Notre Dame Football: 3 reasons Irish will disappoint in 2020

3. Irish are losing 75 percent of elite secondary

When you have the No. 3 pass defense in college football, there’s a good chance that you develop some elite NFL prospects in that secondary. Notre Dame sent three guys off to the NFL after finishing third nationally against the pass as Alohi Gilman, Troy Pride Jr. and Jalen Elliott are all gone, leaving senior Shaun Crawford as the lone returning starter.

Kyle Hamilton was a pleasant surprise as a freshman safety and many believe he’ll be the next star back there, but when a team loses arguably its best pass rusher, it has to hope that an experienced secondary is in place to make up for it.

Hamilton will be fine and there’s some potential in guys like Houston Griffith, TaRiq Bracy, KJ Wallace, Isaiah Pryor, Isaiah Rutherford and DJ Brown, among others, but losing 75 percent of the starters (and best three players) from the defensive backfield is going to hurt.

Expect Clark Lea to still run a solid defense, but the secondary is going to take a step back and the pass rush may not be quite as effective either.