Injuries along the defensive line have forced the Fighting Irish to look to unlikely sources for production. Notre Dame needs these players to make greater contributions if the Fighting Irish want to have playoff aspirations.
Photo By The Irish Tribune
Seven weeks into the college football season, Notre Dame has had their own share of wear-and-tear.
After Fall camp, Marcus Freeman praised Loren Landow and the strength-and-conditioning team for one of Notre Dame's healthiest camps in recent memory, despite losing starting left tackle Charles Jagusah.
In the midst of Notre Dame's triumphant victory against Purdue, the Fighting Irish suffered some critical injuries. Veteran edge rusher Jordan Botelho and starting offensive lineman Ashton Craig both had season-ending knee injuries.
After Botelho went down, redshirt freshman Boubacar Traore had the opportunity to fill in for the impact graduate senior.
Traore excelled in his increased reps and established himself off the edge, until he suffered a knee injury in the Louisville game.
Two season-ending knee injuries have hurt the depth of the pass rush but opened opportunities for freshmen to step up and make an early impact.
Bryce Young and Loghan Thomas both got plenty of reps during the second half of the Louisville game and provided some pressure on Tyler Shough.
Young and Thomas are raw natural athletes who haven’t fully grown into their frames yet, but both offer the kind of speed rush that’s sweeping the NFL by storm.
Young, the bigger and more highly-touted freshman, is listed at 6'7", 258 pounds, and logged three solo tackles in Notre Dame's win over Louisville.
Thomas, who needs more development than Young, still showed flashes two weeks ago. Before the ruling got changed to an incomplete pass, Thomas showcased his speed as he returned a fumble for a scoop-and-score, that eventually got called back.
The development of the freshmen duo of Young and Thomas will prove to be necessary as the Irish attempt to navigate through the rest of the season.
The Notre Dame defensive line also needs more out of RJ Oben and Junior Tuihalamaka. Oben, the prized portal get from Duke, has been nowhere all year for Notre Dame. Oben has only logged eight total tackles and doesn't have a single sack. The Irish need Oben to return to his Duke form after the bye week. As for Tuihalamaka, he has been the one constant for the edge rusher unit all year. He has recorded an interception and teamed up with Rylie Mills for a big sack against Louisville. Al Washington needs Tuihalamaka to continue to grow his confidence coming out of the bye.
On the offensive line, besides Craig's season-ending injury, Billy Schrauth is also questionable for the Stanford game due to a right ankle injury.
The offensive line has been a battle throughout the young season for the Irish. At the beginning of the year, the line attempted to mature given its youth and inexperience, and then as the unit was beginning to mesh, injuries derailed most progression. However, the play of backups Pat Coogan and Rocco Spindler, who were starters last year for the Fighting Irish, has proved pivotal during this unwary time.
As it pertains to the defensive backs, Notre Dame's strongest unit grew quite thin during the game against Louisville. That week, Jaden Mickey opted to maintain his eligibility and redshirt for the remainder of the year and starting cornerback Christian Gray suited up, but didn't play because of a right shoulder injury.
This left true freshmen Leonard Moore to start for the Fighting Irish in the biggest game of the year, and Moore played well. While he still got beat on some plays against talented wide receiver Ja'Cory Brooks, Moore held his own for most of the game. He also led the Fighting Irish in tackles that game and forced a fumble on a punch out that shifted the momentum in Notre Dame's favor.
During the Louisville game, Benjamin Morrison missed a series as well, which forced nickel Jordan Clark to shift to cornerback. Clark has played exceptional all year and has cemented himself as the Irish's best transfer portal acquisition.
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