Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 61 WIDE RECEIVERS QUOTABLE: RECEIVERS COACH DELVAUGHN ALEXANDER ON SOPHOMORE CHASE CLAYPOOL'S RAW TALENT AND HIGH CEILING: "We're moving past the raw talent part. We're moving more toward him being talented, physical and with great speed. He's shown a lot of things to me, Coach [Chip] Long and our staff." 2016 VS. 2017: STOCK UP OR DOWN? The position is vastly improved on paper and in overall experience. In 2016, senior linebacker James Onwualu's four career starts were more than any returning wideout (Onwualu played there as a freshman before shifting to defense), a reflection of how green Notre Dame's receiving corps was. Other than senior Torii Hunter Jr., who is pursuing a career in pro baseball, no other returning Irish wideout had caught more than one pass prior to 2016. There is a major role reversal this year, with 72.3 percent of the receptions (128 total) re- turning from 2016 compared to 15.9 percent (30 total) last year. X-FACTOR Last year, Kevin Stepherson had one of the top five freshman campaigns by a Fighting Irish wideout. His 462 receiving yards were fourth on the all-time freshman chart, while he averaged a notable 18.5 yards per catch, and his five touchdown catches were second only to Michael Floyd's seven in 2008. However, a hamstring issue and returning to the good graces of the coaching staff were some hurdles he faced this spring while working mainly with the third team. Stepherson putting it all together would provide a valued deep-ball comple- ment to the attack. FRESHMAN OUTLOOK The two rookies — Michael Young and Jafar Armstrong — will have a difficult task cracking what is typically a six-man rotation during the season. Not only were there seven viable candidates this spring with past game experience, but Michigan graduate transfer Freddy Canteen and Arizona State graduate transfer Cameron Smith were added this summer. As mainly three-star prospects, neither Young and Armstrong arrive with the fanfare that most of their teammates did. Stepherson was a three-star, too, and had a terrific freshman campaign, but there was a much better op- portunity for rookie impact last year. DID YOU KNOW? Senior wide receiver Austin Webster is the first known captain in Notre Dame history who was elected as a walk-on. Mike Oriard (1969) and Joe Schmidt (2015) originally were walk-ons, but they were on scholarship before becoming captains. In an effort to enhance leadership and overall team chemistry, head coach Brian Kelly had a school-record seven captains named in December. In addition to Webster, they were senior linebackers Nyles Morgan and Greer Martini, senior rover Drue Tranquill, fifth-year offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey and senior left guard Quenton Nelson. Quarterback DeShone Kizer also was named a captain before opting to turn pro. SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS (11) Listed after the class year is the years of eligi- bility remaining. Wide Receiver 6 Equanimeous St. Brown (6-5, 204), Jr./2 10 Chris Finke (5-9½, 177), Jr./3 29 Kevin Stepherson (6-0, 180), So./3 16 Cameron Smith (6-0, 203), 5th-Sr./1 Wide Receiver 83 Chase Claypool (6-4½, 224), So./3 88 Javon McKinley (6-2, 220), So./3 25 Jafar Armstrong (6-0, 170), Fr./4 Wide Receiver 81 Miles Boykin (6-4, 225), Jr./3 3 C.J. Sanders (5-8, 185), Jr./2 87 Michael Young (5-10, 170), Fr./4 11 Freddy Canteen (6-1, 185), Sr./2 St. Brown's 630 unofficial snaps on offense were easily the most among the 2016 receiving corps. The graduated Torii Hunter Jr. was sec- ond with 463, while Sanders was third with 383. NOTABLE DATA Equanimeous St. Brown's 58 catches repre- sented the third-most ever by a Notre Dame sophomore, as did his receiving yardage (961) and touchdowns (nine). His sophomore cam- paign was comparable to the two ahead of him — 2009 Biletnikoff Award winner Golden Tate and 2016 first-round pick Will Fuller. Both turned pro after their junior season. • Tate snared six passes for 131 yards his first year — and then exploded his sophomore season with 58 catches, 1,080 yards and 10 touchdowns. • Fuller also caught six passes for 160 yards as a freshman — and then erupted as a soph- omore with 76 catches, 1,094 yards and 15 scores. • St. Brown had only one catch as a freshman, but then detonated his second year, rivaling Tate's numbers. Sophomore Chase Claypool was a standout on special teams last season and is projected to make more of an impact at wide receiver in 2017. PHOTO BY RICK KIMBALL