Notre Dame football: Defensive two-deep projection entering 2022 Spring Practice

Notre Dame football: Defensive two-deep projection entering Spring

Safety

There is going to be no bigger task for the Irish to deal with on the defensive side of the ball this offseason than replacing Kyle Hamilton at safety. The All-American is expected to be a top-five pick in the NFL Draft. However, Notre Dame did get a head start replacing him, due to the injury that he suffered in 2021.

Generally, the safety position is broken down into two groups. The first is the free safety. The second is the strong safety. Hamilton was more of a strong safety, as he typically played on the strong side of the field and was a dominant force coming up in run defense. Free safeties, on the other hand, typically, don’t have a set person to cover and range the field freely.

Free Safety

• 1st team-DJ Brown

DJ Brown came in and largely replaced Hamilton. For the most part, he did well, despite fighting the obvious comparisons that come with replacing an All-American. In total, he played in twelve games and had three interceptions on the year. That’s not bad at all. Expect him to play a lot in 2022.

• 2nd team-Houston Griffith

Griffith has a ton of experience and he will play a key role on the defense in 2022. Whether or not he’s on the first team is still up in the air, though. One of his strengths as a defensive back is his versatility too, so finding one spot for him isn’t likely. Instead, you’ll see Griffith all over the back end of the defense.

Strong Safety

• 1st team-Brandon Joseph

Brandon Joseph is an All-American transfer from Northwestern coming into Notre Dame. He will likely only be around for one season before the NFL comes calling, but in the meantime, Joseph should be a star for the Irish defense.

• 2nd team-Ramon Henderson

Ramon Henderson is a junior who played in all thirteen games for the Irish in 2021. He didn’t jump off the screen, but there was plenty of improvement as the season went on from Henderson. Another year of development and he should become an even bigger player on the defense.