{"id":17250,"date":"2023-09-20T20:36:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T01:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=17250"},"modified":"2023-09-20T20:36:02","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T01:36:02","slug":"how-notre-dame-shows-trust-in-its-secondary-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/how-notre-dame-shows-trust-in-its-secondary-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"How Notre Dame shows trust in its secondary in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Notre Dame graduate cornerback Cam Hart<\/a><\/strong> remembers times when defensive coordinator Al Golden<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s play call surprised him and his defensive back teammates.<\/p>\n

The surprising call was usually Cover 0, otherwise known as a zero blitz. Madden players can go to the \u201cman blitz\u201d section for a variety of options, but the concept is always the same: Five defensive backs find their man and stick to him, while everyone else hunts the quarterback.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been some tough moments where we\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, Coach is gonna call Cover 0 here?\u2019\u201d Hart said after practice Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Irish graduate safety DJ Brown<\/a><\/strong> estimated Sept. 12 that in Week 2 against North Carolina State, Golden called man coverage 60-70 percent of the time. The data, on a whole-season basis, supports it \u2014 especially on passing downs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Sports Info Solutions, Notre Dame has played man coverage 21 times on third down or fourth down in 2023, the third-highest total in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the Irish have played one more game than most other teams, SIS dictates did not play man coverage on third or fourth down at all in Week 0 against Navy. Given that a defensive strategy against Navy will be wildly different than against any other team, that game can be thrown out in this discussion.<\/p>\n

With the way Notre Dame played that afternoon Brown referenced against the Wolfpack, and the way its pass defense has played this season, it\u2019s hard to argue with the strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On a rainy day in Raleigh, N.C., NC State graduate quarterback Brennan Armstrong threw 47 times for 260 yards, an average of 5.5 yards per attempt. Armstrong tossed 2 passing touchdowns \u2014 one with 2:03 to play in a 45-17 game \u2014 and 3 interceptions, grabbed by three different Notre Dame players.<\/p>\n

Brown was one of them, along with sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison<\/a><\/strong> and senior safety Xavier Watts<\/a><\/strong>. They lead a pass defense that ranks 12th in the country in opponent yards per attempt.<\/p>\n

Brown said all that man coverage gives the secondary even more confidence than it already had.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows that the coaches are confident in us,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe work on that. We go against our offense every day and play man. We have good DBs, good corners, good safeties and good nickels. It just shows how confident Coach Golden is in us to be able to lock down when the game is on the line.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another sign Golden trusts his defensive backs: the Irish are blitzing a lot<\/em> on passing downs.<\/p>\n

Also according to SIS, Notre Dame has blitzed 22 times on third or fourth down this season, second-most in the country behind San Diego State. Prorated down to three games, the number becomes 16.5.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That would be No. 6 on the list, just behind Clemson at 17 and just ahead of Vanderbilt (also played four games), Georgia State, Missouri, Southern Miss and Ole Miss.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing that [Golden is] trusting us, that\u2019s huge,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThat opens up a lot for the front seven that he can trust us to do what we have to do on the outside and the back end, and allow those boys to earn the right to rush the quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week, Notre Dame\u2019s commitment to blitzing and playing man will be put to the test. Star junior receivers Marvin Harrison Jr.<\/a><\/strong> and Emeka Egbuka<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 arguably the two best in the country \u2014 are coming to South Bend. The need to get pressure on Ohio State junior quarterback Kyle McCord<\/a><\/strong> in his fourth career start is real, but so is the possibility of Harrison and Egbuka winning those one-on-one matchups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe length, the catch radius, the ability to adjust to the ball in flight,\u201d Golden said. \u201c[The] competitive nature of them. Lateral quickness at the top. There\u2019s a lot of elements there that make them really good. And each has his own individual strengths. In terms of Marvin, you\u2019re dealing with speed, length, catch radius, the ability to win a one-on-one. So, those are all challenging on game day.\u201d<\/p>\n

It might depend on how much Notre Dame trusts its pass rushers to rattle McCord with only four rushers. But regardless, the Irish could choose to put all their faith in their DBs once again, regardless.<\/p>\n

If the move is more Cover 0, Hart believes his group can do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look at it as a challenge, but a challenge that we\u2019re going to embrace,\u201d Hart said. \u201cWe believe that we have great players, and we\u2019re very confident in ourselves right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post How Notre Dame shows trust in its secondary in 2023<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Notre Dame graduate cornerback Cam Hart remembers times when defensive coordinator Al Golden\u2019s play call…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17250\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}