Notre Dame Defense: Much Improved in 2010

On January 19th, 2007, Corwin Brown was hired as Notre Dame's new defensive coordinator. After only one year at the helm, the Irish went 3-9. The following year, 2008, Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis brought in John Tentua (a 4-3 coach) to "co-coordinate" the defense. At first glance, it seemed like a great idea. Tenuta was highly thought of as one of the best defensive coordinators in the country. In the end, it proved to be one of the major factors into why Charlie Weis was fired after five seasons.

Corwin Brown ran a 3-4 "personnel" defense. It wasn't the type of defense that Alabama runs. It gave you many different types of looks. Although they didn't have the perfect personnel for the system, the Irish defense was hardly the problem in 2007.

There are four major reasons why Notre Dame struggled so much on defense in 2009.

1) Charlie Weis' recruiting classes in 2006 and 2007 we're absolutely dreadful when it came to the front seven on defense. 

2006 Class: DE John Ryan, DE Kallen Wade, LB Morrice Richardson, LB Toryan Smith

Out of these four players: John Ryan played average his senior year; Kallen Wade never played a meaningful down; Morrice Richardson played sparingly early on in his career but barely at all as a senior; and Toryan Smith started in 2009 but was quickly replaced by the freshman sensation Manti Te'o.

2007 Class: DE Kerry Neal, DE Emeka Nwankwo, DT Ian Williams, LB Aaron Nagel, LB Brian Smith

Out of these five players: Kerry Neal played well as a freshman (under Brown) as an outside linebacker, but struggled as a defensive end; Emeka Nwankwo has yet to make an impact; Ian Williams has been a consistent starter since his freshman year (mainly because of lack of depth); Aaron Nagel transferred after his freshman year; and Brian Smith has been the vocal leader on defense (although his play has not always backed it up).

Analysis: You cannot recruit one defensive tackle in two years and expect to be successful. Charlie Weis recruited amazing talent at the skill positions at Notre Dame. But with the front seven on defense, where games are won and lost, he failed miserably in his first two classes.

2) Switching from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 defense after one year was detrimental in creating a type of continuity among the defense.

Under Charlie Weis, Notre Dame was constantly changing their defensive scheme. In 2005 and 2006, Rick Minter, the defensive coordinator at the time, ran a 4-3 defense. In 2007 they switched to a 3-4 with the arrival of Corwin Brown. In 2008, Brown and Tenuta both coordinated the defense and often "butted heads" on what exactly the philosophy of the defense was. Finally, in 2009, Tenuta fully ran the defense (into the ground). His constant 4-3 blitzing scheme made Notre Dame's defense look lost 90% of the time. The combination of putting players in wrong positions and a scheme that left the middle of the field completely open was what made Notre Dame a 6-6 football team in 2009.

3) They recruited for a 3-4 defense for two years.

Recruiting for a 4-3 defense is completely different than recruiting for a 3-4 defense. In 2007 and 2008 Notre Dame recruited for a 3-4 defense. So in 2009, when they ran Tenuta's 4-3 "blitz no matter what" defense, players were playing way out of position. Asking a 6' foot 240 pound Darius Fleming to play defensive end against 300+ pound offensive tackles is just moronic. Darius Fleming was born to be an outside linebacker in a 3-4 system. That is just one example of many players playing out of position in 2009.

4) The biggest flaw of this staff: player development.

Yes, Notre Dame recruited for a completely different defensive scheme than what they ran in 2009. Yes, the scheme under Tenuta was abysmal. But the biggest flaw of Charlie Weis and his staff at Notre Dame was their inability to develop their players (especially on the defensive side of the ball). There is a reason most of his classes were highly rated. I find it very hard to believe that most of these highly rated players are all "busts" and overrated coming out of high school.

A few days ago, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly hired Bob Diaco (Cincinatti's defensive coordinator this past season) as his defensive coordinator. Although young, Diaco is a very good coach. Many people will point to the fact that at times this year, his defense gave up a lot of points (i.e. against Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Florida). But many people fail to realize that Cincinnati was replacing 10 out of 11 starters on defense from last year's Big East Championship team. Well guess what? His defense was still good enough to win all 12 regular season games.

Notre Dame's defense is going to be much better in 2010. Why?

1) Bob Diaco runs a 1-Gap 3-4 defense.

2) The coaching is going to be a huge upgrade.

The highlight of Charlie Weis' tenure at Notre Dame, from a recruiting stand point, was after a dismal 2007 season (3-9), he was able to sign the No. 1 Recruiting Class in the country. That 2008 recruiting class, which will be juniors in the fall, will have a huge impact in why the 2010 defense will be a successful unit. When looking at the potential starters for next year's defense, a lot of the players will be those highly recruited players that were recruited for the 3-4 defense .

(Rankings based off of Rivals.com)

Probable 2010 Notre Dame Defense :

DE: Ethan Johnson (JR) - 4 Star - Rivals Top 100 Player

NT: Ian Williams (SR) - 3 Star - Offered by Florida

DE: Kapron Lewis-Moore (JR) - 4 Star - Rivals Top 250 Player

OLB: Darius Fleming (JR) - 4 Star - Rivals Top 100 Player

MLB: Steve Filer (JR) - 4 Star - Rivals Top 250 Player

MLB: Manti Te'o (SO) - 5 Star - Rivals Top 100 Player

OLB: Brian Smith (SR) - 4 Star - Numerous Big 12 Offers

CB: Gary Gray (SR) - 4 Star - Rivals Top 100 Player

FS: Dan McCarthy (JR) - 4 Star - Rivals Top 250 Player

SS: Zeke Motta (SO) - 4 Star - Rivals Top 100 Player

CB: Darrin Walls (SR) - 4 Star - Rivals Top 100 Player

Almost the entire second team is made up of highly recruited players as well. I refuse to believe that all of these highly rated players are "busts." There is a reason that all of these players were rated so highly. I fully believe that with running the right system with the personnel Notre Dame has and an upgrade in coaching, that Notre Dame is going to surprise a lot of people in 2010.