We've been discussing Notre Dame's defense and whether recruiting, scheme, development, or more than likely, what percentage of each, has attributed to Notre Dame's poor defensive play. While there have been some misses in recruiting, the scheme has been lacking and development has been questionable at times, the one issue people don't seem to be discussing is personnel retention. For the most part, the best defenses across the country are the ones built full of upper classmen, who have had time to develop... I took some time out to evaluate the 2 components of retention, not including early departures for the NFL, which is in theory, a positive, not a negative. Therefore, I looked at transfers / academic casualties / dismissals, and players who retired for medical reasons...
When you factor in that ND is trying to compete for the playoffs with teams that will often out recruit them, retention of personnel is vital to ND's on field success. Look at how this turned out...
These players would be on the 2016 defensive roster this year...
S: Nicky Baratti (medical)- 5th year SR.
S: Max Redfield (dismissal)- SR.
WDE: Doug Randolph (medical)- SR.
DB: Devin Butler (Suspended)- SR.
DB: Rashad Kinlaw (dismissal)- SR.
LB: Michael Deeb (medical)- SR.
DT: Eddie Vanderdoes (never showed up)- SR.
LB: Nile Sykes (did not qualify)- JR.
DB: Nick Watkins (medical, out for season)- JR.
DB: Grant Blankenship (dismissal)- JR.
WDE: Kolin Hill (transfer)- JR.
WDE: Jhonathan Williams (transfer)- JR.
S: Mykelti Williams (transfer)- SOPH.
S: Prentice Mckinney (did not qualify)- SOPH.
CB: Shaun Crawford (medical, out for season)- SOPH.
WDE: Bo Wallace (did not qualify)- SOPH.
DT: Micah Dew-Treadway (medical, out for season)- SOPH
Injuries happen, there is nothing you can do about that in most instances. However, if you look at ND's major issues, DE play and DB play and look at how many defections they have had from guys that they were counting on, it's not hard to see how some recruiting misses and poor scheme and lack of fundamental development can be greatly excaserbated by defection. It's further compounded when you look at how many would be upper classmen it has cost ND.
As coaches, we teach in the now, but we have to project down the road as well, in order to fill recruiting needs, anticipate scheme and personnel developments and predict depth charts... ND has had insanely high turnover for a school that traditionally hasn't lost a great deal of students to academic casualty, despite tougher than normal academics, and that is manifesting itself this year (and ladt year to an extent) as ND's starting group and depth chart has been stripped of would be, developed talent.
Here is a mock idea of what ND's 3-deep on its defensive line and in its secondary should have looked like coming into this season, obviously before injuries could add up as well.
WDE: Jay Hayes (JR)
2. Kolin Hill (JR) or Bo Wallace (SOPH)
3. Andrew Trumbetti (JR)
DT: Eddie Vanderdoes (SR)
2. Jerry Tillery (SOPH)
3. Isaac Rochell (SR)
NG: Jarron Jones (5TH)
2. Daniel Cage (JR)
3. Micah Dew-Treadway (SOPH)
SDE: Isaac Rochell (SR)
2. Jonathan Bonner (JR)
3. Grant Blankenship (JR)
CB: Cole Luke (SR)
2. Shaun Crawford (SOPH)
3. Donte Vaughn (FR)
FS: Max Redfield (SR)
2. Prentice Mckinney (SOPH)
3. Devin Studstill (FR)
SS: Mykelti Williams (JR)
2. Prentice Mckinney (SOPH)
3. Jalen Elliot (FR)
CB: Nick Watkins (JR)
2. Devin Butler (SR)
3. Donte Vaughn (FR)
If you're wondering but Avery Sébastien or Drue Tranquil, it's my belief that Sébastien never gets a 6th year without all the defections, and Tranquil would be a 235lb SAM backer, in rotation with Onwualu.
You may ask "so what?".... Afterall, every team loses players to defection, for various reasons. Not this many. No good team is playing 10 freshman, on a regular basis, in their 2-deep on defense... Even Alabama, as good as they are and as well as they recruit, could not sustain that typeople of turnover combined with this much youth.. Look at the depth chart I posted above, when you factor in the linebackers, 18 of the 24 would be players in the 2-deep should have been upper classmen.
The other day I posted a thread about the majority of the teams with top 25 defenses this year and noted that nearly all of them have inferior recruiting when compared to ND... What those programs have done, however, is developed and retained a good majority of their talent. They didn't have 5/6 of their WDE's defect or retire due to injury... Here is some perspective... In less than two years ND lost the following DB's to injury, defection, suspension and graduation.
CB: KeiVarae Russell
CB: Shaun Crawford
CB: Devin Butler
S: Nicky Barratti
S: Max Redfield
S: Elijah Shumate
S: Prentice Mckinney
S: Mykelti Williams
S: Drue Tranquil (counting him because he's not a S)
That can't happen. You can't lose 9 defensive backs in 18 months, almost all of whom are upper classmen, and expect to play good defense... Especially not with the scheme ND was playing under BVG... Picture even what ND ran vs Syracuse, but with the personnel (or even half of them) that I listed, in place of the 9 freshman ND relied heavily on last Saturday. It's fair to say ND probably holds that team in the 20's and blows them out.
You have to recruit, develop, scheme AND retain players to remain consistently successful, particularly at a school whose formula for success on defense is going to be closer to the Michigan State, Stanford, TCU recent models, than the Alabama or Ohio State models.... flat out, in 2016 and moving forward, ND isn't out recruiting those schools. What needs to happen is ND takem advantage of getting really quality talent, and keeping those kids in school for 4 years, so you have veteran teams combating their teams facing annual early defections to the NFL.
Recruiting stops mattering when they get to campus. Winning is about putting them in position to succeed, developing them for that specific role and retainING as many possible players until their eligibility is exhausted or until the NFL comes calling.
When you factor in that ND is trying to compete for the playoffs with teams that will often out recruit them, retention of personnel is vital to ND's on field success. Look at how this turned out...
These players would be on the 2016 defensive roster this year...
S: Nicky Baratti (medical)- 5th year SR.
S: Max Redfield (dismissal)- SR.
WDE: Doug Randolph (medical)- SR.
DB: Devin Butler (Suspended)- SR.
DB: Rashad Kinlaw (dismissal)- SR.
LB: Michael Deeb (medical)- SR.
DT: Eddie Vanderdoes (never showed up)- SR.
LB: Nile Sykes (did not qualify)- JR.
DB: Nick Watkins (medical, out for season)- JR.
DB: Grant Blankenship (dismissal)- JR.
WDE: Kolin Hill (transfer)- JR.
WDE: Jhonathan Williams (transfer)- JR.
S: Mykelti Williams (transfer)- SOPH.
S: Prentice Mckinney (did not qualify)- SOPH.
CB: Shaun Crawford (medical, out for season)- SOPH.
WDE: Bo Wallace (did not qualify)- SOPH.
DT: Micah Dew-Treadway (medical, out for season)- SOPH
Injuries happen, there is nothing you can do about that in most instances. However, if you look at ND's major issues, DE play and DB play and look at how many defections they have had from guys that they were counting on, it's not hard to see how some recruiting misses and poor scheme and lack of fundamental development can be greatly excaserbated by defection. It's further compounded when you look at how many would be upper classmen it has cost ND.
As coaches, we teach in the now, but we have to project down the road as well, in order to fill recruiting needs, anticipate scheme and personnel developments and predict depth charts... ND has had insanely high turnover for a school that traditionally hasn't lost a great deal of students to academic casualty, despite tougher than normal academics, and that is manifesting itself this year (and ladt year to an extent) as ND's starting group and depth chart has been stripped of would be, developed talent.
Here is a mock idea of what ND's 3-deep on its defensive line and in its secondary should have looked like coming into this season, obviously before injuries could add up as well.
WDE: Jay Hayes (JR)
2. Kolin Hill (JR) or Bo Wallace (SOPH)
3. Andrew Trumbetti (JR)
DT: Eddie Vanderdoes (SR)
2. Jerry Tillery (SOPH)
3. Isaac Rochell (SR)
NG: Jarron Jones (5TH)
2. Daniel Cage (JR)
3. Micah Dew-Treadway (SOPH)
SDE: Isaac Rochell (SR)
2. Jonathan Bonner (JR)
3. Grant Blankenship (JR)
CB: Cole Luke (SR)
2. Shaun Crawford (SOPH)
3. Donte Vaughn (FR)
FS: Max Redfield (SR)
2. Prentice Mckinney (SOPH)
3. Devin Studstill (FR)
SS: Mykelti Williams (JR)
2. Prentice Mckinney (SOPH)
3. Jalen Elliot (FR)
CB: Nick Watkins (JR)
2. Devin Butler (SR)
3. Donte Vaughn (FR)
If you're wondering but Avery Sébastien or Drue Tranquil, it's my belief that Sébastien never gets a 6th year without all the defections, and Tranquil would be a 235lb SAM backer, in rotation with Onwualu.
You may ask "so what?".... Afterall, every team loses players to defection, for various reasons. Not this many. No good team is playing 10 freshman, on a regular basis, in their 2-deep on defense... Even Alabama, as good as they are and as well as they recruit, could not sustain that typeople of turnover combined with this much youth.. Look at the depth chart I posted above, when you factor in the linebackers, 18 of the 24 would be players in the 2-deep should have been upper classmen.
The other day I posted a thread about the majority of the teams with top 25 defenses this year and noted that nearly all of them have inferior recruiting when compared to ND... What those programs have done, however, is developed and retained a good majority of their talent. They didn't have 5/6 of their WDE's defect or retire due to injury... Here is some perspective... In less than two years ND lost the following DB's to injury, defection, suspension and graduation.
CB: KeiVarae Russell
CB: Shaun Crawford
CB: Devin Butler
S: Nicky Barratti
S: Max Redfield
S: Elijah Shumate
S: Prentice Mckinney
S: Mykelti Williams
S: Drue Tranquil (counting him because he's not a S)
That can't happen. You can't lose 9 defensive backs in 18 months, almost all of whom are upper classmen, and expect to play good defense... Especially not with the scheme ND was playing under BVG... Picture even what ND ran vs Syracuse, but with the personnel (or even half of them) that I listed, in place of the 9 freshman ND relied heavily on last Saturday. It's fair to say ND probably holds that team in the 20's and blows them out.
You have to recruit, develop, scheme AND retain players to remain consistently successful, particularly at a school whose formula for success on defense is going to be closer to the Michigan State, Stanford, TCU recent models, than the Alabama or Ohio State models.... flat out, in 2016 and moving forward, ND isn't out recruiting those schools. What needs to happen is ND takem advantage of getting really quality talent, and keeping those kids in school for 4 years, so you have veteran teams combating their teams facing annual early defections to the NFL.
Recruiting stops mattering when they get to campus. Winning is about putting them in position to succeed, developing them for that specific role and retainING as many possible players until their eligibility is exhausted or until the NFL comes calling.
