Notre Dame Has Found Answers Early In 2019

Notre Dame has found a number of important answers through the season's first four games.

Matt Cashore, USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame is now a third of the way through the regular season, and with each game we learn more and more about this football team. The Irish are still not a finished product, and it wasn’t really until game five that the 2018 broke out, and the 2017 team didn’t hit its peak until game seven.

But we have some answers about the 2019 team, and we also still have some questions. The more answers Notre Dame can start to find and the fewer questions we see will determine just how good the Irish will be over the next eight games.

4 ANSWERS FOUND

A key for Notre Dame winning out this season is that the answers that we have found remain strong. But through four games there are four areas that are especially positive when looking at this team.

1. Safety Position Is Stronger Than Expected - We knew that seniors Jalen Elliott and Alohi Gilman were going to be a strong starting tandem this season, but despite some struggles in the opener against Louisville, the unit has been even better than expected.

Elliott has been a steady tackling center fielder while Gilman has been impactful coming down into the box as a run defender. There has been no regression from the veterans, who were both ranked among the Top 15 returning safeties in the country by Pro Football Focus coming into the season.

But what has this group playing next level ball is the addition of freshman Kyle Hamilton to the group. The rookie safety is a key part of the nickel package and has been impactful. He already has two interceptions - one of which he returned for a touchdown - and his willingness to come down and hit, his coverage and his instincts have him constantly around the ball.

With Hamilton playing the way he has, Notre Dame has been able to give both Gilman and Elliott a series or two of rest, which should help keep both more fresh as the season wears on.

2. Claypool And Kmet Are Taking Over - Notre Dame lost the top two playmakers from its 2018 squad when running back Dexter Williams and wide receiver Miles Boykin departed for the NFL. A question about the 2019 team was who would step into that “playmaker” role.

Wideout Chase Claypool stepped into that role immediately despite being the focus of opposing defenses. Claypool is on pace for 68 catches for 930 yards, and if the quarterback would target him as much as he’s open his numbers would be even better.

It took tight end Cole Kmet until the third game to get healthy, but he immediately made his presence felt. Kmet has hauled in 13 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown in just two games. Kmet is on pace for 71 catches 952 yards despite missing two games. Not since 2011 - when Michael Floyd (1,147 yards) and Tyler Eifert (803 yards) were dominating - has Notre Dame had two players go for over 800 yards in the same season.

3. Linebackers Are Better Than Expected - I spent all summer banging on the drum that a linebacker corps led by Asmar Bilal would have a hard time playing at a high level. Bilal has always had the athleticism and toughness to thrive, but he never showed the instincts or feel to shine.

Bilal struggled in the opener, but since then he has played at a higher level than I thought he was capable of. My summer prognostication has been way off up to this point, and Bilal has shown a good feel for what teams are trying to do to the defense, and it has him around the ball a lot more than I expected.

Junior Drew White has been solid this season, but his play gets better and better each week. He’s a smart, heady player that shows good range. White needs to get better in coverage, but he’s been productive against the run, and the improvement from game one to game four from White and Bilal has been a factor in the improvement of the run defense.

We have been waiting for Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah to get his chance, and he’s stayed healthy this season and is now the team’s starting rover. He flashed impact skills from the outset, but there were too many technique and assignment mistakes in the first two games. In the last two games he’s cleaned that up and his play has been top-notch.

Sophomore Jack Lamb has been a playmaker in the nickel package and classmate Shayne Simon has been a playmaker when he gets int the game as well. This group has far surpassed what I thought they would be capable of coming into the season.

4. Defensive Tackle Rotation Is Legit - The middle of the defense was considered the weakness of the team coming into the season, and the opener didn’t help matters much, as the first and second levels made too many mistakes. Since then, the middle of the defense has been stout. The defensive tackles have been especially productive the last two weeks.

Junior Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa has been disruptive all season, showing the quickness to shoot gaps, the power to get a push and the toughness to hold up against power blockers. We’ve seen him perform at the level that was expected last season before his foot injury, and he’s become Notre Dame’s top interior player.

Junior nose tackle Kurt Hinish has been steady this season, but his best game was clearly against Virginia. Notre Dame doesn’t need him to play quite at that level all season, but if he can the interior will be especially effective. Freshman nose tackle Jacob Lacey has gotten better each week and is given the Irish really good snaps when he gets in the game.

Sophomore Jayson Ademilola has been an impactful player despite playing limited snaps, something that should change moving forward. Ademilola has matched Tagovailoa-Amosa in run stop totals (5 each) despite playing 100 fewer snaps. Ademilola also has the highest pass rush success rate at his position.

Next we'll talk about the questions that remain.

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