Fall Camp Preview: Defensive Tackle

While Mike Elston inherited some exciting young talent at end, he wasn't quite as fortunate at the defensive tackle position.

It appears he is going to be without veteran nose tackle Daniel Cage, which is a serious hit to the depth at that spot. He's also got unproven players at 3 technique that have had little production on the field and not much from the spring either.

Things have turned out okay in the past with similar question marks at other positions on the Irish defense. Cornerback in 2012 is a perfect example. A converted true freshman running back became a starter, and a good one, opposite a converted wide receiver who only had one year of experience on defense. That situation seemed dicey, but worked out well.

Corner in 2012 was much more dire, so there should be some hope that this can end up being a manageable position for Notre Dame in 2017. They'll need some players to step up in camp to add a little hope that things will end up alright.

Tillery etc at nose

"Tillery etc" sounds like a CBS sitcom, but in reality it is the current nose tackle depth chart at Notre Dame. We know Jerry Tillery is in line to be the starter after switching back from 3 technique in the spring. We just don't know who his backup will be yet.

Let's get to Tillery first, though. He didn't have a bad spring, but he also didn't have a dominant one. It's not a bad thing to not be overly noticeable when playing nose/one technique and after the way his season ended last year, it might have been good to not have too many people talking about him.

There are signs that he could become a very good starter, but even if that doesn't happen, he can't play every snap. They are going to need someone to spell him. If they can't find a true nose to play behind him, they may just look to take him off the field on passing downs. That is one option, but that's only going to be an option if someone doesn't play well in camp.

So, who might the candidates be as Tillery's backup? Pete Mokwuah was technically the third string nose tackle in the spring, but no one should be confident that he can be that guy because he hasn't seen the field in three years on campus. So unless he looks like a different guy, then they will probably look at moving someone over from three technique to compete there.

Two that stand out as potentially moving are Brandon Tiassum and Micah Dew-Treadway. MDT showed positive signs this spring and they may want to take a look at playing him at both interior spots. Tiassum was playing three technique in the Blue-Gold game, but he looks further away from competing for time there than MDT. That may be enough reason to move him. He looked better with his get off, but did not do well versus the run in some practices we watched.

If either of those two don't take that job, it may be up to a true freshman. That leaves Darnell Ewell, a 4 star recruit, that physically looks big enough in his upper body to play right now. Some projected him to be ready to compete from day one, but I didn't view him in that way and think he will have to have a monster camp to prove he is capable.

We've received positive reports about true freshman Kurt Hinish so far. I thought he might have some more physical development to do before he saw the field, but he may surprise and compete at one tech right away. He is a high motor kid that will do everything in his power to try and get on the field this season.

Bonner's time at 3 tech?

Jonathan Bonner seems like he is an 8th year senior, but this is his fourth season and he finally appears like he is in line to start. He ran with the ones at 3 tech all spring and showed some solid potential as an interior pass rusher. He wasn't as good versus the run, but that's to be expected from a converted end.

I feel pretty confident that he is going to be a solid player for the Irish this season, but it will be interesting to see if a healthy Elijah Taylor can push him for that starting job. Taylor was largely invisible last season up until the USC game. If you just watched the season finale, one would think he had a much different season.

There are going to be plenty of opportunities for interior pass rushers to play with defensive coordinator Mike Elko often using double three techniques on 3rd downs. That could be a big opportunity for Taylor to show out as a pass rusher and we could see him and Bonner on the field at the same time in certain packages. Of course, Taylor will have to prove he is healthy and that the USC game was not one-time occurrence. He needs to have a big camp to establish himself.

MDT is still an option to compete here as well if he's not moved to nose on a permanent basis. We'll just have to wait to see where they see his fit. He could see reps at both spots in August.

Freshman Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa was an end, but seems destined to play 3 technique at some point. Will that be right away in this camp? It could be depending on how he has taken to the strength and conditioning program. I think he's got the most upside on the roster as an interior rusher and hope to see him take some reps there at least in one on ones.