The Top D-lines Notre Dame will Face This Season
Notre Dame has all five starters returning on the offensive line, four of whom may leave after the season as NFL Draft picks. With four players entering their fourth or fifth year and a returning starter at center, they are set to be a contender for the Joe Moore Award as one of the top lines in college football.
If they become a finalist for it, there is no doubt they’ll have earned it going up some outstanding defensive lines.
They may get a break with no Michigan or Georgia on the schedule in 2020, but they'll go head to head with the three best defensive lines in the ACC and a group out west that has plenty of experience and talent.
An honorable mention goes out to Wake Forest, which may not be the deepest group, but does feature one of the more disruptive players in the country in Carlos Basham (11 sacks and 24 Havoc plays). They didn’t make the cut, though, as these other lines are much deeper and present more problems across the board.
Pitt
It took a long time to get there, but Pat Narduzzi finally has a defensive line that can match the best ones he had at Michigan State.
Pitt finished 12th in SP+ on defense last season as well as 6th in sack rate and 3rd in passing down sack rate. The primary reason for that was the defensive line.
They have three players returning who produced double digit tackles for loss: defensive tackle Jalen Twyman, defensive end Patrick Jones II (17.5 Havoc plays), and defensive end Deslin Alexandre. That doesn’t even include Rashad Weaver, who missed all of last season with an injury (20 Havoc plays in 2018).
Throw in some young talent like sophomore Habakkuk Baldonado (5.5 TFLs), who is barely scratching the surface with his potential, and this is a group that should be one of the better D-lines the Irish have faced in recent memory. They are the reason why Pitt will have a shot at pulling off an upset against the Irish.
Clemson
The Tigers may not have the same kind of line that they had in 2018, which featured three first round draft picks, but they are as deep as ever with some players ready to make the leap in 2020. They finished 5th in sack rate last fall and should be able to put more pressure with only four rushers this season.
They are loaded at end with Justin Foster, Xavier Thomas, and KJ Henry (30 combined Havoc plays) and have a rising star inside with Tyler Davis (second team All-ACC as a true freshman). Then there’s early enrollee Bryan Bresee who is going to be a handful immediately as well as three others who I had in the ISD Fab 50 last year adding to the talent already on-hand.
If Notre Dame can run the ball against this group, they can run the ball against anybody.
Duke
Duke? Yes, Duke.
The Blue Devils had a strong pass rush last season (20th in sack rate) and they’ll be as good in 2020 with their top two edge defenders returning.
Victor Dimujeke (8.5 sacks) has a big time motor and Chris Rumph II was one of the most dominant pass-rushers in college football according to PFF. They had him on their All-American team with the highest win rate and highest-pressure rate for an edge rusher. He gave Notre Dame problems when he rushed inside in their sub-packages.
It’s a drop off between them with their depth compared to Pitt and Clemson, but when you have someone like Rumph, it’s not going to be easy protecting Ian Book when Duke visits Notre Dame Stadium.
USC
Sure, this is largely the same group that Notre Dame ran for 308 yards against, but they have the raw talent that’s comparable to the top defensive fronts in the country. They’d be a lot scarier if they had a Porter Gustin on the roster, but even without that type of player, they are going to be pretty good.
Drake Jackson is the star. He had 15.5 Havoc plays as a true freshman and flashed in a big way against the Irish last year. He should be even better in year two and will be helped playing beside a trio of good interior options. Jay Tufele, Marlon Tuipulotu, and Brandon Pili (combined 17.5 TFLs and 26.5 Havoc plays) made for a strong rotation inside. None of them have become the stars that they were projected to be as recruits, but each of them could play on any line in the country.
The big question will be how all of these guys are going to fit into Todd Orlando’s scheme. He plays a three down defense, which means Jackson is moving to outside linebacker. Is that going to be a good fit for him? He’s a much more natural fit as a player in a 40 front even with him dropping 20 pounds to play this role. The same could be said for those other three players, none of whom seem suited to play as a 0 tech nose guard.
It’s Orlando’s job to get the best out of this group and it will be interesting to see if he tweaks some of what he does to fit their strengths.