Gabe Rubio & Notre Dame's Defense Preparing for Arkansas QB Taylen Green
Notre Dame was less than 48 hours removed from its first win of the season, but it didn’t feel like a victory inside or outside the program.
First Amendment rights were being exercised on message boards and social media as fans ripped defensive coordinator Chris Ash. In fact, any post related to Notre Dame on social media is met with a “Fire Ash” response within minutes.
Head coach Marcus Freeman could sense the frustration too, speaking with the tone of someone coming off a loss after Saturday’s win over Purdue.
“I think it still starts with a buy-in,” stated Freeman on Monday. “It's me, everybody. I think right now, we have to make sure in our football facility that we're not pointing a finger at a call. We're not pointing a finger at if he would have called something else.
“Everybody's got to believe that we have the answers. It's not a person. It's not Marcus Freeman should be calling the defense. We have the answers. We've got to all buy in and execute this the right way.”
It’s a fall from grace as Notre Dame is statistically one of the worst defenses in the FBS after years of being a thorn in the side of opponents.
Defensive lineman Gabe Rubio has seen the ups and downs of the college football season and he took Freeman’s message to heart.
“You’ve got to listen to what the guys are saying in the locker room,” the fifth-year senior stated. “On the field, you’ve got to see how they act because actions speak louder than words, so when someone’s not getting to where they need to go, you’ve got to nip that in the bud, otherwise it becomes a bigger problem.”
As it relates to the defensive line, Notre Dame hasn’t found consistency through three games. There have been flashes of what the group can do, but ultimately, the Fighting Irish aren’t getting the job done.
Notre Dame’s defense ranks No. 126 in tackles for loss, No. 105 in sacks, No. 103 in passing efficiency and No. 130 in negative play percentage.
Rubio knows it starts up front and the Irish are focused on improving in specific areas entering Saturday’s road trip to Arkansas.
“Pass rush,” Rubio said. “Containing the quarterback. Keeping the quarterback in the pocket. Interior guys, I know we had a little trouble with the B-gap escape routes with this last game that we played. I feel like as we continue to progress, our trust will elevate, not that we don’t trust each other, but just elevate even more.”
That said, the positive development for the Irish defense has been stopping the run. Notre Dame is No. 41 in the nation in rush defense and are giving up just 3.5 yards per carry.
It’s not elite, but considering the circumstances of stopping the pass, Notre Dame’s run defense is keeping them in games.
What’s the difference there? Notre Dame isn’t playing on its heels and they are playing with violence.
“Definitely communication, getting our cleats in the ground, making sure we can see the full picture of what the offense is giving us,” explained Rubio. “Adjusting on the fly, having answers to problems that we may or may not have and then just violence. Violence is an answer to a lot of different things.”
The challenge grows this week with Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green, who leads the country in total yards per game (387.8) by over 30 yards. At 6-foot-6 and 224 pounds, Green has topped 300 passing yards in three of four games while also rushing for over 100 yards twice.
“He’s a long-stride dude,” Rubio stated. “He can get out of the pocket pretty fast and whenever he’s going, he’s going. The way to basically keep him in there is to get everybody on the same page and crush the pocket.”
Freeman was adamant that the Irish can’t let Green step up into the B-gap, as that’s where Marcel Reed and Purdue’s quarterbacks found success.
That’s on the defensive line, especially Notre Dame’s interior.
“You’ve got to be smart on space,” Rubio explained. “Spatial awareness is a key when rushing the passer. You’ve got to know how you’re body affects the other three or four rushing. You’ve got to know your job and sometimes know the job of other guys with you, so you can evenly distribute yourselves across the board.”
The other challenge will be a fun one for Rubio. Arkansas boasts a large offensive line that averages 322 pounds across the board.
“I'm looking forward to it,” said Rubio. “It's going to be a good battle. They got some big guys. I think someone was 6-foot-6, 340 pounds. You don't typically see that, especially at the tackles. That's big boy movement, so I'm going to be very excited to see how we match up against that.”
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