Notre Dames Dline Depth and talent is off the charts !

[Bodizephax]

This is the best Irish dline since the Ross Browner--Willy Frye days !!
The dline will make it easy for the secondary and linebackers !!
Defense is how Championships are won !! The Irish gave you a glimpse of how great they could be last year but this year they finish the job and shock the World !!! 14 and 0 !! Go Irish !! This is just the start !!

Manning the middle and stuffing the run and taking up blockers are;
Myron Taglovaila-Amosa ( Maybe the best of them)
Jerry Tillery ( Breakout season for star senior--two years of Ballis)
Jonathon Bonner (Dude keeps getting bigger and stronger)
Kurt Hinish ( Jack Lambert tough--played alot as a true freshman)
Jason Ademilola ( Most talented of interior lineman--will get in rotation--beast !
Darnell Ewell ( Great talent--but like Louis Nix--sat as true frosh)
Mountain Dew Treadway-- Monster ! 6'4.5 340 pounds ! Great Depth player. Would start for most teams not named Notre Dame or Alabama !
Ja'Mion Franklin--- Don't sleep on Ja'Mion-- true frosh but Super strong and ready to get some minutes. Reminds me of Sheldon Day !

Manning the outside and reeking havoc on the quarterbacks are ;

Khalid Kareem -- ( The best of the lot who turned down Alabama to attend Notre Dame !! Made some great plays last year but will emerge as one of the Nations best ! May break Tuitts record of 12 sacks in a season !! The skys the limit for Khalid ! Enjoy him while you can ! He will be drafted in the first round in the NFL IN 2019 !

Daelin Hayes-- Another superstar Dend from the class of 16 ! Will challenge Kareem for sack lead ! Like Gastineu and Klecko ! Great speed rusher !

Julian Okwara--- Super talent ! Maybe better than his brother ! Quarterbacks look the hell out !

AdetoKumbo Oguneji-- Tall ! longarmed ! and fast ! will get some sacks ! NFL material !

Justin Ademilola---- True frosh but a great talent--will want to show his brother whats up !

Jamir Jones--another great recruit from the class of 16--big and strong ! Meaner than his brother !

Kofi Wardlow-- word on the street is he is really taking to Ballis !

 

[Telx1]

Bodi...defense for sure should be a major strength for this team. Could argue the back seven will be more impactful than the front DL. Agree with much of your one liner assessments, but not all. Not sure Ewell will see the field this year beond mop up duty as the reports consistently refer to his lack of technique and instincts, etc... and the reality is he is far behind his competition. Not sure he’ll ever be the impact player many expected when he committed. I don’t Share your view about Treadway as he has never played at a consistent high level. But hell yes, really looking forward to seeing how this unit comes together, and whether they reach their considerable upside potential you suggest. The starting four of Hayes and Bonner and Tillery and Kareem is skillful, experienced and complimentary, and the two deep is better than I can recall at ND in a very long time. It’s going to be interesting to see how Lea finds ways to get Okwara and Ogundeji on the field as major role players who can be really disruptive. Anxious to see our incoming freshmen, but they will be hard pressed to see much action with the exception of Jason Ademilola who has the potential to be exceptional for us. Heck, I was even anxious to see Kofi get some reps this year, as his considerable raw athleticism and relative inexperience suggest a high upside, but looks like we’ll have to wait until his junior year to see the impact of all his hard work. Just a really exciting group of complimentary talented players to go along with an equally if not more talented back seven this year. Thinking we’ll finally see opposing QB’s scrambling for their lives when playing ND, and that will be a welcomed sight!

 

[zonairish]

Bodi, I think this D will be a good one. The balance of the D is the strength. I believe the overall DB, and DL will dominate most teams alone. Also the linebackers are excellent we just may or may not have the depth there but they are great group also.

 

[Bodizephax]

I will be giving writeups on the linebackers and secondary this Friday! They are both superGreat units ! This defense is loaded ! Best in Decades !

 

[ftnfan62]

Had a pic of JT on twittter. The dude has transformed his body under the new S&C program. Looks like an NFL DL. No more baby fat on that man. Gonna be something.

 

[Rockne's Rambler]

Had a pic of JT on twittter. The dude has transformed his body under the new S&C program. Looks like an NFL DL. No more baby fat on that man. Gonna be something.

Is Bodi Sparky Anderson?

 

[coolirish9]

can't wait to see this front seven of ours chasing Michigan QBs all over the field on sept 1st. Michigan's bad OL could really get the QBs hurt in this game

 

[hfhmilkman]

There is no doubt that the defense will be very good. If you look at 2nd level metrics this was a top 30 unit last year. That all said there are caps. Last years defense was very good at preventing big plays and on any given down and distance keep a team from its average. In this case ND was a top10 outfit. Where ND hurt was in havoc rate. As good as Notre Dame was at keeping teams off schedule they were poor at generating big plays themselves. This might not be so important against an average team. However, this can be a deadly flaw against a stronger offense that can stay on schedule. I will give some examples.

Last year if there was a team that generated 4 ypa, Notre Dame's defense was very good at giving up less. So 1st and 10 would turn into 2nd and 8, 3rd and six etc. Now lets say ND was up against a stronger offense that generated 6 ypa. ND's defense might knock off the same 2 yards. But that means 2nd and 6, 3rd and 2, then first down.

The only way to get this kind of team off the field is havoc!!! If you blow a play up so that 1st and 10 become 2nd and 15, you can get give up a lot more than 4 ypa on the remaining 2 plays to either force a punt or a 4th down. With a big havoc defense getting even one yard is uncertain.

I'm not saying ND will not be an elite defense next year. However, to make the next step the havoc rate has to increase be it plays for negative yardage or more turnovers. Without that stronger teams will be able to stay on schedule. So I would ask is there anyone who can step up and do what Teo and Tuitt did for the 2012 defense? I would say to make that next jump ND defense needs to retain the same S&P numbers for last year while bumping the havoc rate by another 40 to 50 percent.

 

[NDAFArly]

There is no doubt that the defense will be very good. If you look at 2nd level metrics this was a top 30 unit last year. That all said there are caps. Last years defense was very good at preventing big plays and on any given down and distance keep a team from its average. In this case ND was a top10 outfit. Where ND hurt was in havoc rate. As good as Notre Dame was at keeping teams off schedule they were poor at generating big plays themselves. This might not be so important against an average team. However, this can be a deadly flaw against a stronger offense that can stay on schedule. I will give some examples.

Last year if there was a team that generated 4 ypa, Notre Dame's defense was very good at giving up less. So 1st and 10 would turn into 2nd and 8, 3rd and six etc. Now lets say ND was up against a stronger offense that generated 6 ypa. ND's defense might knock off the same 2 yards. But that means 2nd and 6, 3rd and 2, then first down.

The only way to get this kind of team off the field is havoc!!! If you blow a play up so that 1st and 10 become 2nd and 15, you can get give up a lot more than 4 ypa on the remaining 2 plays to either force a punt or a 4th down. With a big havoc defense getting even one yard is uncertain.

I'm not saying ND will not be an elite defense next year. However, to make the next step the havoc rate has to increase be it plays for negative yardage or more turnovers. Without that stronger teams will be able to stay on schedule. So I would ask is there anyone who can step up and do what Teo and Tuitt did for the 2012 defense? I would say to make that next jump ND defense needs to retain the same S&P numbers for last year while bumping the havoc rate by another 40 to 50 percent.

ND had pick 6’s against two ranked teams (MSU & NC State) & Also came very close to a third against top 10 USC (got tackled from behind after the pick).
I would say those are “havoc” plays against good teams.
ND was ranked 20th overall last year & brings back 10 starters (11 if you count the nickel package). ND is two-deep at CB, Safety, DT, DE. LB is the question mark as far as depth, but really good starters.

 

[zonairish]

If our d-line can disrupt michigan's line put pressure on Shea we will win. I was watching a bit of Shea as a QB. He is athletic confident and thinks he can win it himself. The latter is good and bad. The problem occurs when under pressure he takes a lot of risks and the pics happen. Look at Miss games when he played good teams. In every case he was overwhelmed by a good D and made a lot of bad decisions. therefore our key to victory

 

[Telx1]

ND had pick 6’s against two ranked teams (MSU & NC State) & Also came very close to a third against top 10 USC (got tackled from behind after the pick).
I would say those are “havoc” plays against good teams.
ND was ranked 20th overall last year & brings back 10 starters (11 if you count the nickel package). ND is two-deep at CB, Safety, DT, DE. LB is the question mark as far as depth, but really good starters.

NDAFarly....yes, those are havoc plays, but I think the point is we didn’t have nearly enough. Not talking pick six necessarily, but sacks and QB hurries, tackles for loss, etc... I believe this defense will change that narrative, and it starts with Michigan.

 

[hfhmilkman]

NDAFarly....yes, those are havoc plays, but I think the point is we didn’t have nearly enough. Not talking pick six necessarily, but sacks and QB hurries, tackles for loss, etc... I believe this defense will change that narrative, and it starts with Michigan.

I agree with you. I'm not looking at memorable plays but the total compilation adjusted to opponent competence of course. A lot also depends on attitude of the coordinator. I don't know ND's new coordinator. The bottom line was ND's front 7 did not generate a lot of big plays. That is fine. Bend but don't break is a legit scheme. I just think it is capped because the only way to beat a great team is for your team to make a play first. Contrast to Don Brown. UM has 9 of 11 starters returning. They are more willing to give up explosion plays for the opportunity to make one. This is a team that had 45 sacks last year with most of the key contributers being 2nd year players. So as a UM fan I am really excited to see what this defense can do now that they are not so young. I had mentioned if you really believe ND is a top 5 player who are the monsters like Teo and Tuitt. UM has a couple of guys in Gary and Bush who could be those kinds of players. And they had a CB who only allowed 8 catches the entire year.

So I would ask who are is projected to have the monster year on defense. You can have an overperforming defense. But if you do not have a couple players who just kill it like a Teo, you are not going to be dominant. When I mean dominant it is someone who is the best at their position in the country. Who are they?

 

[SIhoosier26]

I agree with you. I'm not looking at memorable plays but the total complication adjusted to opponent competence of course. A lot also depends on attitude of the coordinator. I don't know ND's new coordinator. The bottom line was ND's front 7 did not generate a lot of big plays. That is fine. Bend but don't break is a legit scheme. I just think it is capped because the only way to beat a great team is for your team to make a play first. Contrast to Don Brown. UM has 9 of 11 starters returning. They are more willing to give up explosion plays for the opportunity to make one. This is a team that had 45 sacks last year with most of the key contributers being 2nd year players. So as a UM fan I am really excited to see what this defense can do now that they are not so young. I had mentioned if you really believe ND is a top 5 player who are the monsters like Teo and Tuitt. UM has a couple of guys in Gary and Bush who could be those kinds of players. And they had a CB who only allowed 8 catches the entire year.

So I would ask who are is projected to have the monster year on defense. You can have an overperforming defense. But if you do not have a couple players who just kill it like a Teo, you are not going to be dominant. When I mean dominant it is someone who is the best at their position in the country. Who are they.

Michigan's trash

 

[NDAFArly]

I agree with you. I'm not looking at memorable plays but the total complication adjusted to opponent competence of course. A lot also depends on attitude of the coordinator. I don't know ND's new coordinator. The bottom line was ND's front 7 did not generate a lot of big plays. That is fine. Bend but don't break is a legit scheme. I just think it is capped because the only way to beat a great team is for your team to make a play first. Contrast to Don Brown. UM has 9 of 11 starters returning. They are more willing to give up explosion plays for the opportunity to make one. This is a team that had 45 sacks last year with most of the key contributers being 2nd year players. So as a UM fan I am really excited to see what this defense can do now that they are not so young. I had mentioned if you really believe ND is a top 5 player who are the monsters like Teo and Tuitt. UM has a couple of guys in Gary and Bush who could be those kinds of players. And they had a CB who only allowed 8 catches the entire year.

So I would ask who are is projected to have the monster year on defense. You can have an overperforming defense. But if you do not have a couple players who just kill it like a Teo, you are not going to be dominant. When I mean dominant it is someone who is the best at their position in the country. Who are they.

Just so we are clear here.
That’s a Michigan D that gave up about 15 a game to Cincy, AF, Rutgers, IU, Purdue, Minnesota, Maryland & UF (who had the worst offense of all of them). But gave up 31 a game to OSU, PSU, UW & SC (ranked teams).
(I left off MSU, even though MSU won it was a monsoon).
So Michigan’s D beat up on the weak & got hammered by the good teams?

 

[hfhmilkman]

Just so we are clear here.
That’s a Michigan D that gave up about 15 a game to Cincy, AF, Rutgers, IU, Purdue, Minnesota, Maryland & UF (who had the worst offense of all of them). But gave up 31 a game to OSU, PSU, UW & SC (ranked teams).
(I left off MSU, even though MSU won it was a monsoon).
So Michigan’s D beat up on the weak & got hammered by the good teams?

I am a long winded, well windbag. However, I make my case by the numbers. I made an extremely long case to FriedmanIP on why I believed UM could be a top ten defense this year regardless of how you do the measuring. I will summarize but if you want me to pull out my numbers I have them tabulated somewhere.

The UM defense last year was extremely young with ten new starters. One of the consequences of the Brady Hoke implosion is there was a two year gap in recruiting. Us numbers folks back in 2014 knew that 2017 was going to be a very tough year. Don Brown assembled a very capable 1st team. However, due to what I described above there was a lack of depth. If you are going to play an elite team, you must have a two deep rotation on the defensive line. Football, especially on defense is an explosion sport. Unless you are a freak of nature, a Dlineman has only so many plays in him where he can perform at 100%. I charted every single defensive snap of the set of Wisc, OSU, and SC. This was roughly the first 50 plays which came out to 70% of the total snaps. This was the entire first half plus the first three drives of the second half. More points were scored in the last 30% of the game by snaps than the first 70%. I do not remember the yardage but I thought it too was greater. Prior to that inflection point the UM defense was holding opposing offenses to 3 and out or less on 66% of the drives. After that they could not stop a ground sloth. It was pretty clear to me that the defense just gassed out against better teams that could execute.

The second narrative is the defense was incredibly young. Pretty much all of those starters though talented were young. They made mistakes. The unfortunate side affect of an aggressive defense is a mistake was costly.

So going backwards older players make fewer mistakes. The 2nd largest jump in competency is 1st year starter to 2nd year. The individuals who have the opportunity to be dominant at their positions Gary, Bush, Hudson, and Hill are all 3rd year players.

The second change from 2017 is there were a bunch of frosh who were 2017's version of Gary, Bush, Hudson, and Hill. This does two things. A new starter is not surrounded by nine other new starters. The 2nd item is that a bunch of these individuals will be able to participate on a meaningful two deep. They just were not ready. If the 2nd unit can spell the first unit and keep total plays to below 50, than the collapses will not occur.

Regardless of what the offense does, I see no reason why UM cannot make a significant jump in defensive efficiency. They have most of their sacks & TFL coming back. They will be significantly faster at LB. No more wheel routes. They had a fabulous havoc rate. They also had one of the best 3 and out marks. They had the best pass defense in the nation with 4 brand new starters with Hill allowing 8 the entire year.

Optimism knows no limits in early summer. It could all come crashing down come the evening of Sept 2nd. Until them I see a lot to be encouraged by. It is pretty much the same defense except with a year of experience and now reinforcements.

 

[NDAFArly]

I am a long winded, well windbag. However, I make my case by the numbers. I made an extremely long case to FriedmanIP on why I believed UM could be a top ten defense this year regardless of how you do the measuring. I will summarize but if you want me to pull out my numbers I have them tabulated somewhere.

The UM defense last year was extremely young with ten new starters. One of the consequences of the Brady Hoke implosion is there was a two year gap in recruiting. Us numbers folks back in 2014 knew that 2017 was going to be a very tough year. Don Brown assembled a very capable 1st team. However, due to what I described above there was a lack of depth. If you are going to play an elite team, you must have a two deep rotation on the defensive line. Football, especially on defense is an explosion sport. Unless you are a freak of nature, a Dlineman has only so many plays in him where he can perform at 100%. I charted every single defensive snap of the set of Wisc, OSU, and SC. This was roughly the first 50 plays which came out to 70% of the total snaps. This was the entire first half plus the first three drives of the second half. More points were scored in the last 30% of the game by snaps than the first 70%. I do not remember the yardage but I thought it too was greater. Prior to that inflection point the UM defense was holding opposing offenses to 3 and out or less on 66% of the drives. After that they could not stop a ground sloth. It was pretty clear to me that the defense just gassed out against better teams that could execute.

The second narrative is the defense was incredibly young. Pretty much all of those starters though talented were young. They made mistakes. The unfortunate side affect of an aggressive defense is a mistake was costly.

So going backwards older players make fewer mistakes. The 2nd largest jump in competency is 1st year starter to 2nd year. The individuals who have the opportunity to be dominant at their positions Gary, Bush, Hudson, and Hill are all 3rd year players.

The second change from 2017 is there were a bunch of frosh who were 2017's version of Gary, Bush, Hudson, and Hill. This does two things. A new starter is not surrounded by nine other new starters. The 2nd item is that a bunch of these individuals will be able to participate on a meaningful two deep. They just were not ready. If the 2nd unit can spell the first unit and keep total plays to below 50, than the collapses will not occur.

Regardless of what the offense does, I see no reason why UM cannot make a significant jump in defensive efficiency. They have most of their sacks & TFL coming back. They will be significantly faster at LB. No more wheel routes. They had a fabulous havoc rate. They also had one of the best 3 and out marks. They had the best pass defense in the nation with 4 brand new starters with Hill allowing 8 the entire year.

Optimism knows no limits in early summer. It could all come crashing down come the evening of Sept 2nd. Until them I see a lot to be encouraged by. It is pretty much the same defense except with a year of experience and now reinforcements.

I’m not saying the UM defense isn’t good. Not saying they aren’t top 10. But the notion they are the ‘85 Bears is getting out of contro.

I watched them play. That’s why stats aren’t big to me. I watched with my own eyes their inability to get off the field versus good teams.
I saw them in key situations when they needed a stop they couldn’t get one (or 4 agsins SC).e
Using stats is also very misleading at times. MSU was down 38-10 at home versus ND & already has 3 turnovers late in the 3rd quarter. Then they put up almost 300 yards in the final 20 minutes in a blowout loss, but the MSU fans point to total yardage & say how close the game actually was. No. It wasn’t close.

You can crank out stats until you are blue in the face. I watched them get ran over by OSU, PSU & UW. I saw them give up a 3 score lead in a bowl game to an average team & could not get off the field in 4 straight possessions. They performed well against zero good teams. Elite defenses don’t give up 31 points a game against ranked opponents (a sample size of 40% of their schedule).
ND’s defense was top 20 against the #1 ranked schedule in the country (7 top 25 teams). And they gave up a lot of yards & points in the 4th quarter in blowout wins. And I still don’t think they are top 10 defense this year. But everybody seems to think UM’s is elite?

 

[hfhmilkman]

I’m not saying the UM defense isn’t good. Not saying they aren’t top 10. But the notion they are the ‘85 Bears is getting out of contro.

I watched them play. That’s why stats aren’t big to me. I watched with my own eyes their inability to get off the field versus good teams.
I saw them in key situations when they needed a stop they couldn’t get one (or 4 agsins SC).e
Using stats is also very misleading at times. MSU was down 38-10 at home versus ND & already has 3 turnovers late in the 3rd quarter. Then they put up almost 300 yards in the final 20 minutes in a blowout loss, but the MSU fans point to total yardage & say how close the game actually was. No. It wasn’t close.

You can crank out stats until you are blue in the face. I watched them get ran over by OSU, PSU & UW. I saw them give up a 3 score lead in a bowl game to an average team & could not get off the field in 4 straight possessions. They performed well against zero good teams. Elite defenses don’t give up 31 points a game against ranked opponents (a sample size of 40% of their schedule).
ND’s defense was top 20 against the #1 ranked schedule in the country (7 top 25 teams). And they gave up a lot of yards & points in the 4th quarter in blowout wins. And I still don’t think they are top 10 defense this year. But everybody seems to think UM’s is elite?

Using statistics poorly is as bad as the eye test or judging on wins and losses. I thought I made a case where there was an inflection in games where UM loss. The first 9 drives their defense was dominant. After that it fell off a cliff for the reasons I described.

Good sites accound

I’m not saying the UM defense isn’t good. Not saying they aren’t top 10. But the notion they are the ‘85 Bears is getting out of contro.

I watched them play. That’s why stats aren’t big to me. I watched with my own eyes their inability to get off the field versus good teams.
I saw them in key situations when they needed a stop they couldn’t get one (or 4 agsins SC).e
Using stats is also very misleading at times. MSU was down 38-10 at home versus ND & already has 3 turnovers late in the 3rd quarter. Then they put up almost 300 yards in the final 20 minutes in a blowout loss, but the MSU fans point to total yardage & say how close the game actually was. No. It wasn’t close.

You can crank out stats until you are blue in the face. I watched them get ran over by OSU, PSU & UW. I saw them give up a 3 score lead in a bowl game to an average team & could not get off the field in 4 straight possessions. They performed well against zero good teams. Elite defenses don’t give up 31 points a game against ranked opponents (a sample size of 40% of their schedule).
ND’s defense was top 20 against the #1 ranked schedule in the country (7 top 25 teams). And they gave up a lot of yards & points in the 4th quarter in blowout wins. And I still don’t think they are top 10 defense this year. But everybody seems to think UM’s is elite?

I think eyeball tests are very dangerous because it does the same as the totality of win verses losses. I think I made a case where I used statistics correctly. Stats are like any tool that if misused can generate garbage. I made my case where I saw a tale of two teams. If you disagree we see what happens come 09/02. I never made a declarations of worlds greatest defense, only that I was excited for the potential for significant improvement. That is part of statistics to attempt to make a prediction missed by others.

Good stats sites will account for strength of schedule and garbage time. Bad stats like the old batting average, RBI, and HR numbers will give bad results. The good sties for example do not give MSU credit for what was done against ND in garbage time just as Shea Patterson gets no credit for what he did against Auburn in the 2nd half.

I personally like the football outsiders site. They break defense down into the various pieces so you can see the composition and real value of a defense. You are absolutely correct the UM defense had flaws. The primary one being depth and inexperience. Football outsiders compiled them as 10th flaws included. They do account for strength of schedule. So this is an adjusted number. If a team with that many new starters and that young can put up some good numbers I am encouraged for the following year especially when there are a score of players ready to augment the starters already there.

As an example where the leisurely eye fails you cite the SC game. The offense turned the ball over 5 times in 20 minutes including a fumble at the SC goal line, a fumble in their own red zone on a botched QB/RB exchange, an interception into the SC end zone, and a botched punt return catch in the red zone. What defense can handle 5 TO's in a half? Maybe the Baltimore Ravens? I am spiraling on a tangent but last years team was really young and suffered injuries where they could not afford. Look at who started at receiver in that SC game. They started two true freshman at the X and Y. Nico Collins was hurt the entire year who had exactly one catch going into the bowl game because there was no one left. They took an outside receiver and put him in the slot because there were no slot receivers. I'm sure there were a lot of 2 TE sets. So from my take it will not be the 3rd string QB throwing to two true freshman nor a bunch of first year starters on defense.

And that is why I am encouraged.

 

[IrishInOntario]

This is the best Irish dline since the Ross Browner--Willy Frye days !!
The dline will make it easy for the secondary and linebackers !!
Defense is how Championships are won !! The Irish gave you a glimpse of how great they could be last year but this year they finish the job and shock the World !!! 14 and 0 !! Go Irish !! This is just the start !!

Manning the middle and stuffing the run and taking up blockers are;
Myron Taglovaila-Amosa ( Maybe the best of them)
Jerry Tillery ( Breakout season for star senior--two years of Ballis)
Jonathon Bonner (Dude keeps getting bigger and stronger)
Kurt Hinish ( Jack Lambert tough--played alot as a true freshman)
Jason Ademilola ( Most talented of interior lineman--will get in rotation--beast !
Darnell Ewell ( Great talent--but like Louis Nix--sat as true frosh)
Mountain Dew Treadway-- Monster ! 6'4.5 340 pounds ! Great Depth player. Would start for most teams not named Notre Dame or Alabama !
Ja'Mion Franklin--- Don't sleep on Ja'Mion-- true frosh but Super strong and ready to get some minutes. Reminds me of Sheldon Day !

Manning the outside and reeking havoc on the quarterbacks are ;

Khalid Kareem -- ( The best of the lot who turned down Alabama to attend Notre Dame !! Made some great plays last year but will emerge as one of the Nations best ! May break Tuitts record of 12 sacks in a season !! The skys the limit for Khalid ! Enjoy him while you can ! He will be drafted in the first round in the NFL IN 2019 !

Daelin Hayes-- Another superstar Dend from the class of 16 ! Will challenge Kareem for sack lead ! Like Gastineu and Klecko ! Great speed rusher !

Julian Okwara--- Super talent ! Maybe better than his brother ! Quarterbacks look the hell out !

AdetoKumbo Oguneji-- Tall ! longarmed ! and fast ! will get some sacks ! NFL material !

Justin Ademilola---- True frosh but a great talent--will want to show his brother whats up !

Jamir Jones--another great recruit from the class of 16--big and strong ! Meaner than his brother !

Kofi Wardlow-- word on the street is he is really taking to Ballis !

Can't agree with your title. I think their D-line talent can easily be charted. I would rank them in the top 15 range in terms of overall D-line talent / development. Not elite, but plenty solid.

 

[NDAFArly]

Can't agree with your title. I think their D-line talent can easily be charted. I would rank them in the top 15 range in terms of overall D-line talent / development. Not elite, but plenty solid.

I am a huge Ademilola fan & the fact he won’t be needed, & might not play meaningful snaps shows how much improved they are.

He was graded an A+ at the Opening Finals, beating out a lot of top ranked DL there. And the lineman are actually in pads, hitting, so it’s not a t-shirt & shirts ranking. It’s the best DL going against the best OL in the country in real football.

In years past he would be in the rotation, if not starting, but this year he probably will not play much.

 

[IrishInOntario]

I am a huge Ademilola fan & the fact he won’t be needed, & might not play meaningful snaps shows how much improved they are.

He was graded an A+ at the Opening Finals, beating out a lot of top ranked DL there. And the lineman are actually in pads, hitting, so it’s not a t-shirt & shirts ranking. It’s the best DL going against the best OL in the country in real football.

In years past he would be in the rotation, if not starting, but this year he probably will not play much.

Jayson will play. The same way Sheldon played as a freshman. He's an infinitely better talent than Kurt Hinish and superior to MTA as well. He's a rare talent. The top 3-tech in the nation this past cycle. That said, he's about 285lbs right now. It will be interesting to see of they can add 5lbs of good muscle on him in the 6 weeks leading up to summer lifting. The rotation should be...

NG: John Bonner
2. Jerry Tillery
3. Kurt Hinish
4. Micah Dew-Treadway

3 Tech: Jerry Tillery
2. MTA
3. Jayson Ademilola

I think Tillery is too good not plah 60 snaps. So you move him to nose for 20 snaps per game when Bonner needs a blow and divide the remaining snaps at 3 tech between MTA and Ademilola. If they get 10-15 snaps each, so be it. But both need to play. Hinish and Dew-Treadway are on mop up duty this year until there is an inevitable injury.

 

[Telx1]

Jayson will play. The same way Sheldon played as a freshman. He's an infinitely better talent than Kurt Hinish and superior to MTA as well. He's a rare talent. The top 3-tech in the nation this past cycle. That said, he's about 285lbs right now. It will be interesting to see of they can add 5lbs of good muscle on him in the 6 weeks leading up to summer lifting. The rotation should be...

NG: John Bonner
2. Jerry Tillery
3. Kurt Hinish
4. Micah Dew-Treadway

3 Tech: Jerry Tillery
2. MTA
3. Jayson Ademilola

I think Tillery is too good not plah 60 snaps. So you move him to nose for 20 snaps per game when Bonner needs a blow and divide the remaining snaps at 3 tech between MTA and Ademilola. If they get 10-15 snaps each, so be it. But both need to play. Hinish and Dew-Treadway are on mop up duty this year until there is an inevitable injury.

IIO... Your reference to Hinish relegated to mop up duty surprises me. I don’t expect to see Tillery getting the twenty snaps at NG at Hinish expense as you suggest. Hinish surprised me last year as I think most of us expected Ewell to play meaningful snaps, and he was relegated to the bench and nowhere in the discussion this year. Hinish on the other hand played a lot and gained valuable experience and proved to be a tough inside fighter, albeit over matched at times. I’m assuming he will be much stronger this year to go long with his toughness, and provide a talented two deep at NG. Why do you see mop up duty for him?

 

[Bodizephax]

Jayson will play. The same way Sheldon played as a freshman. He's an infinitely better talent than Kurt Hinish and superior to MTA as well. He's a rare talent. The top 3-tech in the nation this past cycle. That said, he's about 285lbs right now. It will be interesting to see of they can add 5lbs of good muscle on him in the 6 weeks leading up to summer lifting. The rotation should be...

NG: John Bonner
2. Jerry Tillery
3. Kurt Hinish
4. Micah Dew-Treadway

3 Tech: Jerry Tillery
2. MTA
3. Jayson Ademilola

I think Tillery is too good not plah 60 snaps. So you move him to nose for 20 snaps per game when Bonner needs a blow and divide the remaining snaps at 3 tech between MTA and Ademilola. If they get 10-15 snaps each, so be it. But both need to play. Hinish and Dew-Treadway are on mop up duty this year until there is an inevitable injury.

Kurt Hinish only had three stars coming out of highschool but he is definately a stud football player. Will be a difference maker this year and will be in the NFL after he graduates.

 

[IrishInOntario]

IIO... Your reference to Hinish relegated to mop up duty surprises me. I don’t expect to see Tillery getting the twenty snaps at NG at Hinish expense as you suggest. Hinish surprised me last year as I think most of us expected Ewell to play meaningful snaps, and he was relegated to the bench and nowhere in the discussion this year. Hinish on the other hand played a lot and gained valuable experience and proved to be a tough inside fighter, albeit over matched at times. I’m assuming he will be much stronger this year to go long with his toughness, and provide a talented two deep at NG. Why do you see mop up duty for him?

I was among those that was shocked at how out of shape Ewell was when he showed up in South Bend. I expected him to contribute last year and I was wrong about that. I'll own it.

I have no issue with Kurt Hinish. Tough kid. Good work ethic. He just doesn't do anything exceptionally well and he doesn't bring anything to the table skill set wise that challenges an offensive line. The fact that he played last year was much more a testament to ND's abysmal defensive tackle recruiting under BVG. For any program that recruited the position in a respectable manner, Hinish was an obvious redshirt. Compare Hinish and Tagavailoa-Amosa in 2017. MTA was a penetrating play maker who stood out during his reps. I though Hinish held his own, particularly when he took snaps at the nose, but he certainly didn't get any push. A stalemate was the best he could hope for. I love the kid as a rotational player moving forward. A plug and play guy that can give you a relatively small number of max effort snaps and who brings an element of toughness to the group. He's going to be a battler.... That said, Hinish has no business taking snaps from a highly advanced, explosive, penetrator, that resets the LOS like Jay Ade does. Now, is there an outside chance that Jay shows up and winds up being this year's Darnell Ewell?.. I guess... But more than likely, not. Rather, it's more likely that an Ademilola you're getting another MTA at worst, or possibly even a freshman version of Sheldon Day (with more upside) prior to the knee injury that slow him down. If Hinish holds onto his snaps over Jay, that's a good thing. It mean he's made significant improvements, but if you put a gun to Mike Elston's head and asked him what he expects / wants his rotation to look like at NG / 3 Tech, Jay would almost certainly be in his top 4. Kurt would fall outside of that.

If you want to beat the Ohio State's, Clemson's and Alabama's of the world, you have to man your lines with players that are of the same caliber as the guys that those teams line up. Ademilola was arguably the best interior DL in the nation last year. Only Vincent belonged in that discussion with him. All of those schools (and about 40 more) were banging down the twins' door to get Jay.. Players like him push the needle at ND. IMO, Kurt Hinish does not.

 

[NDAFArly]

I was among those that was shocked at how out of shape Ewell was when he showed up in South Bend. I expected him to contribute last year and I was wrong about that. I'll own it.

I have no issue with Kurt Hinish. Tough kid. Good work ethic. He just doesn't do anything exceptionally well and he doesn't bring anything to the table skill set wise that challenges an offensive line. The fact that he played last year was much more a testament to ND's abysmal defensive tackle recruiting under BVG. For any program that recruited the position in a respectable manner, Hinish was an obvious redshirt. Compare Hinish and Tagavailoa-Amosa in 2017. MTA was a penetrating play maker who stood out during his reps. I though Hinish held his own, particularly when he took snaps at the nose, but he certainly didn't get any push. A stalemate was the best he could hope for. I love the kid as a rotational player moving forward. A plug and play guy that can give you a relatively small number of max effort snaps and who brings an element of toughness to the group. He's going to be a battler.... That said, Hinish has no business taking snaps from a highly advanced, explosive, penetrator, that resets the LOS like Jay Ade does. Now, is there an outside chance that Jay shows up and winds up being this year's Darnell Ewell?.. I guess... But more than likely, not. Rather, it's more likely that an Ademilola you're getting another MTA at worst, or possibly even a freshman version of Sheldon Day (with more upside) prior to the knee injury that slow him down. If Hinish holds onto his snaps over Jay, that's a good thing. It mean he's made significant improvements, but if you put a gun to Mike Elston's head and asked him what he expects / wants his rotation to look like at NG / 3 Tech, Jay would almost certainly be in his top 4. Kurt would fall outside of that.

If you want to beat the Ohio State's, Clemson's and Alabama's of the world, you have to man your lines with players that are of the same caliber as the guys that those teams line up. Ademilola was arguably the best interior DL in the nation last year. Only Vincent belonged in that discussion with him. All of those schools (and about 40 more) were banging down the twins' door to get Jay.. Players like him push the needle at ND. IMO, Kurt Hinish does not.

I’ve read with the departure of Jay Hayes & the depth at DT they are looking at getting Ademilola snaps at SDE just to get him on the field early.

 

[IrishInOntario]

I’ve read with the departure of Jay Hayes & the depth at DT they are looking at getting Ademilola snaps at SDE just to get him on the field early.

Could very well happen. He's plenty quick enough. I'm still surprised how insignificant some of the homers feel the loss of Jay Hayes was to transfer. As if friggen Georgia takes "anybody" as a grad transfer. Truthfully, he was ND's best run defender last year and when Tillery was "off" it was by a significant margin. He also gave ND much needed flexibility in his ability to slide inside at times. The talk that Jay was being "passed" this year is nonsense. Brian Kelly came right out and said that Jay was the starter. Of course on passing downs Kareem was going to see more reps. Pass rush is his strength. Jay Hayes was going to see almost every first down in 2018 though. He's all day tough against the run. Will be a key piece for Georgia's playoff run.

 

[Telx1]

I was among those that was shocked at how out of shape Ewell was when he showed up in South Bend. I expected him to contribute last year and I was wrong about that. I'll own it.

I have no issue with Kurt Hinish. Tough kid. Good work ethic. He just doesn't do anything exceptionally well and he doesn't bring anything to the table skill set wise that challenges an offensive line. The fact that he played last year was much more a testament to ND's abysmal defensive tackle recruiting under BVG. For any program that recruited the position in a respectable manner, Hinish was an obvious redshirt. Compare Hinish and Tagavailoa-Amosa in 2017. MTA was a penetrating play maker who stood out during his reps. I though Hinish held his own, particularly when he took snaps at the nose, but he certainly didn't get any push. A stalemate was the best he could hope for. I love the kid as a rotational player moving forward. A plug and play guy that can give you a relatively small number of max effort snaps and who brings an element of toughness to the group. He's going to be a battler.... That said, Hinish has no business taking snaps from a highly advanced, explosive, penetrator, that resets the LOS like Jay Ade does. Now, is there an outside chance that Jay shows up and winds up being this year's Darnell Ewell?.. I guess... But more than likely, not. Rather, it's more likely that an Ademilola you're getting another MTA at worst, or possibly even a freshman version of Sheldon Day (with more upside) prior to the knee injury that slow him down. If Hinish holds onto his snaps over Jay, that's a good thing. It mean he's made significant improvements, but if you put a gun to Mike Elston's head and asked him what he expects / wants his rotation to look like at NG / 3 Tech, Jay would almost certainly be in his top 4. Kurt would fall outside of that.

If you want to beat the Ohio State's, Clemson's and Alabama's of the world, you have to man your lines with players that are of the same caliber as the guys that those teams line up. Ademilola was arguably the best interior DL in the nation last year. Only Vincent belonged in that discussion with him. All of those schools (and about 40 more) were banging down the twins' door to get Jay.. Players like him push the needle at ND. IMO, Kurt Hinish does not.

Agree with all you wrote here. I was taking exception to your view that Tillery would be playing NG for twenty snaps a game to rest Bonner, where I think this is exactly the rotational role that Hinish will play. Never suggested Hinish should play over Ademilola, as your initial post has Hinish at NG and Ademilola at three tech behind Tillery. Frankly, I think Ademilola finds the field as a three tech and SDE rotation his freshman year. While I thinks Hinish gets the two deep NG snaps, I won’t be surprised if Franklin Competes for these. Nice having discussions about this quality of two deep on our interior DL for a change! As for Ewell, we all were surprised he showed up so out of shape, but I was blown away to consistently read that he is so lacking in technique and instincts.

 

[francade]

For a first year player & true frosh, hinish played well. There’s not many true frosh that wow at that position, especially w/ limited reps. He’s a player that will contribute a lot this season. I see a Derek Landri type player out of him before all is said & done.

 

[justified1]

future Legend!