Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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82 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW "The technical term I'd like is data sci- entist," Day said. "It makes me sound more cool." He also will return for a senior year of football — despite entering his name for an early entry NFL Draft evaluation last December. That's one area of his life where he felt he didn't need to be ahead of sched- ule yet. The Mayor, And Captain Because of his instant popularity and the way classmates and others gravitated toward him already as a 2012 freshman, Day was also nicknamed "The Mayor," by Diaco. Among his other campus endeavors were emceeing cultural events at Notre Dame be- cause "people think I'm funny" — including a fashion show in which he did some model- ing of his own — and reading to and mentor- ing grade school kids in nearby Elkhart, Ind. "My high school coach instilled a give- back spirit," Day said. "If kids see me as a role model, it inspires me to do better for myself." Day's leadership skills were rewarded last August when he was named one of the team captains as a true junior. Once again, it was another case of being ahead of schedule. Day became only the third Notre Dame junior since 1981 to be installed as a captain — joining quarterbacks Brady Quinn (2005) and Jimmy Clausen (2009) — and the first on defense since two-time consensus All- THE BEST DAY STILL AHEAD Prior to the start of the 2013 season, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly made a relatively surprising, if not bold, statement when he indicated he would not trade sophomore defensive lineman Sheldon Day, a first-time starter, "for anybody on our football team right now." That included fellow defensive linemen in senior Louis Nix and junior Stephon Tuitt, both projected as potential first-round picks in the NFL Draft. Inju- ries helped drop Tuitt to a second-round pick (46th overall) the next spring and Nix to the third round (No. 83 selection). The tune did not change prior to last season either. "Sheldon Day can be the best lineman that we've had here," Kelly told Sports Illustrated. "He's going to have to play a whole season and prove it on the field and stay healthy, but I believe he can be the best defensive lineman I've had here." The reasons were two-fold. One, he possessed "All- Day and All-Play" stamina, and second he had the versatility to line up anywhere along the defensive line with his compact but explosive 6-2, 285-pound frame. "He's disruptive and athletic and has great work ethic," Kelly added. "He can play every snap. That wasn't the case with either Nix or Tuitt, who were great players in their own right. But they did not have the same work volume that Sheldon has." While Day has been a solid, consistent player dur- ing his first three seasons, Kelly's comments about him being the best defensive lineman during his tenure are greeted with skepticism. Day doesn't possess the bulk of the 325-pound Nix to occupy two blockers, and his one recorded sack last fall (although he was second in QB hurries with nine) are a far cry from Tuitt's 12 in 2012. Some of that is attributable to de- fensive calls from the sidelines. Day's role at tackle often has been to be a gap player, and the calls also are predicated on the style of play by the opposition. There might be a change of roles in 2015. "This year my role is definitely to be a playmaker," Day said. "Be in the backfield, be disruptive, kind of make the offensive coordinator look at me and pretty much have a game plan to go against me. I want to have that forceful impact on the field." Now that he is playing a second season in de- fensive coordinator Brian VanGorder's system, Day believes it should be more possible, especially with everyone else on the first unit having at least a sea- son's worth of starting experience. "We're more relaxed with the defense now," Day said. "We know his language, we know what he wants and we're becoming his eyes on the field. If he makes a play call and we see it doesn't work, we come back to the sideline and give him feedback. … Last year, he'd be moving at a faster pace and we were trying to catch up to him. We're moving in unison." The results are expected to have a night and Day difference. — Lou Somogyi After recording only one sack in 2014, Day set a goal to be more of a playmaker along the defensive line. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA