Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons the Irish will be just fine without Mike Elko
By Jacob Wilson
1. Notre Dame’s 2018 class will provide relief for years to come
One of the most discouraging things for a prospective defensive coordinator to see is a team without a plan. As for the Irish, they definitely have a plan. According to 247Sports, Notre Dame boasts one of the top recruiting classes in the nation for the second year in a row, with a total of seven four-star recruits on the defensive side of the ball alone.
These seven players include cornerback Houston Griffith, safety Derrik Allen, linebackers Jack Lamb, Shayne Simon, and Matthew Bauer, defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola, and athlete Braden Lenzy. This is the most impressive class that we’ve seen from Kelly in a while, and most players will be contributing on defense.
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While it’s not likely that we’ll see many of these names next season, the amount of raw talent in this class should provide significant hope even in the case that the Irish defense struggles next season. With everything seeming to come together for the Irish this past year, a little more talent certainly couldn’t hurt.