Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 59 WIDE RECEIVERS POSITION COACH Mike Denbrock is in South Bend for his seventh straight and 10th overall campaign with the Irish. This year will mark his second season as associate head coach. During his first two years at Notre Dame under head coach Brian Kelly, he served as the tight ends coach before shifting to outside wide re- ceivers/passing game coordinator for the next two years. In 2014, he began to mentor all of the wideouts while serving as offensive coordinator. Although he relinquished coordinator duties to Mike Sanford in 2015, he oversaw an attack that produced 34.2 points and 464.4 yards per game. Notre Dame had seven offensive plays of at least 70 yards, which tied for the most in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and a school-record 13 touchdowns on offense that covered at least 50 yards. With Denbrock directing the offense in 2014, the Irish scored at least 27 points 11 times, which was a school record. That unit averaged 33.0 points and 444.6 yards per game. During the past two years, wide receiver Will Fuller achieved unprecedented success under Denbrock. Fuller became the fourth Irish pass catcher to post back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns, and his 29 touchdown receptions were the most and his 2,352 receiving yards were the sec - ond most for an Irish player over a two-year span in school history. All that success led to Fuller being selected with the No. 21 pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Tight ends Kyle Rudolph and Tyler Eifert, who were both selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, also found success under Denbrock during his time as the Irish tight ends coach from 2010-11. Eifert led all FBS tight ends in receiving during the 2011 season and won the Mackey Award the following year, although Denbrock had shifted his focus to wide receivers. In Denbrock's first stint at Notre Dame, he coached tight ends and offensive tackles from 2002-04. He men - tored several future pros, including John Carlson (sec- ond-round NFL Draft pick), Ryan Harris (third round) and Anthony Fasano (second round), among others. Denbrock was named one of Tom Lemming's Top As- sistant Coaches of the Year in 2011, and he has also been recognized for his stellar work on the recruiting trail — he was named one of the nation's top 25 recruiters by Rivals in 2012. The 30-year coaching veteran also worked under Kelly for seven years at Grand Valley State from 1992-98, where he served as both the offensive and defensive coordinator. The two coaches first worked together as graduate assistants at the school in 1987. His other coaching stops include Michigan State (1988-89), Illinois State (1990-91), Buffalo of the Arena Football League (1999-2000), Stanford (2001), Washing- ton (2005-08) and Indiana State (2009). RETURNING PLAYERS MILES BOYKIN • WR So. • Tinley Park, Ill. Ht.: 6-3½ • Wt.: 225 Career Highlights: Did not see any game action in 2015. Prep: Listed as a four-star recruit, the No. 3 senior in Illinois, and the nation's No. 17 wideout and No. 156 overall prospect by Rivals … Despite missing three games with an injury, he posted 65 receptions for 1,035 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior for the Illinois Class 7A state champions … Named The Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette 2014 Player of the Year in Illinois … Named all-state by the newspaper as a junior and senior … One of 27 players named to The Chicago Tribune's All-State first team … Invited to play in the Semper Fidelis All- American Game, but had to decline because he was still recovering from a hand injury. Personal: Born Oct. 12, 1996 … His father, George Jr., played linebacker at Chicago Vocational and then at Eastern Illinois University (1985‑89) … Enrolled in First Year of Studies. COREY HOLMES • WR Jr. • Pembroke Pines, Fla. Ht.: 6-0½ • Wt.: 190 Career Highlights: Played in two contests in 2014, but did not see any game action last year. Prep: Listed as a four-star pros - pect, the No. 15 senior in Florida, and the nation's No. 13 wide receiver and No. 94 overall recruit by ESPN … Was an honorable mention All-Bro- ward County selection for Classes 8A-7A-6A by The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, while he helped St. Thomas Aqui- nas to a 10-3 mark as a senior … Hauled in 24 passes for 432 yards and four touchdowns … Played in the Under Armour All-American Game. Personal: Born April 13, 1995 … His father, David, played defensive back at Syracuse and went on to be a fourth-round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins … Enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters, majoring in film, televi- sion and theatre. TORII HUNTER JR. • WR Jr. • Prosper, Texas Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 195 Career Highlights: Played in all 13 games and made one start in 2015 … Caught 28 passes for 363 yards and a pair of touchdowns … The 2013 Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year made his Irish debut in 2014 and was named the Offense's Newcomer of the Year … Played in 10 games after he missed the first three contests of the season due to an injury … Recorded seven receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed twice for 13 yards. Prep: ESPN ranked him as a four-star recruit, the No. 10 senior in Texas, and the No. 12 wideout and No. 95 overall player in the land … Earned second-team 4A all-state mention from the Texas Associated Press Sports Editors as a senior … Hauled in 71 passes for 1,235 yards and 14 touchdowns while also rushing for 89 yards … Was selected for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, but suffered a broken leg while working out for the West team. Personal: Born June 7, 1995 … Son of Major League Baseball outfielder and All-Star Torii Hunter Sr., who played in 2,372 games over 19 seasons before retiring after the 2015 campaign … Joined the Irish baseball team in 2015 and has appeared in 23 games with one start the past two seasons … Was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 23rd round of the 2016 MLB Draft … Enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business, majoring in information technology management. Year G-GS Att. Yds. Avg. TD 2014 10-0 7 65 9.3 1 2015 13-1 28 363 13.0 2 Totals 23-1 35 428 12.2 3 CJ SANDERS • WR So. • Granada Hills, Calif. Ht.: 5-8 • Wt.: 185 Career Highlights: Played in all 13 games as the primary punt and kick - off returner as well as a reserve slot receiver … Returned 28 kickoffs for 640 yards (22.9 yards per return), in- cluding a 93-yard touchdown at Stanford … Brought back 25 punts for 182 yards (7.3 yards per return), including a 50-yard TD return versus UMass … Made his only catch of the season, for no gain, against UMass … One of nine FBS players, and the only freshman, with a kick and punt return for TD in 2015 … Became the fourth player in Notre Dame history to return both a punt and a kickoff for a TD in the same season. PLAYER BIOGRAPHIES BGI'S 2016 DEPTH CHART No. "X" Receiver Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 16 Torii Hunter Jr. 6-0 195 Sr./2 29 Kevin Stepherson 6-0 181 Fr./4 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 215 Fr./4 No. "Z" Receiver Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 15 Corey Holmes 6-0½ 190 Jr./3 3 CJ Sanders 5-8 185 So./3 No. "Y" Receiver Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6 Equanimeous St. Brown 6-4 205 So./3 17 Miles Boykin 6-3½ 225 So./4 86 Javon McKinley 6-3 205 Fr./4 Sophomore CJ Sanders compiled 822 all-purpose yards as Notre Dame's primary return man in 2015, but will also be counted on to produce as a slot receiver this fall. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA