The Year of Elko has come and gone. Like a balmy 58-degree winter day it came and melted the VanGorder snow while allowing Notre Dame to see the glory of this green, luscious world. For his part, Elko left an indelible mark on the program on the field but it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. Let’s do a quick review of each position.

ENDS

D. Hayes, Sophomore (544 snaps)
30 tackles, 17 solo, 6.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 4 QBH

J. Hayes, Redshirt Junior (450 snaps)
27 tackles, 13 solo, 3.5 TFL, 1 sack, 4 QBH

Trumbetti, Senior (434 snaps)
28 tackles, 13 solo, 4 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 5 QBH

Okwara, Sophomore (322 snaps)
17 tackles, 10 solo, 4.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 7 QBH

Kareem, Sophomore (287 snaps)
21 tackles, 10 solo, 5.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 6 QBH

Ogundeji, Redshirt Freshman (20 snaps)
No stats

The Irish were able to get solid play from this position but continue to lack a difference maker. It feels like Daelin Hayes is older than he really is when in reality he’s made decent progress through his career and should set up nicely as a junior starter. Once upon a time, Jay Hayes looked like someone who would be passed over so his 2017 definitely earned himself the chance to come back and play a ton of snaps next fall. Trumbetti’s career was ultimately a disappointment but he hung in there admirably as a senior. Each of these 3 players–all at different stages of eligibility–gave Notre Dame a nice core that still lacked big-play moments.

The emergence of Okwara and Kareem are among the brightest spots on the team. Combined they are essentially giving the defense a very productive starter. That both of them can play on opposite sides of the line provides a huge boost to the future of the defense.

Grade: 83%

Not quite a sack per game from this unit is an area to improve upon. The starters need to play at a higher level. Overall, a pretty tough unit that should be better in 2018.

TACKLE

Tillery, Junior (702 snaps)
56 tackles, 25 solo, 9 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 11 QBH

Bonner, Redshirt Junior (512 snaps)
30 tackles, 15 solo, 3.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 4 QBH

Tagovailoa-Amosa, Freshman (329 snaps)
13 tackles, 7 solo, 2 TFL

Hinish, Freshman (177 snaps)
8 tackles, 1 solo, 0.5 TFL, 1 QBH

Dew-Treadway, Redshirt Sophomore, (57 snaps)
No Stats

Tiassum, Redshirt Sophomore (28 snaps)
2 tackles, 1 solo

I feel like Tillery very quietly has met the high expectations that he had as a recruit by leading (quite comfortably) all defensive linemen in tackles for loss while also leading the team in sacks. Bonner pretty much plateaued and that’s partly why he’s moving on with his career now. In terms of VORP, it won’t be difficult to replace Bonner’s production next season.

It’s interesting to see that both Tagovailoa-Amosa and Hinish had relatively meager stats even if they were able to make some big plays as true freshman, especially the former player.

Grade: 75%

Depth here was such a major concern and it’s a good thing that Tillery delivered and that there weren’t any major injuries once the season began. The two freshmen offer some hope for the future but new blood really needs to be infused into this unit, plus Tillery needs to return.

LINEBACKER

N. Morgan, Senior (747 snaps)
92 tackles, 35 solo, 7 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 6 QBH

Coney, Junior, (549 snaps)
116 tackles, 56 solo, 12.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 5 QBH

Martini, Senior (436 snaps)
75 tackles, 39 solo, 3 TFL

Jamir Jones, Sophomore, (58 snaps)
4 tackles, 1 solo, 1 QBH

Jon Jones, Redshirt Freshman (37 snaps)
10 tackles, 7 solo, 1 TFL

Nyles Morgan didn’t quite take off and have a sensational senior season. He still played at a really high level for the majority of the season. The same could be said for Martini who got better over his career and finishes with 191 tackles in South Bend.

It’s difficult to put into words just how quickly Coney flipped the switch from co-starter to All-American production but it happened in 2017. On a per-snap basis he finishes the season with one of the two or three best performances from a defender in the Kelly era, in my opinion.

Grade: 88%

Was there a game or multiple games where this unit played poorly? From top to bottom this was the most consistent linebacker season since 2012.

ROVER

Tranquill, Redshirt Junior (818 snaps)
85 tackles, 44 solo, 10.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks

Bilal, Redshirt Sophomore (179 snaps)
18 tackles, 12 solo, 1.5 TFL

D.J. Morgan, Redshirt Freshman (7 snaps)
2 tackles, 2 solo

The shadow of Tranquill looms so large over this position–he played the second most snaps of anyone on defense. While not much of a pass rusher Tranquill excelled on the edge attacking ball carriers. I think Bilal qualifies as one of the more disappointing defenders mainly because he received so little playing time.

Grade: 82%

Tranquill is very good at what he does but isn’t quite an All-American talent. He played a ton and will be coming back next year to do the same. Although, building some depth here in 2018 will be a big story line, too.

SAFETY

Coleman, Junior (756 snaps)
44 tackles, 29 solo, 1 TFL, 3 PBU

Elliott, Sophomore, (689 snaps)
43 tackles, 24 solo, 2 PBU

Studstill, Sophomore, (250 snaps)
18 tackles, 6 solo

Genmark-Heath, Freshman (71 snaps)
16 tackles, 9 solo

Robertson, Freshman (40 snaps)
8 tackles, 3 solo

Fertitta, Junior (9 snaps)
10 tackles, 8 solo

The numbers speak for themselves: 139 tackles, 1 TFL, 5 PBU’s, and zero interceptions from an entire safety unit. It seems almost impossible to be this inept. Although, to be fair the front seven tackled really well and the Irish were 2nd best in the entire country giving up only 9 pass plays of 30+ yards all season.

We can all agree that the talent level here isn’t getting the job done but at the same time this was a pretty good coaching job. I should say there’s some positive vibes to Coleman being rehabilitated from his disastrous 2016 at corner but the defense has been pouring a lot of snaps into Elliott and Studstill while neither look to be the future.

Grade: 71%

During the bowl game Genmark-Heath logged about half of his season snaps which says a lot about the situation at safety. Nothing more need be said as Clark Lea has his hands full improving this position.

CORNER

Love, Sophomore (835 snaps)
68 tackles, 45 solo, 1 TFL, 20 PBU, 3 INT

Watkins, Redshirt Junior (524 snaps)
27 tackles, 21 solo, 8 PBU, 1 INT

Crawford, Redshirt Sophomore (408 snaps)
32 tackles, 20 solo, 1.5 TFL, 5 PBU, 2 INT

Pride, Sophomore (354 snaps)
22 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PBU, 1 INT

Vaughn, Sophomore (55 snaps)
6 tackles, 4 solo

I don’t think there’s any doubt that Julian Love just completed the best season for a corner in the Brian Kelly era. Now he embarks on a future that’s always been difficult for defensive backs in South Bend…come back and continue to play at the same high level next year.

The rest of the corners are really interesting mostly because this unit had a strong season but outside of Love there was some weird development. Watkins was banged up this year, while he and Crawford went long stretches without impacting games. Conversely, we should mention Troy Pride really started to emerge late in the season and should be fighting for starter reps next fall. I’m not sure what happened with Donte Vaughn who went from super productive freshman (6 PBU last fall on 296 snaps!!) to an afterthought in a unit with little depth.

Grade: 92%

Outside of Stanford’s touchdown passes and the 2nd half against Wake Forest there really wasn’t any opponent doing a lot of damage against the Irish corners. I have to admit I was petrified of the corners this year due to a lack of bodies but things have played out about as perfect as possible. Love is already an All-American and they have young recruits coming in to re-stock the depth.