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Notre Dame Football: Best Case, Worst Case for Position Groups

By Sonny Martinez

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Drue Tranquill #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumbled punt in the second quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Drue Tranquill #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumbled punt in the second quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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SOUTH BEND, IN – NOVEMBER 04: John Wolford #10 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons is flattened by Shaun Crawford #20 and Drue Tranquill #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on November 4, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Defensive Backs

Best: With all four starters back, this group becomes a no fly zone. Cornerback Julian Love remains a shut down corner, becoming even better than he was last season, when he had 20 pass breakups. In 2017, great things tended to happen when Shaun Crawford was on the field, and this year is no different. Crawford improves on his 32 tackles from last season and even adds another interception or two. Troy Pride Jr also becomes a great cornerback with big help from his speed, challenging Crawford for starts.

Safety Alohi Gilman returns to the field and shows why he was a member of the freshman All-AAC team at Navy two years ago. Nick Coleman, who could be frustrating to watch at times last year, improves and has less of those  head-scratching moments. Jalen Elliott, Devin Studstill and even freshman Houston Griffith provide incredible depth for the safeties.

Worst: The loss of Nick Watkins, who lost his starting job in spring and transferred, is felt and hurts the depth. Julian Love is still good, but slightly regresses. Troy Pride turns out to not be the breakout player everyone thinks he could be, and although not a bad player, doesn’t contribute as much as he should. Nick Coleman continues to get beat on some passes he shouldn’t, resulting in more touchdowns for the opponent.

Much like Pride, Gilman is also not the player the coaching staff believes him to be, as his production is limited in the same way transfer receiver Freddy Canteen’s was last season. Backup players are forced to play a lot more, especially Houston Griffith. Although a negative this season, it definitely would not be in two years. Safeties should still be good enough, but cornerbacks could face trouble.

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