Restocking: Defensive Line

Brian Kelly has instilled plenty of changes in the Notre Dame football program. But perhaps none is more surprising than the success this Irish coaching staff has had recruiting defensive linemen.

For the longest time, Irish coaches swung and missed trying to land key front-line defensive players, getting to the point where recruitniks started to resemble Ahab chasing the white whale, only to be driven mad at near misses on promising players like Omar Hunter, Gerald McCoy, Justin Trattou, and many others.

When Brian Kelly announced his plan to play a 3-4 defense, some expected the difficulty to land defensive linemen was a factor in choosing a system that only required three down linemen. But in reality, Kelly’s system has put a premium on finding bigger, stronger and more versatile linemen, raising the bar of the recruiting profile needed to succeed in his multiple front defense.

And succeed this staff has done. Kelly’s ability to quickly transform the two-deep depth chart along the front has been impressive. Let’s take a look back at how he’s done it:

2008
Sean Cwynar — Played as a key reserve before turning down a fifth year of eligibility.
Ethan Johnson — Saw the field immediately and spent four years as a regular.
Kapron Lewis-Moore — Redshirted, then started four years at defensive end.
Brandon Newman — Reserve player for Irish, finished eligibility at Ball State.
Hafis Williams — Reserve player for Irish, started seven games for UMass this season.

2009
Tyler Stockton — Reserve defensive lineman won’t likely see a fifth year at Notre Dame.

2010
Kona Schwenke — Late addition to recruiting class backed up Louis Nix at DT in 2012.
Louis Nix — Chose ND during coaching transition. All-American candidate in ’13.
Justin Utupo — Mostly reserve player that’s a tough fit in current ND defensive scheme.
Bruce Heggie — Late addition to class transition from DL to OL. Now reserve center.

2011
Brad Carrico — Switched from DE to OL before a foot injury ended his career.
Aaron Lynch — Freshman All-American before quitting team during spring drills.
Anthony Rabasa — Reserve linebacker with pass rush skills. Yet to break into rotation.
Tony Springmann — Redshirted in ’11 before playing key reserve minutes in ’12.
Stephon Tuitt — Exploded during sophomore season with 12 sacks from DE and DT.
Ishaq Williams — Versatile player saw time in both ’11 and ’12. Needs breakout ’13.

2012
Romeo Okwara — Saw time at outside linebacker as a 17-year-old freshman in ’12.
Sheldon Day — Had an impressive season rotating along the Irish defensive line.
Jarron Jones — Saved a year of eligibility. Expected to compete at DE.

2013
Isaac Rochell — Georgia DE had elite offers from SEC schools before choosing ND.
Eddie Vanderdoes — Heir apparent to Nix will likely contribute immediately.

Way too early spring projection

There’s no reason the Irish defensive front doesn’t take a step forward this season. Against Alabama, it was clear there was work to be done. And after a few months to get the bad taste out of their mouths, Stephon Tuitt, Louis Nix and company will get back to work.

The battle to replace KLM won’t likely be won by one player, but expect Sheldon Day to step into the lineup immediately. Day’s impressive freshman season will be one to build on, and even though he lacks the prototype size, he’s disruptive enough to play both inside and out. It’ll also be interesting to see what Jarron Jones brings this spring, as he’s got the bulk and height Bob Diaco and Mike Elston like in their defensive linemen.

How the Irish used Ishaq Williams will be interesting. He isn’t likely to beat out Prince Shembo at Cat linebacker, but he’ll definitely be one of the Irish’s top front seven players, and a four man defensive front, with Tuitt sliding inside, could be a lot for opposing offenses to handle.