at Division II Gannon Uni- versity in Erie, Pa. … Also was a starter on Aquinas Institute's varsity basketball team … Enrolled in First Year of Studies. Year G-GS Solo Asst. Total TFL Sacks 2016 10-0 7 1 8 0.0 0.0 Sophomore Asmar Bilal played in all 12 games on special teams and as a reserve linebacker last year, and compiled 29 total stops, three tackles for loss and one sack. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 97