On
January 16th UND.com posted an article "20 Questions for Notre Dame Football for 2015". This is question 11.
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| Defensive Coordinator Brian VanGorder |
11.
First-year Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder’s scheme got off to
a solid start, but injuries, attrition and youth caught up to the Irish late in
the year. Notre Dame’s final scoring defense figure of 29.2 points ranked
abnormally low. Can the Notre Dame defense, with a full year working
under VanGorder, put things together on a more consistent basis this
fall?
Answer; The answer lies more in the health of the players a
bit more in time under VanGorder's scheme.
It would stand to reason that the additional time under Coach VanGorders
tutelage would yield a better result but when players are injured and lineups
are changed out of the control of the coaching staff the effectiveness of the
defense would suffer.
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| Jarron Jones and Isaac Rochell |
Add the fact that the defense's only loss due
to graduation was Cody Riggs and the addition of incoming freshman the depth of
the defense will improve. The Irish
defense also had a number of underclassmen contributing on the defensive side
of the ball last season including several freshman. Players like; Grant Blankenship, Daniel Cage,
Jay Hayes, Andrew Trumbetti, Kolin Hill, Greer Martini, Nyles Morgan, Nick
Watkins and Drue Tranquill all played as freshman last season on the defensive
side of the ball.
Back to the question; consistency should be
better, overall the defense will be better.
