Notre Dame Football: Return of the nickel

By Bobby Norell | Aug 2, 2016

Apr 16, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Josh Adams (33) is tackled by cornerback Shaun Crawford (14) in the second quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

With the return of Shaun Crawford, Notre Dame should feature more nickel packages on defense this season.

Last season it was no secret that the Irish were susceptible to the big play on defense and a big part of that was because there really wasn’t anyone to play the nickel back. So a lot of the time you had a linebacker lining up a receiver, which is not really a matchup that is favorable to the defense.

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A nickel package gives the defense one more defensive back instead of a third linebacker. That DB gives the defense a more athletic guy who can cover the receiver in the slot or come up and play the run. The DB who should man that nickel position this season will be sophomore Shaun Crawford.

Crawford missed all of last season with an ACL injury that he suffered in fall camp last season. The early returns on Crawford last season were great. There was nothing but good things said about him. Former cornerback KeiVarae Russell even said that he sees Crawford being a future All-American.

He’s also rumored to compete for the corner position opposite of Cole Luke. Some expect him to win the job, and then Nick Coleman or Nick Watkins to take over when the Irish run their nickel package. Crawford gives the Irish loads of versatility on the defensive side of the ball.

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It should be a much more atheltic defense with Crawford back. With a more athletic defense, I would expect an improvement from the defense this season and it starts with players like Crawford.

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