Rockne's Roundtable

I've got to imagine one of the first moves would be either Shembo or Ishaq sliding down to rush end to put both on the field at the same time. I think a starting trio of KLM, Nix, and Tuitt is set and moving Niklas for depth when he looks to be counted upon as a TE threat won't be priority. I could see Ishaq getting Lynch's spot at rush end though, poetic justice potentially if he comes back from his head clearing and benefits from Lynch leaving after his.

While I don't think Shembo or Williams will go through a position change on paper, I'm fairly confident you'll see both line up with a hand in the dirt frequently in the Irish nickel and dime packages this season. This Spring, when Notre Dame has run a secondary-heavy formation the four players they line up along the front are Williams, Lewis-Moore (Lynch before he left), Tuitt and Justin Utupo. I think it's fairly safe to assume Shembo will take Utupo's spot when he is healthy again.

Both Williams and Shembo are still considered Cat linebackers, but if Notre Dame uses a fifth D.B. as much as they have talked about, you will see a lot of them on the field together. With 5 D.B.s on the field there is no need to have an outside backer drop into coverage, so essentially you're lining up with two Cat linebackers in Williams and Shembo, two defensive linemen (KLM and Tuitt), and two middle linebackers.