With Notre Dame’s defense falling apart, second-year player Jacob Matuska was thrown into the fire, earning playing time after the first (and most of the second) line of defense went down. While it wasn’t always pretty, Matuska held his own, with the Irish coaching staff hoping that the rising junior takes more good than bad from the experience.
Recruited as a stout-edge player in a 3-4 system by Bob Diaco, Matuska’s up to 295 pounds, the kind of heft you want at defensive tackle in Brian VanGorder’s system. Returning as depth behind some veteran talent, let’s take a closer look at how Matuska should fare a season after learning on the fly.