Key Ingredients to Notre Dame's Blitzing Defense

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta loves to bring the blitz from all angles, as Irish fans are aware of.

Last year it was successful in spots, but was known to wear down in the fourth quarter. This year, more depth should help in that area.

Just like the offense, it starts with the line. A good defensive line can keep offensive linemen off the linebackers and defensive backs. That will enable them to blitz from all angles, just like Tenuta likes to do.

Ian Williams and John Ryan are expected to anchor the defensive line. The Irish are also expecting an immediate impact from freshman Tyler Stockton.

The next layer of the defense is the linebackers. This is generally the backbone of the defense, and the guys who make the most tackles.

Much like how an offense is built around a quarterback, a defense is built around a middle linebacker. I would like Brian Smith to be the guy who is the leader of that defense.

Toryan Smith and Darius Fleming are great compliments to Brian Smith. The unit has a lot of depth as well.

Redshirt freshman David Posluszny will see plenty of action and true freshman Manti Te'o is expected to make an immediate impact. With this unit, blitzing will occur early and often.

The final layer of the defense is the secondary. I am very happy with the backfield the Irish have in 2009.

Robert Blanton may be the key to the whole entire defense. When you run a defense that blitzes the way Tenuta likes to, a shutdown corner is of utmost importance.

This enables the defense to take away a great receiver without having to drop into zone coverage. That enables more guys to rush the passer.

Blanton is expected to be the guy for the Irish this season. How well Blanton plays will go a long way in determining whether or not Tenuta can send blitz packages the way he likes.

The rest of the defensive backfield looks solid as well. Raeshon McNeil is the other corner and Kyle McCarthy and Harrison Smith are both returning safeties. Sergio Brown and Darrin Walls are expected to be used frequently in nickel and dime situations.

Year two under Tenuta should see a lot of improvement. If all goes well, sacks and forced turnovers will be a much more common occurrence in South Bend.