In many respects, looking at last year’s defensive performances, both as a team and as individuals, is time spent in folly. Four games into the 2016 season, the Notre Dame defense shifted drastically when Greg Hudson took over the duties of defensive coordinator after Irish coach Brian Kelly dismissed Brian VanGorder. Mike Elko will now install a new scheme, likely moving some players around and evaluating others differently than his predecessors did.
While spring practice is far from as enthralling as the fall in any respect, what it can show in situations like these makes it genuinely intriguing.