Notre Dame Football: Have the Irish ever had better defensive end depth?

The Notre Dame football defensive end 2019 depth chart legitimately goes 3 deep at both positions, and is one of the best position groups in the country.

When was the last time Notre Dame football could claim that their defensive ends were one of the best groups in all of college football? It’s maybe been since the Stephon Tuitt days, but even then, probably not. Traditionally speaking, the Irish have a tough time landing the elite of the elite along the defensive line, and even this group proves that notion.

Looking at the rankings of Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem, Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji coming out of high school, one wouldn’t assume they would turn out this good. However, Okwara does come from good bloodlines, Kareem was formally an Alabama commit and legitimate four-star recruit, and Hayes was a five-star on rivals. Ogundeji was your traditional high upside, raw athlete.

Now, these four athletes form a terrific defensive end group for Notre Dame, and quite possibly the best depth chart in the country and in recent memory in South Bend. Add in the fact that they have a high upside drop-end prospect in Ovie Oghoufo that Brian Kelly has compared to Okwara, the high-motored Justin Ademilola, and senior to be Jamir Jones, and that is some serious depth. This doesn’t even include freshman NaNa Osafo-Mensah and Isaiah Foskey; both were highly coveted four-star prospects this past recruiting cycle.

Notre Dame is truly building something that will last along the defensive line and on the outside specifically. Looking at last year’s numbers Kareem and Okwara combined for 23 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks and 29 QB hits/pressures. Those are pretty insane college numbers for a duo and those numbers should rise a good amount in 2019, especially in the sack department. Hayes and Ogundeji also put up quality depth numbers combining for 8 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 8 QB hits/pressures. Numbers that should also see a nice uptick as both players are primed for their best seasons in a Notre Dame uniform.

What Rosters Stack Up?

When looking at rosters in recent memory that stack up with last year’s defensive ends and the probable enhancement of numbers during the 2019 season, 2012 is the first group that comes to mind. Ironically enough, this was also the last time Notre Dame played for a National Championship. Stephon Tuitt, Prince Shembo, Kapron Lewis-Moore, and Ishaq Williams combined for a total of 35.5 tackles for loss and 25.5 sacks, which were impressive numbers to say the least.  I’d probably give a slight edge to 2012 based on numbers alone, but my guess is that after this season, it will be an interesting time to look back on in this debate.

The 2006 duo of Victor Abiamiri and Derek Landri also bears mention. As a duo, they combined for 30.5 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks. Those were good numbers for a starting defensive ends, but the depth simply wasn’t there. Abiamiri and Landri were all that position group had at the time.

Diving a little deeper, 2003 saw Justin Tuck go off for 13.5 sacks on his own, but that team was very bad and the next best defensive lineman had less than 4 sacks. Again, this was simply not enough depth to compete with 2011 or 2018.

If we go back to the Holtz days, I am sure we would find some teams that can compete with this depth and numbers, but the point has been hammered into your brain at this point. Not many rosters if any can compete with the talent and depth this Notre Dame staff has been able to get a hold of starting in 2016.