Recruiting And Development Paying Huge Dividends For Notre Dame's Defensive Line
Since his return to the defensive line following the 2016 season, Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston has built the Irish front four into one of the nation's very best units.
Notre Dame had outstanding defensive line play in each of Elston's first three seasons back in charge, and he had strong line play for much of his tenure in charge from 2011 to 2014 as well, but there is something different about the 2020 unit, and that is its ability to throw waves at opponents.
Against Clemson, for example, the Irish played 11 different defensive linemen, with 10 of those linemen receiving double digit sacks.
Elston has recruited the position extremely well, especially at defensive tackle. If freshmen Rylie Mills and Aidan Keanaaina arrived at Notre Dame in 2017 or 2018 the odds are quite strong they would have been rotation regulars, but in 2020 Mills has played 60 snaps and Keanaaina is at just nine snaps, and both are understandably low.
The depth of talent has allowed Elston to limit the overwhelming snaps for his starters that we've seen in the past - especially inside - and it has the Irish poised to be at their best for the final five games of the season.
In several instances this season, Elston has had his back up defensive line on the field in key moments, which is clear evidence that the Irish defensive line coach has confidence in his rotation, and the ability of everyone he throws on the field to make plays. It is also evidence of how well the defensive line has been developed under Elston and strength coach Matt Balis' recent tenure.
Go back to the season-opener against Duke, on the first drive the Blue Devils attempted to convert a 4th-and-2. If you go back and watch that play you'll notice there wasn't a single defensive line starter on the field, and the Irish made the stop.
Against Georgia Tech there was a crucial 3rd-and-2 in the first half, and it was the backup defensive on the field, and two of them stepped up to make the stop and force the punt.
There are several advantages to having this kind of depth, and the first is obvious. Notre Dame's starters have been able to play far fewer snaps this season, which puts them in position to be more fresh for the final stretch as the schedule gets tougher.
Let's look at the snap numbers from 2019 and 2020 through the first seven games (percentage of snaps in parenthesis).
Defensive End
Starters - 2020 - 549 (58.6%)
Backups - 2020 - 388 (41.4%)
Starters - 2019 - 644 (60.2%)
Backups - 2019 - 425 (39.8%)
Defensive Tackle
Starters - 2020 - 363 (45.0%)
Backups - 2020 - 444 (55.0%)
Starters - 2019 - 553 (65.1%)
Backups - 2019 - 297 (34.9%)
The percentage of snaps is only slightly down at defensive end, but when you consider the fact the Irish defense has been on the field for 57 fewer snaps this season compared to last, the small drop in numbers at end turns out to be pretty significant.
It's on the inside where you see the biggest difference in snaps. Last season, starters Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Kurt Hinish played almost two-thirds of the snaps, and it was a big reason they faded down the stretch.
Through the first seven games of the 2020 season the starters have actually played fewer combined snaps than the backups.
Should it come as a surprise, then, that Hinish and Tagovailoa-Amosa have been so good in the last two games ... especially Hinish?
Another benefit is that when you are this deep the odds are strong that not all of your players will have identical skills. The versatility from a strengths and weaknesses standpoint allows Elston and defensive coordinator Clark Lea to mix and match their personnel, using the skills of the front four players to attack weaknesses from the line. It also allows them to mask any limitations from his unit.
For example, Hinish is undersized for a nose guard, but a big reason for his success this season is due to him not having to play as much. It keeps him from wearing down, and we don't see him being asked to anchor as much as we did in the past. Jayson Ademilola has thrived as a pass rusher for much of the season, and we now see him even more in pass rushing situations than we have run downs.
Mills and Howard Cross III lack the girth needed to thrive with a high volume of snaps, but Elston uses them enough to take advantage of their athleticism while preventing offenses from taking advantage of their lack of size.
Elston and Lea have been able to take advantage of the pass rushing prowess of Ademilola and Isaiah Foskey in third-down scenarios, which has been a factor in the team's dime package success this season.
It can be a challenge for offensive coordinators to call plays against the strengths and weaknesses of the front four when the reality is after the first series they really don't know who will be in the game, or what combination of players Elston will throw on the field.
The current defensive line lacks the star power of the 2018 or 2019 lines, but as a whole it is arguably the best defensive line we've seen at Notre Dame in a very, very long time. It dominated the point of attack against Clemson, and if the unit continues playing this well it will give the Irish defense a chance to play the outstanding caliber football it must to compete for a championship.
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