Quick-hitters: Notre Dame DL coach Al Washington on Rylie Mills, Jordan Botelho, younger linemen

Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington might oversee the busiest position drills in practice. There are 16 healthy scholarship defensive linemen on the Irish’s 2022 roster. Linebacker Jordan Botelho splits time between rover and vyper defensive end, which can sometimes bring the total to 17. When unit does drills in fours, there’s sometimes one lonely soul left to do a rep by himself.

All told, it’s a lot of bodies for Washington to keep eyes on.

“You have to be efficient, obviously, but you have to teach as well,” Washington said Friday.

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He’s rarely worried about losing track, though. He has a deep and talented unit that might be Notre Dame’s best position group. They broke a new blocking sled in Friday’s practice, he said, beaming with pride. He has little concern that the size of the room leads to fewer reps, because the defensive line usually spends about 30 minutes after practice doing player-led work.

Friday was the exception, when Washington and several Notre Dame defensive linemen met with reporters after practice. Here are some of the topics Washington discussed.

On comparing junior defensive end Rylie Mills to other players he has coached

“The closest guy I could say was Zach Allen at [Boston College]. He was a big-bodied guy. Rylie is unique in his length, he’s a little longer. For as big as he is, to see him move – he’s talented inside and outside. He’s intelligent. You can do a lot with him. Can’t say there are too many guys like Rylie.

The most unique thing about him is he’s focused. He assesses everything he does. I don’t want to say self-critical, but he’s constantly working on details. It’s, ‘Coach, what do I need to work on? Coach, what did you see?’ When I walk in my meeting room, he’s in there a lot of times.”

On junior defensive end Alex Ehrensberger

“You can sense he has a little more command of the defense. And his work ethic, he really worked hard this June and July. You see it. He’s constantly working on getting better. It’s just being more experienced and being ready when his number is called.”

On Harvard grad transfer defensive tackle Chris Smith

“He’s a beast. He’s a fire hydrant, really hard to move. Very intelligent. I tease him there’s no excuse for a [missed assignment] from you, ever, with a Harvard degree. The guys have embraced him. He’s a worker, humble, hard-working. He will help us.”

On junior nose tackle Aidan Keanaaina returning sooner than expected from a March torn ACL

“There’s a good chance…He has progressed. He can stand around and do things like that. I feel good about where he’s trending. The hope is anytime somebody is out, they’re back sooner than later. He’s doing everything he can.”

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On Jordan Botelho

“He has had a really strong start. He has played at rover, had experience at vyper more on third down. Now we’re playing him around a little bit more at vyper. He still does work at rover too. He has just been dependable, really. Trying to do the little things. He’s talented, for sure, as a pass rusher and a guy who knows the defense from different perspectives playing two spots.”

On freshman defensive tackle Tyson Ford

“He’s coming along. Right now, probably [staying at tackle]. He’s like 280 now, big kid. He’s a fine athlete. Right now, we’ve been working him there. But you never know what could happen.”

On the luxury of having time for freshmen to develop

“That’s the idea. I’ve been at places where that’s not the case. When you’re able to progress, that’s how you sustain things. If you’re top-heavy and that folds off the map, that’s when you start over. That piece of it for Tyson is a good one, but the competition in the room, he’s not patient, he’s working urgently. He understands he has to continue to grind and show grit, and he has.”

On sophomore defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio

“Rubio, he’s like a walking technique teach tape. He’s getting better and better. He still has things to work on, but he’s a young kid. He has a lot of years left. He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve been around. I’m very pleased with Rubio.”