Notre Dame Football: Final report card for 2019 season

Overall defense/special teams grade: B-

Defensive standouts

Kyle Hamilton, DB: Hamilton was one of the best freshman defensive backs in the country outside LSU this season. The 6-foot-4 safety led the Irish in interceptions and was second in pass breakups.

Alohi Gillman, DB: Along with Hamilton and Jalen Elliot, they formed one of the best safety trios in the country. The senior Navy transfer was fourth on the team in tackles and first in forced fumbles.

Drew White, LB: It’s not easy replacing a talent like Drue Tranquill, but that was exactly what Drew White was asked to do. White responded with leading the team in tackles and recovered two fumbles.

Defensive Line: C+

A strength of the defensive unit last season, the defensive line was ravaged by talent leaving and injuries. Daelin Hayes was lost for the season in September and Julian Okwara dealt with nagging injuries in addition to losing time.

Despite what they lost to graduation, the NFL, and injury the Irish pass rush was really good. Their 34 sacks were good for a respectable 32nd in the country.

Where the Irish struggled was against the run. They finished 60th in the country against the run giving up over 150 yards rushing per game. That is over 10 yards worse than the 139 rush yards per game they surrendered in 2018.

Linebacker: B+

The linebacking corps was hit harder by graduation than any other group on the defense.  Te’von Coney and Drue Tranquill were all lost to graduation after the 2018 season. This brought a new and inexperienced linebacking corps to take the helm of the defense. Not only that, Coney and Tranquill were team leaders. They were the heart and soul of the 2018 team that made the Cotton Bowl run.

Enter, Drew White. He emerged as the leader of the defense and after a shaky start tied for the team lead in tackles. There were no two games where their potential was on display than the Virginia game and the Camping World Bowl.

Defensive Back: B+

Along with the pass rush, the secondary was the strength of the defense. Notre Dame had one of the better secondaries in college football this season. The Irish were third in total pass defense including yards per attempt and yards per game. The rotation of seniors Alohi Gilman, Jalen Elliot, Troy Pride Jr., Shaun Crawford, Donte Vaughn mixed in with true freshman Kyle Hamilton made the Irish formidable on the back-end of their defense.

Kicker/Punter: B

The special teams for the Irish were solid this season. Junior kicker Jonathan Doerer had to replace veteran kicker Justin Yoon. The kicker responded in kind making all of his extra points and making 85 percent of his field goal attempts. Jay Bramblett had a solid season punting averaging 39.4 yards per punt.

Kick/Punt Return: C+

Although the kick and punt returners were not spectacular, sometimes that’s okay. The Irish didn’t return a kick or punt for a touchdown, but they didn’t turn the ball over either. Not only that, the Irish had one of the better kick and punt coverage teams in the country finishing 15th in punt return defense. They did not give up a punt return for a touchdown and allowed less than four yards a return. They also finished a respectable 18th in the country in kickoff defense not allowing a kick return for a touchdown.