Photo by Rick Kimball/ISD
Notre Dame Football
Practice Report: 3/22
March 22, 2017
8,391
Notre Dame is back from Spring Break, and the pads were on during Wednesday morning's practice. We were greeted walking into practice with walk-on Keenan Centlivre puking into a trashcan before stretching had even started.
One thing I noticed during stretching is the first guy in line, if he was an offensive player, a ball was in his hands.
Not much changed on the defensive side of the ball as the first group consisted of:
DE: Daelin Hayes
DL: Jerry Tillery
DL: Jon Bonner
DE: Andrew Trumbetti
LB: Greer Martini
LB: Nyles Morgan
Rover: Asmar Bilal
CB: Nick Watkins
S: Nick Coleman
S: Drue Tranquill
CB: Julian Love
The second group had multiple players rotating in and out throughout the morning. Julian Okwara, Micah Dew-Treadway, Daniel Cage and Jay Hayes all worked on the defensive line. It was a variety of guys at linebacker as Tevon Coney, Jonathan Jones, and Jamir Jones got reps at the linebacker spots. Rover was filled with walk-on’s Devyn Spruell and Rob Regan.
The team then broke into individual drills for a significant portion of our viewing. The defensive line started off with some sled work, as they worked on their punch. The linebackers worked on their first step, and Clark Lea was drilling them to get the proper foot placement and angles down. Todd Lyght had his defensive backs working on their backpedal and breaking on the ball carrier.
The defensive line then moved to drill work against the double-team. The first rep didn’t go so well, and Mike Elston let out a loud “What are you doing Bonner.”
Part of the drill was working against the snap count, and Elston got Tillery to jump offsides on a two-count.
Dew-Treadway also head from Elston as he didn’t use proper technique against the double-team.
“Throw your hip and shoulder into him! It’s a double-team.”
Irish Sports Daily
The defensive backs moved on to tackling drills against the tackle wheel, which is something new at Notre Dame. It’s useful as it allows the player to wrap but then also cushion the fall, so they aren’t tearing their body up more than they have to.
The defense also broke into their form of the skeleton drill. Today’s focus was filling the run and defensive coordinator Mike Elko was all over his guys if they didn’t do their job. After one rep where a player didn’t fill the hole, Elko screamed, “You gotta go, man!”
During the last period of practice available to us, the Irish got physical with everyone hitting. On the far end of the field, the offensive and defensive lines were going at it with the running backs.
On my side of the field, the defensive backs and receivers went through a 1-on-1 tackling situation. It was somewhat similar to the Oklahoma drill where about a 10-yard radius was blocked off, and the defensive back had to come downhill to make the tackle.
To put it in perspective, the defensive backs started the drill by not tackling the guy to the ground and Elko about lost his mind. The defensive guys quickly understood that this wasn’t about just wrapping up, but about being physical and tackling the player to the ground.
“TACKLE HIM,” Elko screamed at Ashton White after he simply tried to wrap a player up.
Donte Vaughn, DJ Morgan, Nicco Fertitta and Drue Tranquill had big sticks, while Jalen Elliott, Devin Studstill, Troy Pride Jr., and Spencer Perry had complete whiffs. Elliott rebounded with a nice tackle and Studstill did the same. Chase Claypool made Studstill look completely silly during one rep, while Perry got a “Move your feet” line from Lyght after his missed tackle.
Lyght’s go to line during the drill: “Finish him.”
It wasn’t an overly impressive drill from the Irish defensive backs, but it’s a start. It’s exactly what they need regarding mentality and skill work. It’s a direct challenge to how tough they are, and I suspect it will get better as the spring goes on.
Note on Pro Day
Look for Amir Carlisle and Jonas Gray to possibly workout tomorrow. South Bend native and former SMU/Bowling Green/Alabama receiver Gehrig Dieter could also workout at Pro Day. Several NFL Scouts were on hand to watch Notre Dame's practice on Wednesday morning as well.
One thing I noticed during stretching is the first guy in line, if he was an offensive player, a ball was in his hands.
Not much changed on the defensive side of the ball as the first group consisted of:
DE: Daelin Hayes
DL: Jerry Tillery
DL: Jon Bonner
DE: Andrew Trumbetti
LB: Greer Martini
LB: Nyles Morgan
Rover: Asmar Bilal
CB: Nick Watkins
S: Nick Coleman
S: Drue Tranquill
CB: Julian Love
The second group had multiple players rotating in and out throughout the morning. Julian Okwara, Micah Dew-Treadway, Daniel Cage and Jay Hayes all worked on the defensive line. It was a variety of guys at linebacker as Tevon Coney, Jonathan Jones, and Jamir Jones got reps at the linebacker spots. Rover was filled with walk-on’s Devyn Spruell and Rob Regan.
The team then broke into individual drills for a significant portion of our viewing. The defensive line started off with some sled work, as they worked on their punch. The linebackers worked on their first step, and Clark Lea was drilling them to get the proper foot placement and angles down. Todd Lyght had his defensive backs working on their backpedal and breaking on the ball carrier.
The defensive line then moved to drill work against the double-team. The first rep didn’t go so well, and Mike Elston let out a loud “What are you doing Bonner.”
Part of the drill was working against the snap count, and Elston got Tillery to jump offsides on a two-count.
Dew-Treadway also head from Elston as he didn’t use proper technique against the double-team.
“Throw your hip and shoulder into him! It’s a double-team.”
Irish Sports Daily
The defense also broke into their form of the skeleton drill. Today’s focus was filling the run and defensive coordinator Mike Elko was all over his guys if they didn’t do their job. After one rep where a player didn’t fill the hole, Elko screamed, “You gotta go, man!”
During the last period of practice available to us, the Irish got physical with everyone hitting. On the far end of the field, the offensive and defensive lines were going at it with the running backs.
On my side of the field, the defensive backs and receivers went through a 1-on-1 tackling situation. It was somewhat similar to the Oklahoma drill where about a 10-yard radius was blocked off, and the defensive back had to come downhill to make the tackle.
To put it in perspective, the defensive backs started the drill by not tackling the guy to the ground and Elko about lost his mind. The defensive guys quickly understood that this wasn’t about just wrapping up, but about being physical and tackling the player to the ground.
“TACKLE HIM,” Elko screamed at Ashton White after he simply tried to wrap a player up.
Donte Vaughn, DJ Morgan, Nicco Fertitta and Drue Tranquill had big sticks, while Jalen Elliott, Devin Studstill, Troy Pride Jr., and Spencer Perry had complete whiffs. Elliott rebounded with a nice tackle and Studstill did the same. Chase Claypool made Studstill look completely silly during one rep, while Perry got a “Move your feet” line from Lyght after his missed tackle.
Lyght’s go to line during the drill: “Finish him.”
It wasn’t an overly impressive drill from the Irish defensive backs, but it’s a start. It’s exactly what they need regarding mentality and skill work. It’s a direct challenge to how tough they are, and I suspect it will get better as the spring goes on.
Note on Pro Day
Look for Amir Carlisle and Jonas Gray to possibly workout tomorrow. South Bend native and former SMU/Bowling Green/Alabama receiver Gehrig Dieter could also workout at Pro Day. Several NFL Scouts were on hand to watch Notre Dame's practice on Wednesday morning as well.
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