Irish DC Al Golden Outlines Keys to Early Defensive Success in Fall Camp

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It’s easy to obsess over Notre Dame’s defensive inadequacies in year one under Al Golden. 

The Fighting Irish defense finished 2022 ranked 36th out of 131 FBS programs according to Football Outsiders DF+, which combines Football Outsider’s DFEI (opponent-adjusted drive efficiency data defensive ratings) and ESPN’s SP+ rankings.

Worse yet, Notre Dame allowed a touchdown on 79.4 percent of opponent red zone opportunities — dead last in college football.

Golden is more aware of these deficiencies than any of his outside critics, so he hit the reset button in January and began making the schematic adjustments he felt are necessary to improve the defense. 

“All I did was see what we can throw out and what we really need,” Golden said. “We threw a bunch out, you know, and I don't think we added a ton, but we threw a bunch out that really didn't have application just because of the way the season evolved and how we were playing.”

“We had the whole spring to look at who we were playing and say, 'What do we need menu wise?' Let's coach that. This other stuff, let's remove and make it quiet and let the kids play with clarity.”

With a more manageable playbook, Golden turns his focus to a few big-picture facets early in fall camp:

1) Early-season ball disruption

2) Effective tackling

3) Consistent effort and attitude

4) Situational awareness

“Those are the four elements we're talking about right now,” Golden said, “and need to be really good at.”

In 2022, Notre Dame‘s first interception of the season didn’t come until Tariq Bracy picked off BYU quarterback Jaren Hall on Oct. 8. That remained the team’s only interception through seven games.

Irish defensive backs snagged eight interceptions over the season's final month, including six from freshman cornerback Ben Morrison. 

“Let's not wait like last year to get it going,” Golden said. “When we did get it going, it made a difference in the game.”

Golden’s logic is sound. The Irish failed to force a turnover in any of the team’s four 2022 losses, which resulted in a -7 turnover margin.  Notre Dame lost each by 11 points or fewer. 

Of course, ball disruption also includes pass breakups — an area where Notre Dame struggled throughout the season. 

The Irish broke up 24 passes in 13 contests last fall, a worse per game average than every FBS program other than Charlotte.

It would seem the Irish defensive backs heard Golden’s message loud and clear on Wednesday. Morrison, Jaden Mickey, Xavier Watts and Clarence Lewis picked off several passes and frequently deflected on-target throws from quarterback Sam Hartman. 

The defensive backs were physical and aggressive for the entire practice. 

“There’s going to be great battles all summer and that’s going to make us better,” Golden said. “I'm glad that they're confident, that they're playing faster and, hopefully, that will spill over to the entire defense.”

Notre Dame tackled well last fall and needs to continue to do so. According to Pro Football Focus, the Fighting Irish missed 99 tackles. That’s actually the fewest since the football analytics website began tracking stats for the college game in 2014.

This area of focus will be a priority for the entire defense, but the backend has the most significant room for growth.

Six returners from Notre Dame’s secondary missed 12 percent of tackle opportunities last fall and played at least 240 snaps.

By comparison, only two members of the 2018 defensive back rotation — the last elite Notre Dame secondary — missed greater than nine percent of tackles: backup cornerback Donte Vaughn (18.8 percent) and safety Jalen Eliott (14.7 percent). 

The Irish are still at least a few days from full contact and only wore helmets and shoulder pads on Friday. 

“I was pleased with that today, the first day in shoulder pads,” Golden said. “I thought we had great effort and attitude to the ball.”

Based on coach Marcus Freeman’s post-practice remarks on Wednesday, the team met “effort and attitude” expectations through the first three days of fall camp. 

Lastly, all 11 defenders on the field must be aware of what’s required of them based on the current circumstances of the game. 

“Situationally, do we understand how to react in short yardage in the low red [zone]?” Golden said. “[What about] on the goal line, third down, third and extra long or whatever the case may be?”

Here’s where Notre Dame should see the biggest improvements in year two under Golden.

There’s less for players to think about on a play-to-play basis due to their familiarity with a condensed playbook. That’s especially true for the program’s three fifth-year linebackers and defensive quarterbacks: Marist Liufau, JD Bertrand and Jack Kiser.

“You can challenge them every day, not just in terms of the assignments and alignments but also to improve their technique,” Golden said. “All of them have done that. Marist, we’ve been challenging him in zone coverage -- because we know he can rush the passer and we use him in that, do that a lot on third down – just to be a better zone player, and he’s really responded. 

“He’s gotten better. That’s just one example, but it’s a very mature group. When you’re not telling them where to align and what their assignment is, then you can really drill down.”