Spring Ball Preview | Defensive Tackle
It’s the end of an era for Notre Dame with Kurt Hinish running out of eligibility. He was not the most dominant nose tackle the Irish have had in recent memory, but his presence was always felt and he will be missed.
The defensive tackle position now is being manned by players with loads of experience, but most of them still have plenty to prove as well. It’s time for these players to shine.
It starts with Jayson Ademilola, who had a breakout season after a strong finish to the 2020 campaign. His numbers might not have been overwhelming (seven tackles for loss, 10 total Havoc plays), but he was tied for fifth in the country in total pressures for an interior defensive lineman.
He decided to come back to school for a fifth year and has a chance to be one of the best 3-technique defensive tackles in the country. If he’s going to have a Sheldon Day type of finish to his Notre Dame career, it will start with him leading the defensive line as a whole this spring.
Behind him on the depth chart, it’s a bit unclear at the moment. Rylie Mills would be set to be next at 3-tech, but they may look to move him to end. If that happens, then Jacob Lacey likely stays at 3-tech. Mills should very much be in the mix to rush inside on 3rd downs this season, though, and it’s likely we see him there at times whether he moves outside or not.
As for Lacey, this is a big spring for him. He dropped weight last year and had reps at both defensive tackle spots. The nose tackle position is open and he was the number two behind Hinish there for two seasons, so it’s not out of the question he could slide back there.
Regardless of where they have him after this spring, it will be critical that he stays healthy and plays at a high level.
Howard Cross is the presumptive starter at nose tackle at the start of spring, but his best position might also be at 3-tech. He and Lacey could end up taking reps at both.
The big question will be how big Cross is and whether or not he can hold up as a starter at nose. He had a dynamite fall camp last year and looked poised to make some noise as the third tackle, but he never really had the kind of impact that was expected. Much like Lacey, Notre Dame needs Cross to take it up a level this spring no matter what position he is playing.
The big reason why Cross and Lacey are so important is because we haven’t seen enough from Aiden Keanaaina or Gabriel Rubio yet. These two should be heavily in the mix at nose and will get the reps to prove they can be part of the rotation this season or perhaps more than that. Overall the Irish are undersized at defensive tackle and these two could be a remedy to that, but they have a lot to prove in order to make a move up the depth chart.
Al Washington has a lot more edge defenders with his defensive line than tackles, which is why it may not be a slam dunk that Mills moves. We also may see Jason Onye or early enrollee Tyson Ford move inside to work at 3-tech depending on where things are at with them physically.
This is one position where there is uncertainty now, but it could look like a strength by the end of spring