Notre Dame football: 3 defensive players who need to be great in 2022
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team will once again be one of the best in the country in 2022, and these defensive players must be great.
The Notre Dame football team kicks off their 2022 regular season on the road against Ohio State, an incredible matchup for two teams who just missed out on the College Football Playoff last season. Ohio State should have an explosive offense once again in 2022, led by quarterback C.J. Stroud, who should be a front-runner for the Heisman early on.
To handle what should be a tough attack from the Buckeyes, the Irish need to be elite on defense, something they were for a time last year. Head coach Marcus Freeman is a defensive guru, serving as the team’s defensive coordinator last season, so you can be sure he will have this team ready on that side of the ball.
For the Irish, they do lose some key players from last year’s defense, including safety Kyle Hamilton, who could be a top-3 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Upfront, they will not have Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, and the linebacker group is losing Drew White. However, a lot of talent remains, so I do not expect a huge drop-off on defense.
Here, we look at three defensive players who must be outstanding in 2022 if the team wants to make it to the CFP.