Although the Notre Dame defense fell 76-31 in Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game, which head coach Marcus Freeman admitted was a function of the poor scoring system, new defensive coordinator Chris Ash’s unit made numerous key plays throughout the afternoon. The rotating No. 1 defense shined throughout the first two periods (eight series), with a plethora of unfamiliar faces showing out for the side of the ball that has consistently been the Irish’s bread and butter in Freeman’s tenure.
The star of the show for the gold team, however, was returning safety Luke Talich. The rising junior, who appeared on special teams and defense in all 16 games a year ago, is perhaps only known among Irish fans for being the only player in program history from the state of Wyoming to score a touchdown. With good size at 6-foot-4 and 213 pounds, the Cody, Wyoming, native made 20 tackles and forced a fumble last season to go along with his 79-yard pick-six in the blowout primetime win over Florida State on Nov. 9.
With two-time All-American Xavier Watts heading to the NFL, the safety position, often times the quarterback of the defense, is looking for someone to step up and lead. Speaking postgame on Talich’s development throughout the spring season, Freeman commented, “He has taken advantage of his opportunities and has really focused on improvement. Some of that improvement is production as we saw today, but he’s been consistent and that’s been a challenge for the entire team.”
Talich flashed that improvement throughout Saturday’s exhibition, leading the game with nine tackles.
“He’s done a really good job, and that’s a reflection of how he’s been all spring,” Freeman, a former four-year defensive player at Ohio State himself, continued.
Among those nine tackles were back-to-back gap stuffers, one of which registered as a tackle for loss (TFL) during the defense’s critical three-play goal-line stand within the sixth drive.
“Our mindset down at the goal line is ‘plant the flag.’ We don’t want to let them in, so I just tried to do my job and fill the gap on fourth down,” Talich said.
The defense held up again, as it did in many key situations a year ago, with Talich securing the key stops on both third and fourth down.
Seemingly in lockstep with his head coach, Talich revealed his mindset and approach to the spring, attesting, “Competition makes all of us better. We aren’t focused on who’s going to play, we’re just owning what we can and taking advantage of our opportunities.”
Talich also added that the shortened spring period hasn’t allowed the defense to install the entirety of Ash’s system, so it remains to be seen exactly what will remain and change with the transition from Al Golden. That said, Talich is aiming to step up and be a representative of consistency and leadership that carries the national No. 1 defense through the change.
“All of us have gotten more familiar with his coaching and his style. He’s a little different from Coach Golden, but he’s going to continue to push us every day, and I feel confident in his abilities,” Talich concluded.
With Watts, Howard Cross III, Jack Kiser and Rylie Mills all gone from last year’s defense, Talich’s development in all facets of the game has put him in position to become a stalwart in the secondary this fall. He showcased his potential on Saturday afternoon, but as Freeman said, there are still places to improve throughout the summer as Miami awaits on Aug. 31.
