If we had 2 or 3 Ian Williams'....

[irishfan]

What would our record have been? We literally only had one DT (Ethan Johnson is more of a DE, so just Williams) and Ian had to play WAY TOO OFTEN. Lewis-Moore got pushed inside a few times, and even Paddy Mullen was forced to play. It amazes me that Hafis Williams, Sean Cwynar, and Brandon Newman haven't played a huge role in our D-line this year.

Willingham's 2004 class: 0 DTs
Weis' 2005 class: 1 DT (Darrell Hand)
Weis' 2006 class: 0 DTs
Weis' 2007 class: 1 DT (Ian Williams)
Weis' 2008 class: 3 DTs (Hafis Williams, Sean Cwynar, Brandon Newman)
Weis' 2009 class: 1 DT (Tyler Stockton)

We only had 4 true DTs on our team this year (Stockton was redshirted and Hand is not on the team). Cwynar got solid playing time in 11 games, but Newman only played once and Hafis Williams only played in 2 of the last 8 games. I really think if we had more than 1 DT who was a junior or senior we would have been much improved. I think with even one more Ian Williams-type we would have won 8 or 9 games, and with two more we would have won 11 or 12. Our inability to stop the run lost us our last 4 games, and played a huge part in the Michigan and USC losses.

 

[IrishinSyria]

There is no doubt that depth at the lines, especially the D-line, is what cost us the season.

 

[49er-Irish]

I didn't follow ND's recruiting in Weis' first couple of years. Were there a bunch of targets that turned ND down or was it just a position that wasn't targeted by Weis?

3* DT's would've been a helluva lot better than not getting any DT's. 2* guys with 3 or 4 years in the weight room and practice field would've been better than Newman, H. Williams, etc. this year.

Definately agree, a couple of decent upper classmen on the DL and Weis would be coaching ND in a BCS game this year.

 

[GOLDENISTHYTATE]

Well we have Utupo so far this year and we are still in it with Louis Nix, who would be the best DT recruit in the last ten years. Trevor Laws did darn well and I miss that guy, but we definitely need some more DT kids.

This current class has at least addressed the DE situation better than in previous years though.

 

[Flanigan44]

Word is that Hafis, Cwynar, and Stockton were starting to show lots of promise in practice towards the end of the year. Add Nix - who, given his size, could see time as frosh if needed - and I'm optimistic that DT depth won't be a problem next year.