It didn’t take long for Notre Dame’s coaching staff to know they wanted to offer Peter Mokwuah. After getting a glimpse of the big-bodied defensive tackle, Brian VanGorder and Brian Kelly went to Staten Island and left with a key piece to the depth chart.
Now a year removed from a redshirt season spent learning and building his body, Mokwuah gets to show what the Irish staff uncovered in the final days of recruiting. With a depth chart that has veteran experience but also injury woes, Mokwuah could be called on to held hold the point of attack.
Let’s dig deeper into Big Pete’s chances.
PETER MOKWUAH
6'3" 317 lbs.
Sophomore, No. 96, DL
RECRUITING PROFILE
Notre Dame came into the picture late, with Brian Kelly and Brian VanGorder setting foot in St. Joseph-by-the-Sea high school and leaving with a commitment. Mokwuah was a Rutgers commit, but was quick to switch allegiances once the Irish came calling.
A three-star prospect who stayed off of national lists, Mokwuah has a big, projectable body and filled a gaping roster hole.
PLAYING CAREER
Freshman Season (2014): Did not see action.
WHAT WE SAID LAST YEAR
Just like Louis Nix, Mokwuah didn’t play as a freshman. Unlike Nix, Mokwuah enters a depth chart near the bottom needing to work his way up.There’s no pressure on Mokwuah to step onto the field and play in 2014. While the depth chart isn’t the deepest up front, it could benefit Mokwuah to spend a year watching, learning and growing even larger under Paul Longo’s guidance.
But it’ll be interesting to watch Mokwuah’s development at Notre Dame — mostly to see if VanGorder was able to quickly identify a contributor at defensive tackle in just a few weeks of work, especially after spending most of the last decade in the NFL. Transition recruiting periods are always difficult, and the personnel needed in VanGorder’s scheme is different than what Bob Diaco was looking for.
But Kelly acknowledged casting a wider net at defensive tackle after being incredibly selective, and it resulted in Daniel Cage and Mokwuah joining the class when they weren’t even on the radar at Thanksgiving.
Ultimately, what should make Mokwuah succeed at the collegiate level is his size and versatility. And while he’s only been on campus since June, his newest nickname (“Little Lou,” after Louis Nix) certainly shouldn’t have Irish fans upset.
FUTURE POTENTIAL
Without having seem Mokwuah do anything but take some snaps in the spring game, it’s impossible to know what Notre Dame has in him. But even if Jerry Tillery was the defensive lineman who stole all the attention this spring, Mokwuah will be needed if the Irish are going to be a run-stuffing defense that takes away the line of scrimmage.
Mokwuah still seems like a ball of clay, ready to be molded by new defensive line coach Keith Gilmore. The good news? He’s a really big one, and that’s more than half the battle up front.
CRYSTAL BALL
As I look at the depth chart, Mokwuah’s participation likely hinges on the health of Jarron Jones. The senior defensive lineman might be a step slow coming off of foot surgery, and that would force the entire tackle position to shift down a rung.
That bad news for Notre Dame would be good news for Mokwuah’s playing time, though. But even then, he’ll be fighting a capable group of young defensive linemen for playing time, with guys like Daniel Cage and Tillery likely having a head start.
Late attention on the recruiting trail isn’t much of an indicator in ability to contribute. We saw that with Cage, who quickly moved into the rotation at nose guard. So while Mokwuah’s road to the field looks backed up, he’s got four years of eligibility remaining. And even if his contributions are limited to special teams and garbage time, getting on the field this season should be the realistic goal.
THE 2015 IRISH A-to-Z
Josh Adams, RB
Josh Barajas, OLB
Nicky Baratti, S
Alex Bars, OL
Asmar Bilal, OLB
Hunter Bivin, OL
Grant Blankenship, DE
Jonathan Bonner, DE
Miles Boykin, WR
Justin Brent, WR
Greg Bryant, RB
Devin Butler, CB
Jimmy Byrne, OL
Daniel Cage, DL
Amir Carlisle, RB
Nick Coleman, DB
Te’von Coney, LB
Shaun Crawford, DB
Scott Daly, LS
Sheldon Day, DL
Michael Deeb, LB
Micah Dew-Treadway, DL
Steve Elmer, RG
Matthias Farley, DB
Nicco Fertitta, DB
Tarean Folston, RB
Will Fuller, WR
Jarrett Grace, LB
Jalen Guyton, WR
Mark Harrell, OL
Jay Hayes, DL
Mike Heuerman, TE
Kolin Hill, DE
Tristen Hoge, C
Corey Holmes, WR
Chase Hounshell, TE
Torii Hunter, Jr. WR
Alizé Jones, TE
Jarron Jones, DL
DeShone Kizer, QB
Tyler Luatua, TE
Cole Luke, CB
Nick Martin, C
Greer Martini, LB
Jacob Matuska, DL
Mike McGlinchey, OT
Colin McGovern, OL