2015 Notre Dame Football Preview

2015 Notre Dame Football Preview

Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview

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52 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY BRYAN DRISKELL E ven the most premonitory of preseason prognosticators could not have seen this coming. When Notre Dame kicked off camp a year ago, there were natural expectations that at least one wide receiver would have a breakout season. Some felt it would be senior DaVaris Daniels, who had hauled in 80 passes for 1,235 yards in the previous two years. Or it could be then-junior Chris Brown, who had a break- out spring. A riskier prediction was that then-sophomore Corey Robinson would emerge after putting together a consistently productive spring. None of that happened. Daniels was suspended from the team about halfway through fall camp. Brown shined dur- ing fall camp, but struggled early in the season. And a thumb injury slowed Robinson, though he made enough strides to put himself in position for a possible breakthrough season in 2015. By the time the 2014 campaign was over, it was sophomore Will Fuller who had developed into Notre Dame's top playmaker. Fuller put together the best sophomore year by a wide receiver in Notre Dame history. Raise your hand if this was your prediction for Fuller in 2014: a sophomore school-record 76 receptions, a sophomore school-record 1,094 receiving yards and a school-record-tying 15 receiving touchdowns. No one? Really? Early Breakout Fuller made his presence felt immediately in the opener. After Rice tied the game at 7-7 late in the first quarter, Fuller sprinted past the Owls defense for a 75-yard touchdown. He had so much room that he was able to slow down and wait for quarterback Everett Golson's pass before spinning his way into the end zone. A week later, in Notre Dame's 31-0 victory over Michigan, Fuller torched Wolverines corner- back Blake Countess on a crucial third-and-one play to give the Irish a three-score lead heading into the break. That play overshadowed the fourth-and-three conversion he made earlier in the game that led to Notre Dame's second touchdown. Opponents were getting just a taste of what was to come. Fuller hauled in six passes for 119 yards two games later in a 31-15 Irish victory over Syracuse. Those totals almost matched his entire freshman season numbers (six catches for 160 yards). It was quickly apparent that Fuller was Notre Dame's go-to receiver. In the victory over Syracuse, Fuller showed a new element to his game. Even as a freshman he displayed big-play ability. It was not his 72-yard touchdown reception on a post route that was the attention grabber. The play that stood out was Fuller's first score of the evening. After failing to convert a third-down screen pass late in the first quarter, Fuller was given another chance and he did not disappoint. He caught the pass behind the line of scrimmage on the left, and when the play was over he had cut back across the field and out-ran the Orange defense into the end zone. It was his run-after-catch ability and vision that were new. Adding that to his repertoire made FINDING THE WILL Wideout Will Fuller's dramatic, sudden emergence has made him one of the nation's top receiving weapons In 2014, Fuller ranked third in the country in TD catches (15), 21st in receiving yards (1,094), 23rd in receiving yards per game (84.2) and 34th in receptions per game (5.8). PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

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