Notre Dame Football: 5 biggest questions heading into 2018 spring ball

Spring football is right around the corner and Notre Dame football has some questions that beg to be answered. What do we need to know?

Notre Dame pulled off one of the most impressive turnarounds in recent memory during the 2017 season, going from 4-8 to 10-3. That type of turnaround doesn’t happen overnight as Brian Kelly worked hard to restore his reputation and exit the hot seat.

Now that his team’s expectations are back to where they should be, will he continue to get the Irish back to prominence with national title contention? He has some major questions to answer this spring, and so does his team, if that’s going to happen.

What are the biggest questions heading into spring ball?

5. Will the defense continue to improve?

There’s a new defensive coordinator in town and his name is Clark Lea. He may not be a household name for Notre Dame fans just yet, but he could be instrumental in continuing the growth of this improved defense.

In 2017, Brian Kelly hired Mike Elko from Wake Forest to be his defensive coordinator and he brought Lea along with him as the linebackers coach. He helped to coach four linebackers to 75-tackle seasons, which was a first in program history. He and Elko pioneered a stronger, more aggressive Notre Dame defense.

However, Elko left for the Texas A&M defensive coordinator vacancy this past offseason and Lea was promoted. Will the defense continue on an upward trajectory under Lea or will the unit struggle without Elko in charge?

It’ll be interesting to see if the defense, which lost some key pieces, will be just as effective in 2018 as it was in 2017.