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Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons Irish will be contenders again in 2019

By Connor Muldowney

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 01: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and his team wait to head on to the field for the start of the game against the Syracuse Orange at MetLife Stadium on October 1, 2016 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 01: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and his team wait to head on to the field for the start of the game against the Syracuse Orange at MetLife Stadium on October 1, 2016 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 29: Jalen Elliott #21 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tackles Hunter Renfrow #13 of the Clemson Tigers after a catch in the first half during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 29: Jalen Elliott #21 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tackles Hunter Renfrow #13 of the Clemson Tigers after a catch in the first half during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

2. Clark Lea’s improving defense

When Mike Elko decided to bold from South Bend for the Texas A&M defensive coordinator job, everyone kind of assumed he’d be taking the success with him. While he is one of the better defensive coordinators in the nation, he left behind his apprentice in Clark Lea.

Entering his second year as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator, Lea has high expectations and he earned that with a solid first year in charge.

In fact, he led Notre Dame to the 13th-best scoring defense and 30th-best total defense in the nation last season and that aided the offense in times when it struggled — see the Pitt, Michigan, Vanderbilt and USC games.

Lea’s defense is only getting better, though. The longer he’s in charge, the more his players are going to buy into the system and trust in him to get the job done. He had a solid first year and that’s only going to lead to a top-30 total defense and even a top-10 scoring defense in 2019.

Returning are guys like Julian Okwara, Alohi Gilman, Troy Pride Jr., Khalid Kareem, Daelin Hayes, Houston Griffith and Jalen Elliott. He has plenty of talent back on the defensive side of the ball to make up for key losses.

Notre Dame’s 2019 defense may be Brian Kelly’s best in a long time.

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