South Bend Tribune Photo/GREG SWIERCZ

Harry Hiestand is arguably the most coveted assistant in the Brian Kelly coaching cabinet. One could argue that he’s certainly not the flashiest (hey there Prince Sanford), but his presence has significantly improved the ground game, offensive line recruiting and development, and #NDFB as a program. Let’s dive into an eight-year rabbit hole worth of running statistics – four “Pre-Harry” and four “Post-Harry.”

From 2008-2011, the running game ranged from mediocre to piss poor. These four years established an average of 131 rushing yards per game, 4.0 yards per rush, 15 rushing touchdowns per year, and 1,674 rushing yards per year.

The worst year came in 2008 (oh Charlie…) where the Irish ranked:

• 101^st in both yards per rush (3.3) and rush yards per game (110)
• 102^nd in rushing touchdowns (11)
• 97^th in total rush yards (1,426)
• Obligatory bullet note to apologize for even compiling these numbers and putting them on virtual paper.
• Bonus points for anyone who can guess the 2008 offensive line coach who helped orchestrate this stellar running campaign…John Latina. Latina was unsurprisingly let go following the 2008 season, and recently retired from coaching this past February after serving as the offensive line coach at Duke.

In the years following Hiestand’s hiring, the Irish have averaged 177 rushing yards per game, 4.8 yards per rush, 22 rushing touchdowns per year, and 2,299 rushing yards per year. These averages show improvements of 46 rush yards per game, 0.8 yards per rush, 7 rushing touchdowns per year, and a solid 625 rushing yards per year. This past year proved to produce possibly the most effective running game in over a decade wherein the Irish offensive line helped propel the run game to:

• 28^th in rush yards per game (208)
• 8^th in yards per rush (5.6)
• 30^th in rushing touchdowns (29)
• 27^th in total rush yards (2,699)

Hiestand was able to drastically improve these numbers by developing the talent he inherited when hired, but also by stocking the cupboard with top talent across the country.

From 2008-2011, Notre Dame recruited 14 offensive linemen (not including unranked/preferred walk-ons). Among these 14 linemen were eight athletes who were considered 4-star talent according to 247Sports composite rankings. Five were ranked 3 stars and one was a 2 star.

Hiestand has established himself as one of the most effective recruiters as it relates to his position group. As evidence, look no further than the improvements made since his arrival in South Bend.

From 2012-2015, his recruiting efforts manufactured 15 letters of intent from offensive linemen.  This haul included twelve 4 stars, three 3 stars, and no player ranked lower (again, not including unranked/preferred walk-ons). Hiestand undoubtedly has recruiting trending in the right direction.

Credit: Andrew Ivins / BGI

Let us not forget about the incoming 2016 class. A trio of offensive linemen mammoth human beings: 4 star Tommy Kraemer, 4 star Liam Eichenberg, and 3 star Parker Boudreaux will soon be joining the Irish.

Kramer was the closest offensive lineman to have the coveted 247sports composite 5 star ranking with a final grading of .9819, good enough for 27^th best player in the country. Eichenberg also graded within the top 100 players with a final ranking at 80^th.

Without getting too carried away (because college football fans never do that), it would be no surprise if Hiestand added to his list of first round draft picks with Kraemer. Kraemer is already listed at 6’6 and 309 lbs. as a high school senior. To put that into perspective, he already outweighs every starting offensive linemen from Notre Dame’s 2012 team. Hiestand has demonstrated a distinct ability to attract the country’s top talent to South Bend, which has given the Irish the luxury of formidable depth at the offensive line position that it likely hasn’t seen in decades.

The positive residual effect of Hiestand’s presence doesn’t stop at rushing stats or recruiting rankings, but also the number of penalties committed by offensive linemen.

With the aid of @andrewwinn, I analyzed every Irish offensive penalty over the past eight years (103 games total). The data suggests that an offensive line coached by Hiestand is far more technically sound than those that haven’t been blessed by his infinite wisdom.

From 2008-2011, the offense committed a total of 176 penalties, of which 80 were specifically attributed to an offensive linemen (disclaimer: not all penalties listed were directly credited to a specific player – for example these four years included 13 holding penalties where no player was specifically named).  Of these 80 penalties committed by offensive linemen, 33 were false starts, and 34 were holding calls.

Photo credit: Irish Sports Daily

From 2012-2015 the offense committed a total of 153 penalties, of which 79 were attributed to offensive linemen (throughout these more recent four years all holding calls were attributed to a specific player).  False starts were admittedly far more frequent with 59 occurrences. However, over the course of these four years the offensive line was astonishingly only credited with 10 holding calls.  The false starts may have increased since Notre Dame has had six quarterbacks under center in Hiestand’s four years. It may also be due to Hiestand’s more aggressive approach to pass blocking. The decrease in holding penalties is truly remarkable, especially when one considers a Hiestand line has averaged only 2.5 holding penalties per year.  This is a testament to the progress and development of the offensive line as a unit under Harry Hiestand.

Obviously, Hiestand is not the single determining factor in the many improvements made over the course of eight years.  One would be remiss to not shed light on how far #NDFB has come as a program: the institution of training table, the addition of analysts to the coaching staff, the facility updates, etc. Brian Kelly deserves a ton of credit for putting his assistant coaches in opportunities where they can flourish and succeed.

With all of this being said, the old adage that “it all starts up front” still holds true even in today’s spread offense era. Four years’ worth of significant and consistent progress suggests it is no fluke that Harry Hiestand continues to develop one NFL draft pick after another (Chris Watt, Zack Martin, soon to be Ronnie Stanley and Nick Martin).

Couple Hiestand’s developmental gift with his ability to draw top high school talent to South Bend, and #NDFB has one of the best in the biz. The Irish were able to quickly recover from the loss of beloved assistant coach Tony Alford this time last year, but here’s to hoping Hiestand has found his home for the long haul.

The post Harry Hiestand’s Impact Is Unmistakeable appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

FROM OUR SITE

• National Signing Day Week: A primer
• Cooks leaving the kitchen

SIGNING DAY EVENTS

• UND.com: Extensive coverage planned for Notre Dame football signing day
• ESPNU: Equanimeous St. Brown will announce his decision at 3 p.m. ET; Iman Marshall will announce his decision at 4 p.m. ET (Source)
• NBC Sports: Faxes in: Josh Adams
• NBC Sports: Faxes in: Asmar Bilal
• NBC Sports: Faxes in: Elijah Taylor
• NBC Sports: Faxes in: Justin Yoon

RECRUITING

• Chicago Tribune: Miles Boykin eager to get down to business at Notre Dame
• Orlando Sentinel: Dexter Williams struggles with decision: Miami or Notre Dame
• ND Insider: Signing Day preview for Notre Dame’s 2015 recruiting class
• CSN Chicago: Notre Dame’s 2015 recruiting class coming into focus
• UHND: Notre Dame football recruiting ’15 – Instant impact results
• Irish Sports Daily: Early enrollee capsules
• NBC Sports: Early enrollees: Micah Dew-Treadway
• NBC Sports: Early enrollees: Tristen Hoge
• NBC Sports: Early enrollees: Jerry Tillery
• Scout: Sanders excited to sign
• News-Sentinel: Notre Dame recruit profile: LB Bo Wallace
• News-Sentinel: Notre Dame recruit profile: CB Ashton White
• News-Sentinel: Notre Dame recruit profile: QB Brandon Wimbush
• Scout: In the film room…three-star prospects
• Irish Sports Daily: Behind the scenes: Jalen Guyton – Part II
• Irish Sports Daily: Barajas makes father proud

COACHING

• News-Sentinel: Notre Dame football positions in flux

CURRENT TEAM

• One Foot Down: May the road rise up to meet you: Chris Brown

IRISH IN THE NFL

• ESPN: Chris Watt has big shoes to fill
• UND.com: Darius Fleming, Jonas Gray become 40th and 41st former ND players with a Super Bowl ring
• KHOU: Tim Brown’s family delights in Hall of Fame election

HISTORY

• News-Sentinel: Looking back on the 2011 Notre Dame recruiting class, Part I
• 247Sports: In His Own Words: Ron Powlus to Notre Dame

MISC.

• Scout: One ‘ship, two ‘ship, green-shirt, blue-shirt

The post Morning Roundup: Feb. 4, 2015 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

As I watched the NFL draft over the last few days, I thought about the eight young Fighting Irish men who now know where their immediate futures will be taking them.  Who now take the knowledge, skills and values that they have learned at Our Lady’s University and will have a chance to shine with the best of them.

Eight men from the University of Notre Dame were selected in this years NFL Draft, tied for second with Alabama who also had eight men drafted, and only one behind LSU who had nine men drafted. This is the second year in a row that LSU had the most players selected in the NFL draft.

Here’s your Notre Dame Draft scorecard:

Round 1, Pick 16 – Zach Martin to the Dallas Cowboys

Round 2, Pick 14 – Stephon Tuitt to the Pittsburgh Steelers

Round 2, Pick 20 – Troy Niklas to the Arizona Cardinals

Round 3, Pick 19 – Louis Nix to the Houston Texans

Round 3, Pick 25 – Chris Watt to the San Diego Chargers

Round 4, Pick 39 – Prince Shembo to the Atlanta Falcons

Round 6, Pick 11 – Bennett Jackson to the NY Giants

Round 6, Pick 13 – TJ Jones to the Detroit Lions

I am so proud of these young men that will now go on to represent Our Lady’s University both on and off the field. They will showcase not only their football skills, but their values and character in how they lead their lives as Notre Dame men. And in twenty plus years we will all look forward to reading their “Where are they now?” stories.

Okay, now go give your mom a big hug and thank her for all that she’s done for you!

Cheers & GO Irish!

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Coach Hiestand joined Coach Kelly’s staff in 2012, after remarkable a 2011 season in which his young charges at Tennessee (2010-2011) put up a season in which they went from 116th, nationally, in sacks-allowed, to 34th. What’s really impressive is that Tennessee ran over 400 passing plays that season. Before Tennessee, Hiestand coached the O-line at Chicago (2005-2009), where his 2005 and 2006 teams were division champs.

While the 2012 season at Notre Dame was one of superlatives for all the position-groups and many players, and while it would unfair to send all the credit his way for the performance of players he neither recruited nor developed, it nevertheless bears noting that 2012 was ND’s best rushing year since 1996 in terms of yards per carry (4.9) and number of 200+ rushing games (7). While those stats took a hit last season, Coach Hiestand’s men notched what may in fact be a more impressive statistic as they allowed only eight sacks over twelve games. Again, credit to Tommy Rees for getting rid of the ball and to Coach Martin for calling the right plays, but eight sacks of a QB as (im-)mobile as Tommy against the competition they faced is nothing short of terrific.

It’s on the recruiting trail, though, that Coach Hiestand is having a perhaps even greater impact, demonstrating as he has an ability to attract top-level talent. In the 2014 cycle, Hiestand netted four players (Bars, Mustipher, Nelson, Byrne) from four different states, to include Quenton Nelson, the 29th-ranked player by Rivals.com. In 2013, Hiestand again brought in four players (Montelus, McGlinchy, Fuller, Elmer) who have already made or will make out-sized contributions along the line.

While the chances of any one player making it to the NFL are rather small, Coach Hiestand has enjoyed considerable success in getting his guys to the next level, too. In this year’s draft, alone, Coach Hiestand has six (!) former players. Along with four Tennessee players, Coach Hiestand’s men going into the draft include Chris Watt and Zack Martin, arguably ND’s best O-lineman in the last several years. Watt calls Coach Hiestand “the best thing ever to happen” to the position-group.

Clearly, Coach Hiestand brings a lot to the table and Irish fans have every reason to expect continued excellence along the line. Last season’s mediocre rushing numbers, in fact, may turn out to have been an anomalous down-tick, so long as Harry’s at the helm.

The post Harry Hiestand: Leaving a Mark on ND and the NFL appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

1. Which Tommy Rees will show up?

So far, we’ve seen good Tommy Rees, Touchdown Tommy, Reesus, whatever you want to call the opposite of Turnover Tommy.

Thus far, Rees is 65/107 (60.7%) for 969 yards (323 yards/game), 7 TDs, and, most importantly only 2 INTs. Further, only one of those INTs was really a bad mistake by Rees when he completely lost sight of a CB in zone coverage against Michigan. His second INT that night was a tip drill while trying to lead the Irish to a comeback that same night.

This is exactly what I wanted to see from Tommy and to be honest, I’m getting a bit more than I expected. He is doing a lot more than just managing the game, he is one brightest spots of the whole team.

Sadly, when things turn sour, he seems to be the one still catching much of the blame, even when he has nothing to do with it. The fact of the matter is that Tommy isn’t hurting the team at all. Would it be better if he was more mobile and we could throw in a read option wrinkle? Sure, but it isn’t like defenses can now rush 3, drop 8 and expect Rees to eventually fold anymore.

We’ll get some of the reasons why the offense is stagnant a little later, but, needless to say, Tommy isn’t one of them.

2. Will ND return punts for positive yardage?

Short answer: yes.

Longer answer: the punt return still needs a lot of work.

The Irish have still stumbled on special teams which was illustrated best this past week by T.J. Jones inexplicably fair catching a ball inside the five yard line.

The Irish still have some work to do here, but it is still encouraging to see an actual effort to return punts and end the fair catch parade. If they can clean up the sloppy play we’ve seen the past few games, we may finally stop having a headache about this every weekend.

3. Who will step up into Te’o’s leadership role?

On the offense, Tommy Rees has definitely stepped up the leadership aspect. The cameras caught him rallying his offensive troops on multiple occasions which is encouraging.

However, I don’t think he’s stepped in to the Te’o role of the team’s emotional leader.

The defense quite frankly plays completely flat at times. While you might see an individual step it up on occasion, there isn’t that one guy that lights a fire under everyone else’s ass so all eleven men on the field run through walls on the next play.

The defense is still searching for their identity and because the defense was such a large part of who the 2012 Irish were, I think the entire team is looking for their identity.

All is not lost here, but someone needs to step into this role and make this their team. Perhaps Tommy will continue to grow and do this or someone else will take the reigns. Either way, I hope it happens fast because we desperately need it.

4. Which freshmen will make an immediate impact?

Jaylon Smith has to be the leader in the clubhouse for this. Yes, it is mostly by default since he is the only freshman getting any real playing time, but that doesn’t detract from what he’s doing on the field. He is playing some solid football and making very few mistakes as a true freshman. I expect his level of play to only improve as the season moves on.

However, I do wonder why most of the highly touted freshmen are riding the pine most of the game. Perhaps Kelly’s tendency as a coach is to hold them back for a few games to ease into the situation before he lets them loose (think Tuitt a couple of years ago). It’s hard to say this isn’t the case because as of now, Jaylon is playing out of need, Elmer got more playing time only when Watt went down, Cole Luke, Bryant, and Folston have seen limited action, and I’m not sure Redfield has been involved in a snap yet (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on that).

I’m hoping Kelly takes the training wheels off because this team has needed a spark on multiple occasions and freshmen going all out can be a great way to do that. Sure, it’s a risk considering they are more prone to mistakes, but I think it’s a calculated one that can pay huge dividends.

5. First Tate, then Floyd, then Eifert, then…?

Both T.J. Jones and DaVaris Daniels are stepping up in a big way for the Irish. Daniels has been on the end of the more explosive plays, but Jones has been the security blanket for Rees to this point in the season. Both are poised to continue to have big seasons for the Irish and will cause defenses fits in coverage schemes as focusing on one will open up the other and focusing on both let’s someone like Chris Brown burn everyone.

The receiving corps is in great shape and definitely exceeding my initial expectations to say the least.

6. Which running back will rise to the top?

Will the real RB1 please stand up, please stand up?

The real answer to this question is that no one has. Sure, Cam busted out some tough yards while wearing a crimson mask, but he simply lacks the impact that someone like Amir Carlisle or GA3 can provide. The problem is that both backs, especially GA3, are making awful cuts and reads on their runs. Amir Carlisle coughing up the football against Purdue wasn’t exactly encouraging either.

As of now, I’d say Amir might have a slight edge, but no one has separated themselves from the pack yet. This needs to change immediately as the stagnant rushing attack is causing most of the offensive woes. If you wondered why we don’t run the ball more often, the failures of Purdue might just be an example of why. Luckily, the Irish remained in striking distance during that game and weren’t forced into an air raid mode, but if we go down two-plus possessions, I would expect to see everything on Tommy Rees’ shoulders until the running game shapes up.

7. Will ND finally beat Southern Cal at home?

As of now, the answer appears to be yes. Despite ND’s frustrating showings, they would look like All American performances compared to the dumpster fire that is the Trojans.

Their first win was against Hawaii and was only due to Hawaii’s QB being so much worse than the entire Trojan offense was that evening. They followed this performance up by losing to Washington State at home by a score of 10-7 — yes, 10 points beat the Trojan offense. Last week the offense “exploded” for 35 points against a BC team that would have a hard time beating anyone with a pulse.

This is a bad football team; however, they have a lot of talent despite their awful start. They could still figure it out by the time they get to South Bend, but as of now, it’s looking all-Irish for that game.

8. Will ND finally win a BCS Bowl before they’re put out to pasture?

I think we should forget about winning a BCS game at this point and focus more on actually getting there first because that alone will be an achievement at this point.

Things need to improve and fast as a 9 or 8 win season seem like more realistic possibilities than a 10 win season.

BONUS: Will HLS crash during the season?

Thus far, the HLS hamsters have been the only reliable thing about this season. The answer remains: no, we aren’t crashing.

The post 8 Big Questions: Where Do the Irish Stand? appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Thankfully, I don’t have to justify ranking a kicker #1 (NEVER FORGET) or leaving our starting QB off the top 25 list (NEVER FORGET THIS AS WELL).

So without further ado, let’s get to the rankings.

#25 – #21

I’m splitting these into sections of five, not just because that’s how Keith did it, but because that’s how I tend to form the rankings in my head.

For the bottom five, I usually rank on pure potential. You’ll usually see most of the incoming freshmen around this area, but every now and then you’ll see a veteran in there as well. This year, that definitely happened.

#25 Chris Brown (Sophomore, WR) – Chris rounded off my top 25, mostly because I just couldn’t shake the long bombs he pulled down last year out of my head. The one against OU was one of the top plays of the entire season. The kid has some serious breakout speed and I’m hoping he can parlay this into a Golden Tate-type breakout year in 2013.

#24 Ishaq Williams (Junior, “Cat” LB) – Ishaq is one of those guys that we have also seen flashes of brilliance from. He has yet to record a sack, but did manage to rack up 3.5 TFL in 2012. I’m hoping that his junior campaign is when we see it all put together.

#23 Jaylon Smith (Freshman, “Dog” LB) – I am really excited to see Jaylon play this season. I have him slotted in the “dog” LB position, spelling Spond. He definitely has the raw talent to succeed at the coverage LB position, so I’m looking for him to make an immediate impact.

#22 Steve Elmer (Freshman, T) – The 6’5″, 300 lbs., top-rated tackle will likely see quite a bit of playing time this year on the line. Thankfully, he early-enrolled giving him a much needed jump start in experience and conditioning. Usually, I want all linemen to redshirt since it is such a physically demanding position, but with the Irish needing immediate, talented depth, a spring head-start definitely works. I think he has all the physical tools to succeed (notice a pattern yet?), so I’m looking for another immediate impact from the young lineman.

#21 Max Redfield (Freshman, S) – I can’t even remember the last time I was this excited about a safety recruit. I doubt he will start at the beginning of the season, but I could definitely see him winning a spot before the 2013 campaign comes to a close. The Irish secondary has needed a big-time recruit for quite a while. With Redfield coming into the fold, I feel he has the best chance out of this group to make an impact in 2013.

#20 – #16

This group tends to actually have some proven success. If I rate someone purely on potential here, I’m definitely high on them.

#20 Malik Zaire (Freshman, QB) – While he will likely see a redshirt this season (unless everything goes to hell like it did in my NCAA sim), Zaire is by far my favorite recruit in the 2013 class. Like Golson, he has a big arm and great mobility. There’s a reason Gunner Kiel jumped ship and my gut tells me he felt Zaire seriously breathing down his neck. It’ll be hard to project his impact, but I have no problem sticking my neck out for this kid, even with Golson’s return in 2014.

#19 Greg Bryant (Freshman, RB) – I don’t think I’ve ever considered putting this many true freshmen in the top 25 ranking, but I can’t help it. 5-star RB recruit that will have the chance to take on a backfield that has some huge holes with the departure of Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick just has to make a huge impact, right?

#18 Ronnie Stanley (Sophomore, T) – Yep, that’s two young tackles in the top 25. Much like Elmer, Stanley will be needed to fill some depth on the Irish line. He’s had a full season under his belt, so he gets a bump into this group of five.

#17 Carlo Calabrese (5th year, ILB)

#16 Dan Fox (5th year, ILB) – I’m combining the reasoning for Calabrese and Fox into one because honestly, I see them as damn near equivalent in the ranking. They have loads of experience and you know what kind of play you will get from each.

#15 – #11

This is the group that starts separating talent and potential on the roster to moving towards the elite. To put it another way, this is the true middle-ground. Players here could end up being the true difference makers or the people that I will later be embarrassed to have ranked so high.

#15 DaVaris Daniels (Junior [RS], WR) – I can’t help but feel like I’m waiting for Daniels to just break out. We’ve seen some signs of the potential before, with the huge reception on Golson’s 45 yard bomb to help send the game into OT. He was also one of the few bright spots of the Irish offense against Alabama notching a career high 115 yards on six receptions, one of which was another long strike of 31 yards. I think he should be able to nail down a starting spot so hopefully we start to see him break out in a huge way.

#14 Sheldon Day (Sophomore, DE) – We all know that Tuitt and Shembo are the two big pass rushing threats, but don’t sleep on Day. In his freshman campaign, Day notched two sacks, 3.5 TFL, and 23 tackles. With the departure of Kapron Lewis-Moore, Day will likely see quite a bit more playing time and he is my personal favorite to start along with Nix, Tuitt, and Shembo. In completely unrelated things tainting my objectivity, Day destroyed opposing offenses in my NCAA ’14 sim and seemingly had at least one sack a game. Here’s hoping reality mimics video game success.

#13 Matthias Farley (Junior [RS], S) – When Slaughter went down for the season, I was definitely terrified that the Irish secondary was beyond screwed. But then Farley stepped in and made an impact that I’m sure very few people saw coming and I don’t see that stopping this season. Fear the beard.

#12 KeiVarae Russell (Sophomore, CB) – Because of a thin secondary, Kelly was forced to move Russell from RB to CB…and did that ever work out. Now, Russell is a returning All American and looks to continue the fantastic job that he began last season. The only reason I don’t have Russell ranked higher is my fear of a sophomore slump and the overwhelming fear that gambles like this just don’t work at Notre Dame so I’m awaiting the other shoe to drop somehow.

#11 Tommy Rees (Senior, QB) – Here are the facts about Tommy Rees:

• He had an incredible run to close out his freshman year in 2010
• His 2011 was completely awful and I want to forget it forever
• He came up clutch in several situations during 2012
• With that said, his start against BYU left a lot to be desired

There is definitely potential there for greatness, but there is also the potential for great disaster because none of us are really ever going to be able to shake 2011. Rees still appears to have issues with locking-in on receivers (see: Floyd in 2011 and Eifert in 2012), but if he can kick that habit, that alone will allow him to progress by leaps and bounds in 2013.

Here’s hoping.

#10 – #6

Now we start moving into the elite parts of the roster. These are the guys I expect to be no-doubt playmakers during the season.

#10 T.J. Jones (Senior, WR) – T.J. made some great strides in 2012 and I still don’t think he’s found his ceiling yet. The WR corps needs a leader and a playmaker and I expect T.J. to fill this role.

#9 Chris Watt (5th year, G) – Watt has been one of the veteran anchors in the interior of the line and will enter his third year as a starter. With the departure of Braxon Cave, I’m looking to Watt to be the glue that holds the middle of the line together.

#8 Troy Niklas (Junior, TE) – Niklas is just a beast at 6’7″ 260 lbs. He made his biggest impact blocking in two TE sets, but with Eifert gone, it will be Niklas job to continue the amazing string of badass TEs from ND. At 6’7″, I am fully expecting Niklas to be a bit of a security blanket for a Tommy Rees jump ball and will soon be one of his favorite targets all season.

#7 George Atkinson III (Junior, RB) – GA3 still has some fundamentals to get down to truly be the best RB possible (One Foot Down has a great breakdown of this), but the bottom line is that GA3 is a straight-up playmaker. His speed on the team might just be unmatched and you can’t help but expect something special to happen when he’s in the open field. With two years under his belt, and the backfield begging for a breakout star, I’m expecting GA3 to take control.

#6 Bennett Jackson (Senior, CB) – Sure, Russell had an amazing, breakout year and Manti Te’o seemingly got all the INTs, but Jackson had a hell of a year himself. In 2012, he had 4 INTs (second only to Te’o) and broke up 4 passes (second to Nix, he led all DBs in this stat). I expect Jackson have yet another great season. With Te’o gone, the only people that can steal the spotlight from Jackson are on the defensive line — the rest of the show is all his to steal.

#5 – #1

The absolute elite on the roster and by far the easiest for me to rank.

#5 Danny Spond (Senior, “Dog” LB) – Spond was one of the best surprises for the 2012 defense and was a solid presence all year at the “dog” linebacker. He had one INT and broke up three passes, which was only second among LBs with Te’o taking top honors. I expect the arrival of Jaylon Smith to only further push Spond’s performance this season. He might not light up the stat sheet, but his presence on the defense cannot be overstated.

#4 Zack Martin (5th year, T) – Martin was my top-rated lineman last season and I see no reason to change that. Martin helped anchor a line that gave up only 13 sacks last season (T-28th in NCAA). Sack numbers (most often) speak to the strength of the exterior linemen and considering where this line used to be just a few years ago, I can’t help but give Martin all the credit in the world for that success.

#3 Prince Shembo (Senior, “Cat” LB) – Shembo was one of the people that helped us say “Aaron, who?” With 7.5 sacks and 10.5 TFL, Shembo was just an absolute beast on the line. To further blow your mind, consider that Shembo also led the team in QB hurries with 12. So that’s at least 30 plays that Shembo hung around in the opposing backfield which is just incredible. But as impressive as he was…

#2 Stephon Tuitt (Junior, DE) – 11 sacks, 11 TFL, 9 QB hurried, a blocked kick, a forced fumble, and an incredible fumble return for a TD — there’s no wonder why Bayou picked him as the Irish D-linemen to watch. Tuitt is simply incredible and the best pass rushing threat that we’ve seen in quite a long time. The only downside to Tuitt? He’s excellent play will likely make this his last year with Notre Dame. Enjoy this while it lasts.

#1 Louis Nix III (Senior, NT) – With all respect to Bayou’s selection, and to Tuitt, my pick at #1 was not hard at all. The success of the 3-4 defense starts with the nose tackle and Nix is one of the best that I have ever seen. Ideally, you just need a guy that can command and handle a double team on every snap. Nix goes well beyond that. NTs aren’t supposed to light up the stat sheet, but Nix manages to do so: 50 total tackles (7th on team), 7.5 TFL (4th on team), 2 sacks (T-4th on team), 3 QB hurries (T-5th on team), and 5 passes defended (leads the Irish). Simply put, Nix causes all kinds of havoc and opposing offenses have no choice but to respect the damage that he can cause. That opens up opportunities for the rest of the Irish defense, leading to TFLs, sacks, and turnovers. Plus, how can we ever forget this:

The post Ranking the Irish Roster: Tex’s Top 25 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

http://youtu.be/QDIQX6Uke_Y

64 days, y’all.

The post And Now I’m Ready to Run Through a Wall appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.