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Notre Dame Football: Irish set to have nation’s best defense in 2018

By Andrew Miller

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Drue Tranquill #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumbled punt in the second quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Drue Tranquill #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumbled punt in the second quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Building a championship defense is a task that Notre Dame football head coach Brian Kelly successfully completed for the 2018 season.

No program has more returning production along the defensive side of the ball this year than Notre Dame football. Even though the Fighting Irish don’t have near as much offensive experience coming back to South Bend in 2018, the defensive prowess should be able to balance things out.

According to SB Nation’s research on how much returning production each program brings back in 2018, Notre Dame is set to have 96 percent of the previous seasons production back for this year. Very few new faces are set to be seen on defense for the Irish at any point but garbage time in 2018.

Since Notre Dame’s offense does have the potential for a solid campaign through the upcoming regular season schedule, the Irish should fall as a legitimate College Football Playoff contender through the bulk of the 2018 slate. In recent years, National Championship squads in college football are still mostly built through balanced rosters on both sides of the ball.

Although much of the responsibility of the success for the Irish lies with the offense piecing the puzzle together. Yet, that responsibility is still tough for the defense since there’s large expectations for the product put out on the field each week.

Significant players to watch on the Notre Dame defense this season includes cornerback Julian Love, nose guard Jerry Tillery, and linebacker Drue Tranquill. Nearly every defensive position has depth to it also. Notre Dame is primed to have a premier defensive line rotation, further highlighted by seniors like Jonathan Bonner and Daelin Hayes.

The Irish bring back their 2017 defensive leaders in nearly every major stat category that includes tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, interceptions, touchdowns, and fumble recoveries. Head coach Brian Kelly also locked up the No. 10 recruiting class in the nation for the 2018 cycles, so the incoming freshmen class can add some depth to the mix.

When it’s all said and done in 2018, Notre Dame could boast two or three All-Americans along the defense, at the very least. Love, Tillery, Tranquill, and the returning tackles leader Te’Von Coney, are all very capable of All-American status, especially when they play off each other’s skill.

Next: Biggest concerns Notre Dame Football must address in spring

The talent, experience, and depth are all in place for Notre Dame to have the best defense in college football this year. The only thing that could get in the way is another grueling schedule featuring tough opposing offenses like the Florida State Seminoles, USC Trojans, and Stanford Cardinal. However, it’s nothing this defensive group cannot handle.

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