Health will be key for Irish defense

Notre Dame football returns a large part of their defense from a year ago, but questions still remain. One question is whether the Irish can stay healthy.

Notre Dame football relied heavily on its defense in 2018. Though the Irish were able to put up some decent numbers on the scoreboard, the offense was, at times, inconsistent. The defense, however, carried the day when necessary and were a huge part of Notre Dame’s run to the College Football Playoff.

This season, however, the Irish have more questions on defense, particularly on the interior. The Irish generally know who will be playing on the interior of the defensive line. They have a pretty good idea about the linebacking corps, as well. The question, though, is how the Irish will hold up against teams like Georgia.

But perhaps the biggest question for the Irish involves depth and health. It almost goes without saying, but if the Irish are to have another season contending for the College Football Playoff, health will be key.

Irish fans should feel confident in the defense. After all, defensive coordinator Clark Lea once specialized as a linebackers coach and defensive line coach Mike Elston is one of Notre Dame’s premier assistant coaches when it comes to developing players.

The Irish will particularly rely on having the fortune of good health in the secondary.

In order to make life easier on the players on the interior of the defensive line and at the linebacking position, the Irish will likely stack the box, leaving corners and safeties in one-on-one matchups. Troy Pride, Jr. will need to be effective at boundary corner for the Irish to get stops. Furthermore, Donte Vaughn has showed the ability to look like a starter when healthy–the problem for Vaughn is that he hasn’t shown the ability to stay healthy.

Shaun Crawford will see a lot of time at nickel corner and might spend some time at other places like field corner and safety, but like Vaughn, he hasn’t been healthy for most of his Notre Dame career.

On paper, the Irish have the ability to have versatility on defense, but that will be severely compromised if they sustain injuries. Health will have plenty to do with Notre Dame’s defensive success this season.