Al Washington - DL Coach & Def. Run Game Coordinator

[ulukinatme]

Super random bump, but I'm currently at the Coronado Springs resort at Disney World eating lunch at Rix Sports Bar. And I look to my right and Al Washington himself is eating with his family. Wearing a white shirt with a gold "Notre Dame" near the chest/neck. Pretty nutty. Haha

I was there for work this time last year. Coronado Springs is super nice...just wish I could have actually checked out some of the amenities. Too many meet and greets, group projects, and the walk to and from the conference rooms and our rooms was a bit far so it ate up a lot of time. Pretty area though, and it sure beat Ohio winter!

 

[GrangerIrish24]

Thanks for everything you’ve done Al, but it’s time for you to seek other opportunities.

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

Ash is understandably getting most of the heat right now for the defense but I don't know why Washington isn't getting a lot more. Our DL is not playing well whatsoever and has in general underwhelmed since Mike Elston left.

 

[irishff1014]

Ash is understandably getting most of the heat right now for the defense but I don't know why Washington isn't getting a lot more. Our DL is not playing well whatsoever and has in general underwhelmed since Mike Elston left.

Al ha been taking a lot of heat until last year. The play was better and the recruiting was way better.

Or is it the system.

 

[INLaw]

Think we need more recruited beef on the dline

 

[NDPhilly]

Interior DL has been fine when Hinish isn’t in on likely run downs.

Edge development leaves a lot to be desired.
- Traore: Coming back from injury, but need him to be better as the year goes on. He’s the guy you expect to be the difference maker.
- Bryce: Not sure the weight he gained was good weight. He looks slower. Pass rush moves leave a lot to be desired.
- Botelho: Is what he is. Not as good as he was prior to injury, but has exceeded my expectations by just being out there. Hopefully he keeps getting healthier.
- Burnham: Was hoping he’d take a jump. Looks like injuries have prevented that.
- Niuafe: He’s a OLB playing end. He’s undersized, and not the best athlete. Good effort guy.
- Loghan Thomas: Needs to add 20 more pounds. Idk what they did with him this offseason. He’s still too small.

They need to do a better job mixing in LBs like they did last year.

 

[SportsingHard]

Interior DL has been fine when Hinish isn’t in on likely run downs.

Edge development leaves a lot to be desired.
- Traore: Coming back from injury, but need him to be better as the year goes on. He’s the guy you expect to be the difference maker.
- Bryce: Not sure the weight he gained was good weight. He looks slower. Pass rush moves leave a lot to be desired.
- Botelho: Is what he is. Not as good as he was prior to injury, but has exceeded my expectations by just being out there. Hopefully he keeps getting healthier.
- Burnham: Was hoping he’d take a jump. Looks like injuries have prevented that.
- Niuafe: He’s a OLB playing end. He’s undersized, and not the best athlete. Good effort guy.
- Loghan Thomas: Needs to add 20 more pounds. Idk what they did with him this offseason. He’s still too small.

They need to do a better job mixing in LBs like they did last year.

I agree with all of this, but for all those wondering who the hell Niuafe is, Google tells me it's Junior Tuihalamaka.

 

[irishff1014]

Interior DL has been fine when Hinish isn’t in on likely run downs.

Edge development leaves a lot to be desired.
- Traore: Coming back from injury, but need him to be better as the year goes on. He’s the guy you expect to be the difference maker.
- Bryce: Not sure the weight he gained was good weight. He looks slower. Pass rush moves leave a lot to be desired.
- Botelho: Is what he is. Not as good as he was prior to injury, but has exceeded my expectations by just being out there. Hopefully he keeps getting healthier.
- Burnham: Was hoping he’d take a jump. Looks like injuries have prevented that.
- Niuafe: He’s a OLB playing end. He’s undersized, and not the best athlete. Good effort guy.
- Loghan Thomas: Needs to add 20 more pounds. Idk what they did with him this offseason. He’s still too small.

They need to do a better job mixing in LBs like they did last year.

Don’t for get Hughes he played ok. Yes I know it was Purdue.

 

[Dale]

They need to figure out their interior pass rushers. Rubio and Dawson are both run stoppers. Onye has been for the most part just kinda there? Idk I don’t see much good or bad. Hinish not gonna harp on it, I get he will play in pass rush situations.

So who is #2? Hughes? Kick Young inside on obvious pass? Burgess?

They need someone to provide a pocket disrupting rush badly.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Unrealistically, I thought Young would be a home wrecker taking huge strides from last year. Not sure why I thought that.

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

Think we need more recruited beef on the dline

We're not really recruiting worse than Elston was here, yet the DL was arguably the strongest unit on the team when he was here. Granted I think Elston was one of the best position coaches in the country but the performance has not impressed since he left.

 

[Bluto]

We're not really recruiting worse than Elston was here, yet the DL was arguably the strongest unit on the team when he was here. Granted I think Elston was one of the best position coaches in the country but the performance has not impressed since he left.

Elston was very mediocre in terms of recruiting at ND. His best defensive lines post 2012 were comprised mostly of players that Keith Gilmore recruited.

Gilmore recruited an insane amount of NFL level talent relatively speaking to ND in his two years with the program. The d line talent in that 2016 class was ridiculous and that’s what ND needs every year.

 

[NDFAN2008]

They need to figure out their interior pass rushers. Rubio and Dawson are both run stoppers. Onye has been for the most part just kinda there? Idk I don’t see much good or bad. Hinish not gonna harp on it, I get he will play in pass rush situations.

So who is #2? Hughes? Kick Young inside on obvious pass? Burgess?

They need someone to provide a pocket disrupting rush badly.

I'd say it's probally Hinish, Hughes, and Onye, I saw Mullins graded out well but he is undersized like Hinish. It was also Purdue so have to take everything with a grain of salt. This is why once against the interior DL is a concern after this year. You are left with Hinish who in reality shouldn't even be starting on a contending team, then Hughes and Mullins who have very minimal experience. You are going to have to bring in probally 2-3 DT, NT and at least 1 of them is going to have to be a legit stud starter.

 

[Dale]

PFFs “Win % in True Pass Sets” among P4 DEs

- Botelho and JR rank 162nd out of 226 at 13.6%
- Traore ranks 203rd out of 226 at 8.1%
- Young ranks 37th out of 226 at 30.4%

The more interesting, Oben was at 18.8%, Burnham at 10% and JR at 12.7%. So this isn’t actually a huge drop off in edge rush ability from last year. You could argue long term it’s almost certainly going to be an improvement given the rest of the schedule. They were bad last year. Pressure came from blitzes and the interior.

 

[Dale]

PFFs “Win % in True Pass Sets” among P4 DTs

- Onye ranks 213th out of 213 at 0.0%
- Dawson ranks 176th out of 213 at 6.3%
- Rubio ranks 117 out of 213 at 10%
- Hinish ranks 76 out of 213 at 15.2%

Mills was at 18.9% and Cross at 14.4%. Long and short, this DL in a sample that includes Miami and A&M is not good at rushing the passer. But besides Mills spot, it’s really not a drop off in 1 v 1 ability. Which points to pressure coming from elsewhere like blitz typically a year ago. That may sound obvious but there is the numbers to back it up

 

[PolishDomer]

PFFs “Win % in True Pass Sets” among P4 DTs

- Onye ranks 213th out of 213 at 0.0%
- Dawson ranks 176th out of 213 at 6.3%
- Rubio ranks 117 out of 213 at 10%
- Hinish ranks 76 out of 213 at 15.2%

Mills was at 18.9% and Cross at 14.4%. Long and short, this DL in a sample that includes Miami and A&M is not good at rushing the passer. But besides Mills spot, it’s really not a drop off in 1 v 1 ability. Which points to pressure coming from elsewhere like blitz typically a year ago. That may sound obvious but there is the numbers to back it up

Thank you for proving the point that 90% of this is on Ash

 

[SportsingHard]

PFFs “Win % in True Pass Sets” among P4 DTs

- Onye ranks 213th out of 213 at 0.0%
- Dawson ranks 176th out of 213 at 6.3%
- Rubio ranks 117 out of 213 at 10%
- Hinish ranks 76 out of 213 at 15.2%

Mills was at 18.9% and Cross at 14.4%. Long and short, this DL in a sample that includes Miami and A&M is not good at rushing the passer. But besides Mills spot, it’s really not a drop off in 1 v 1 ability. Which points to pressure coming from elsewhere like blitz typically a year ago. That may sound obvious but there is the numbers to back it up

I appreciate the data but don't understand your meaning in the phrase I bolded.

If you're saying either 1) we are generating pressure elsewhere, or, 2) based on perfomance to date, we need to blitz more, I would emphatically disagree. Arguably, the shittiest part of this defense is the near-total failure to get pressure on the many, many occasions we have sent five or six guys.

If you're saying it would be super helpful if ND could learn to blitz effectively (or do anything effectively against the pass), I would agree.

 

[Dale]

I appreciate the data but don't understand your meaning in the phrase I bolded.

If you're saying either 1) we are generating pressure elsewhere, or, 2) based on perfomance to date, we need to blitz more, I would emphatically disagree. Arguably, the shittiest part of this defense is the near-total failure to get pressure on the many, many occassions we have sent five or six guys.

If you're saying it would be super helpful if ND could learn to blitz effectively (or do anything effectively against the pass), I would agree.

I didn’t explicitly say we should do anything. The post was to illustrate how poorly (or not) the DL has been at individually winning in the pass rush. The only elite pass rusher last year was Mills. You’re getting the production from Hinish that you got from Cross/Hinish a year ago. DE on their own did not provide much a year ago.

Pressure generally came from Mills or the LBs a year ago is what the numbers say.

Where is it coming from or going to come from this year?

 

[NDFAN2008]

I didn’t explicitly say we should do anything. The post was to illustrate how poorly (or not) the DL has been at individually winning in the pass rush. The only elite pass rusher last year was Mills. You’re getting the production from Hinish that you got from Cross/Hinish a year ago. DE on their own did not provide much a year ago.

Pressure generally came from Mills or the LBs a year ago is what the numbers say.

Where is it coming from or going to come from this year?

Is the lack of pass rush from Young and our DE a coaching issue? It's amazing because you don't see teams like Penn State, Ohio State or Michigan struggle to get a pass rush from their DE

 

[IrishWayDomer]

Onye and Bryce Young we're overhyped, clearly. The beat really bought the kool-aid on those two.

Bryce has a sack but other than that they've been non existent. And on Bryce's sack it was the one rush that looked like the Al Golden days where one of 4 rushers were making the sack and it was only a matter of who.

That's the magic of an Al Golden rush, it wasn't just one guy getting home for the QB to evade, it was everyone slowly closing in and the QB is trapped.

 

[Free Manera]

Is the lack of pass rush from Young and our DE a coaching issue? It's amazing because you don't see teams like Penn State, Ohio State or Michigan struggle to get a pass rush from their DE

The 247 theory on Young is he got too big and lost explosiveness which makes sense. Not that he was an established rusher by any means but he did have first step quickness last year that he seems to lack now.

 

[NDFAN2008]

The 247 theory on Young is he got too big and lost explosiveness which makes sense. Not that he was an established rusher by any means but he did have first step quickness last year that he seems to lack now.

Maybe that's part of the problem with our strength program I feel like we recruit these DE's or edge guys and try to bulk them up. Cashius Howel for A&M is 6'2 248. Rueben Bain is 6'3 275. Young is 272 lbs so it's not like he is heavier than Bain. Daley for Utah who has 6 sacks is 6'4 247. If Young isn't quick enough you got two options lose weight and work on quickness or move inside and put on a few lbs.

 

[Dale]

PFFs “Win % in True Pass Sets” among P4 DTs

- Onye ranks 213th out of 213 at 0.0%
- Dawson ranks 176th out of 213 at 6.3%
- Rubio ranks 117 out of 213 at 10%
- Hinish ranks 76 out of 213 at 15.2%

Mills was at 18.9% and Cross at 14.4%. Long and short, this DL in a sample that includes Miami and A&M is not good at rushing the passer. But besides Mills spot, it’s really not a drop off in 1 v 1 ability. Which points to pressure coming from elsewhere like blitz typically a year ago. That may sound obvious but there is the numbers to back it up

- Botelho and JR rank 162nd out of 226 at 13.6%
- Traore ranks 203rd out of 226 at 8.1%
- Young ranks 37th out of 226 at 30.4%

The more interesting, Oben was at 18.8%, Burnham at 10% and JR at 12.7%. So this isn’t actually a huge drop off in edge rush ability from last year. You could argue long term it’s almost certainly going to be an improvement given the rest of the schedule. They were bad last year. Pressure came from blitzes and the interior.

Posted this after Week 3. Our DL was basically providing nothing at the time. Lot of talk on the lack of stunts and pressure packages. Fast forward, Dawson, Hughes, Onye and Hinish all rank in the Top 50 out of 251 in PFFs “Win % in True Pass Sets” among P4 DTs. None are Rylie Mills, but the sum of the four have proven capable of replacing Mills/Cross.

The edge is where the transformation really is. Botelho, Junior and Traore all rank in the Top 100 out of 259. Sneed would rank 43rd and KVA 53rd amongst edges.

Some of these guys naturally progressed. Some may benefit from a talent like Traore drawing attention, but I do believe Ash actually has a more advanced pressure package than Golden did as we sit here today. None are elite, but ND is getting above average - good pass rush production from almost the entire DL. A 180 - or 360 some way say - from Week 3.

 

[NDFAN2008]

Posted this after Week 3. Our DL was basically providing nothing at the time. Lot of talk on the lack of stunts and pressure packages. Fast forward, Dawson, Hughes, Onye and Hinish all rank in the Top 50 out of 251 in PFFs “Win % in True Pass Sets” among P4 DTs. None are Rylie Mills, but the sum of the four have proven capable of replacing Mills/Cross.

The edge is where the transformation really is. Botelho, Junior and Traore all rank in the Top 100 out of 259. Sneed would rank 43rd and KVA 53rd amongst edges.

Some of these guys naturally progressed. Some may benefit from a talent like Traore drawing attention, but I do believe Ash actually has a more advanced pressure package than Golden did as we sit here today. None are elite, but ND is getting above average - good pass rush production from almost the entire DL. A 180 - or 360 some way say - from Week 3.

Biggest disappointment this year for me has been Bryce Young almost makes you wonder if Traore and Burnham both are back next year, do you maybe move young around some and play him inside

 

[rtrn2glory]

Main thing I see is we are trending upwards defensively. Just need that to continue

 

[stlnd01]

Biggest disappointment this year for me has been Bryce Young almost makes you wonder if Traore and Burnham both are back next year, do you maybe move young around some and play him inside

True that Young hasn't been what we'd hoped. Gained weight/lost a step, I guess?
I'm not a DL guru but I feel like moving guys inside rarely really works out. They just wind up a tweener. Look what happened to Brenan Vernon. And it'll be Young's third year in the program. It's not like Young is terrible, he's just didn't become the game-wrecker we saw flashes of last year. I'd spend the offseason helping him become the best DE he can be. The ceiling's still pretty high with this one.

 

[NDFAN2008]

True that Young hasn't been what we'd hoped. Gained weight/lost a step, I guess?
I'm not a DL guru but I feel like moving guys inside rarely really works out. They just wind up a tweener. Look what happened to Brenan Vernon. And it'll be Young's third year in the program. It's not like Young is terrible, he's just didn't become the game-wrecker we saw flashes of last year. I'd spend the offseason helping him become the best DE he can be. The ceiling's still pretty high with this one.

Yeah agree maybe you have him drop some
Weight to get his quickness back. I heard his name called more last year than this year.

 

[Dale]

Candidate for the BC DC job (again)

 

[DCDomer]

I get it's a promotion, and maybe the money would be too good to say no (no idea what they pay coaches), but working for MF vs. working for Billy O seems like a no brainer.

 

[BoredIrish]

I get it's a promotion, and maybe the money would be too good to say no (no idea what they pay coaches), but working for MF vs. working for Billy O seems like a no brainer.

He has been working for MF for four years now. If you want to move up, you have to keep moving.

Makes you wonder though that if Bullough and Washington can get DC jobs, its only a matter of time before Mickens gets one too.