Returning Irish Lettermen on Defense

Defensively, the Irish are returning 11 players with starting experience, but only 10 of them will be taking defensive snaps.  Troy Niklas played in 12 games on defense in 2011 starting one of them against Michigan State before moving to the offensive side of the ball in 2012 for his sophomore year.  Looking at the list of players with starting experience, there is a mix of upperclassman with a ton of experience that will bring leadership in 2013 along with young talent to help fortify the future.

Fifth year graduate student Dan Fox has appeared in 39 games over three seasons and has started in 22 of them.  Fox came to the Irish as an outside linebacker and thought he may be moved to safety, but has played the majority of his games, beginning with 13 starts in 2011, at inside linebacker.  In 2012, Fox platooned the inside linebacker position next to all-world Irish linebacker Manti Te’o with Carlo Calabrese.  Fox’s experience, coupled with his talent, should help ease the absence of Te’o in 2013.

Number one in your heart and in 2013 #1 in your program, Louis Nix has started 22 of the 26 games he has appeared in for the Fighting Irish.  After redshirting his freshman season, Nix exploded onto the scene, starting 11 games during his sophomore campaign.  Having Nix eat up blockers up front, Te’o was able to have a season at linebacker that got him second place in the Heisman Trophy voting.  Without a doubt, Nix is a leader on and off the field for this team.  And by the way, he still has a year of eligibility after this season.

When you have an outside linebacker comparable to Lawrence Taylor, you have something special, and the Irish have something special in Prince Shembo.  He broke onto the scene in his freshman year, playing in all 13 games and capping his first season with three tackles and a sack in the Sun Bowl against Miami.  Shembo kept motoring through his sophomore year appearing in 12 games while starting in eight of them.  Last season he started all 13 games, racking up 51 tackles (22 solos and 10.5 of them for a loss) and 7.5 sacks.  I love his focus and attack mode mentality.  It will be great to have Shembo’s experience at the outside linebacker position, and keep in mind he can put his hand on the ground and shift to a defensive end quickly if needed.

Stephon Tuitt has started 16 games while appearing in 21 for the Irish over two years.  It’s pretty simple with Tuitt - he’s good (REAL good), he’s big and he’s quick. Tuitt saw action in nine games during his freshman year including three starts, putting together a respectable freshman season.  In 2012, Tuitt played a good portion of the season with a sports hernia and still managed to tally 47 tackles, including 13 for loss, a team-high 12 sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one pass breakup and one blocked kick.  Confidence should not be an issue for Tuitt in 2013.

Carlo Calabrese redshirted his freshman season, and from there has gone on to play in 36 games, starting in 13 of them.  Calabrese split time with Dan Fox at the inside linebacker position next to Manti Te’o.  He is a run stop first inside linebacker who works out in the off season at a place called House of Iron, making him a perfect complement to Dan Fox’s pass coverage skill set.  Calabrese is physical (ask George Atkinson III from the Blue & Gold scrimmage) and serves as the prototypical run stopping middle linebacker.

KeiVarae Russell was recruited and came to South Bend to play running back but was moved to Cornerback at the beginning of camp.  Going into his sophomore year, Russell has gained a lot of experience and fast.  Starting all 13 games last season, Russell brings a growing experience and confidence to the Irish defensive secondary.  In the process of being named to Freshman All-America Team by both Football Writers Association of America and CBS Sports.com, and selected a second-team Freshman All-American by Sporting News and Scout.com in 2012, he tallied 58 tackles (37 unassisted), two tackles for a loss and a shared sack with Louis Nix.

All of Bennett Jackson’s starts came in 2012 (total of 13), but he has plenty of field experience from appearing in all 26 games of his freshman and sophomore years.  As a freshman, Jackson was named Special Teams Player of the Year, returning 29 kickoffs for 645 yards while collecting 10 tackles on kickoff and punt teams (good for second best on special teams).  His junior season he started all 13 games at cornerback recording 65 tackles (45 unassisted), one fumble recovery and four pass breakups.

Danny Spond’s junior season started off with a big question mark with headaches causing him to miss Notre Dame’s first two games.  Danny responded by starting the next 11 games at outside linebacker for the Irish, collecting 52 tackles (25 unassisted).  Spond saw action in 18 games in his first two season’s primarily on special teams and as a reserve linebacker.

Matthias Farley is another player who came to South Bend expecting to play on offense and ended up in the defensive backfield.  After redshirting his freshman season playing wide receiver on the scout team, Farley helped fill in the vacancy at safety left by the injury of Jamoris Slaughter by starting in 11 games last season while seeing action in all 13 in 2012.  During his first season as safety, Farley had 49 tackles (23 unassisted), two tackles for a loss and a pass break up.  By the way, Matthias did not start playing organized football until his junior year in high school.

 

Senior Kona Schwenke has seen game action in each of his first three seasons (5,3,11)with the Irish, including two starts in 2012.  He has been seen as a backup to Louis Nix so it may not be surprising that he has seen limited action recently.  Schwenke is, however, a solid player and would have a lot more starts playing for another program.