ND FOOTBALL: Foskey, others looking to help revamp defensive line

Jul. 14—SOUTH BEND — In 2020, Notre Dame defensive linemen Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji manned each end of the line of scrimmage on defense for the Fighting Irish.

Both players combined for 37 tackles and nine sacks during last year's shortened season. Due to their efforts, Hayes was drafted in the fifth round of this year's NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, and Ogundeji was selected just 11 picks later by the Atlanta Falcons.

Two team captains won't be easy to replace, but Notre Dame has some talent at the defensive end position ready to expand their roles in 2021.

One player in particular that will need to rise to expectations is junior Isaiah Foskey. Listed at 6-5, 257 pounds, Foskey has all the tools to be both a devastating run-stopper and pass-rusher at defensive end this fall. During his first two years with the Irish, Foskey has 25 total tackles and 4.5 sacks through 16 games played.

"With (defensive coordinator) Marcus Freeman coming in, I've been working on a lot more drops, a lot more covering," said Foskey during the spring. "But I'm still a pass rusher, so I've been working on a lot of technical stuff. Working with my hands, being a lot more physical at the point of attack. Working on coverages is something new for me, but I'm starting to like it a lot more."

While Foskey has all the potential to become the dynamic player he's expected to be, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly knew he had a lot of things to learn this spring to prepare for the fall.

"We're still in the work-in-progress mode with Isaiah," said Kelly during the spring. "We know what he can do off the edge. He has the ability to win off the edge. There are some things that we have to continue to work on with him in terms of play-after-play. ... Some of our players, we have to kind of tweak things now that they are in more of a full-time role. This year, Isaiah's getting a lot more reps so we have to look at how he responds to more of a workload.

"Right now, we are kind of in the middle of that process of molding him into the kind of player that we want. ... I think we'll have a good base-level in terms of how he trains in the offseason to get him to be the elite player that we want him to be going into the fall."

Foskey showed some flashes during the Blue-Gold Game to cap off his spring. He registered a tackle, sack and pass breakup at Notre Dame Stadium on May 1.

Two other Notre Dame defensive lineman that'll see their roles expand this fall are senior Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and sophomore Jordan Botelho. Tagovailoa-Amosa has played most of his career with the Irish inside at the tackle position.

Yet in the offseason, the Hawaii native slimmed down to turn the possible transition to the outside into a reality. Botelho doesn't have a lot of experience, but he looks the part of a prototypical "vyper" position player that Notre Dame likes to use in certain packages. The linebacker/defensive end hybrid position is best suited for players like Botelho (6-2, 248) and Foskey who have the athleticism to drop in coverage as well as rush the passer.

Nana Osafo-Mensah is another name to look out for at defensive end. The former four-star recruit has played sparingly during his time at Notre Dame due to redshirt/injury, but the redshirt sophomore made some big plays in the spring game. He earned a sack, tackle for loss and a forced fumble for the Gold team.

HINISH MANS THE INTERIOR

Fifth-year player Kurt Hinish leads one of the more experienced position groups for the Irish within the interior of the defensive line.

Hinish has played in 50 games during his Notre Dame career. In that time, he has collected 53 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

According to Hinish, he's ready to break out into an even larger role this season with some of the changes that new defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman has implemented in the offseason.

"I love the new scheme," said Hinish during the spring. "I'm able to be cut loose a little more. ... I love what we're doing, and we're playing a lot more fast and free because the defense isn't as complicated as we've had in the past."

Senior Jayson Ademilola will be inside along with Hinish, where he'll be expected to contribute a lot of reps as a veteran. He only put together 11 tackles and half of a sack after playing in eight games in 2020.

Sophomore Rylie Mills — listed at 6-5, 273 — has the size to become a solid addition next to Hinish throughout the 2021 campaign. Rated a four-star recruit out of high school, Mills played a solid amount of reps as a freshman last season and will have ample opportunity to earn as many as possible with his play this fall.

The defensive line for Notre Dame is riddled with talent, and Freeman realizes the importance of the line of scrimmage when it comes to what kind of success his defense will have this year.

"We've always been and will always be a defensive line-driven program," said Freeman in April. "That means as our defensive line goes, our defense will go. They've done an unbelievable job. They're extremely deep at the position. As they continue to play well, it makes our job behind them that much easier."

Evan Lepak can be reached at evan.lepak@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240326. Follow him on Twitter @EvanMPLepak.