Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 71 came the most dynamic receiver on the team late last year, pacing the Irish offense with 30 catches for 431 yards in the final six games of the regular season after snagging just 18 passes for 208 yards in the first six games. Hope around the Notre Dame program is that the end of last season serves as Clay- pool's catalyst to all of this season. Claypool is the first to admit that inconsistency has been the most consistent part of his game so far at Notre Dame, and the Irish coaches publicly agree. "If Chase is focused, he's going to dominate, and that's where he is right now," third-year Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chip Long said in the spring. "The focus in that room is as good as I've ever been around." Interestingly, any talk about production projec- tions and NFL aspirations weren't on Claypool's mind five years ago when he was stuffing basketballs and stat sheets as a shoot- ing guard at Abbotsford High School in British Co- lumbia, Canada. Claypool averaged 48 points per contest as a high school senior, and the night before he signed his letter of intent to play football at Notre Dame, he scored 51 points in a game. But mainly through curiosity and some family nudging, Claypool de- cided to trade sneakers for cleats and give football a try. He was a quick study. As a high school senior, Claypool's 58 receptions averaged 25.4 yards with 18 touchdowns. He also rushed for 567 yards, threw for three more touchdowns and scored on two of his four punt returns. Defensively, Claypool recorded 74 tackles and five interceptions. When asked why he chose Notre Dame's offer over 20-some others, Claypool admits with some disbelief that he didn't even know what state the university was located in when Irish assistant Mike Elston made a recruiting trip to Canada and convinced Claypool to at- tend an Irish Invasion camp before his senior high school season. "I watched Rudy on the plane ride to South Bend," Claypool said of his first cam- pus visit. "That got me excited." And five years later, Claypool now has the Irish coaches excited and NFL scouts curi- ous, but only if, "he just respects the process and sticks with it," Kelly said. Knowing all the while that big sister will be guiding little brother every step of the way. ✦ Claypool Proud Of Being Up Next Almost to a man last February at the NFL Draft Combine, the eight Notre Dame participants each named ris- ing senior wide receiver Chase Claypool as the Fighting Irish player most likely to "bust out" in 2019. Among that group of former teammates, it's wide receiver Miles Boykin who provides the best prediction perspective after enjoying his own breakout senior season in 2018 with 59 catches, 872 receiving yards and eight touchdowns after recording just 18 career catches through his first three years in the program. "It's [Claypool's] senior year. I think this season is a great opportunity for him," said Boykin, who parlayed his final season at Notre Dame and a marvelous combine performance into a third-round selection by the Balti - more Ravens in the NFL Draft. "He's mature. He has all the tools. I just think it's his time." The high praise from such a valued mentor and friend is not lost on Claypool. "It means a lot knowing I have the support from my former teammates," he said. "It gives me something to live up to. If I fall anything short of that, it's a disappointment. I strive for that every day." Barring unforeseen circumstances, the 6-4, 229-pound Claypool is expected to follow the same path as Boykin and become an early round draft pick next spring. "If Claypool puts it all together this fall, like many expect," said NFL Draft analyst Scott Wright, founder and editor of NFLDraftCountdown.com, "the early rounds of the 2020 draft could be well within reach." Following the April 6 practice in Notre Dame Stadium in which Clay - pool made several outstanding catches despite blanket coverage from classmate Troy Pride Jr., Irish head coach Brian Kelly spent some time with Pride afterwards to keep his spirits up. "I said, 'Troy, that's the life of press [coverage] at corner,'" Kelly said. "'You're going up against — that kid could be a first- round draft pick ... they're only going to make you better.'" "The one thing that held Chase back just a little bit was that we would see three or four of those plays and then maybe a bit of a drop-off. He'd get tired, banged up, 'my elbow's sore,' whatever. He now has reached a new mental toughness level where he can do that play in and play out." NFL rosters carry only 53 players and all include re - ceivers with impressive physical stature, so building extra equity this season for Claypool through more terrific special teams work can only pique draft interest and value. Claypool leads the Irish with 20 career tackles on punt and kickoff coverage units. "Claypool is going to have a long career in the NFL even if he never contributes on offense due to his incred - ible ability as a special teams ace," Wright added. "But there is a whole lot of upside, too, as a pass catcher due to his size and athleticism." As a receiver, Claypool will enter this season with 84 career catches for 1,122 yards and six touchdowns. He hopes to basically double that his final season, listing 1,000 receiving yards, 15 touchdowns and 20 pancake blocks as personal goals in 2019. "I'm trying to leave behind a legacy," Claypool said, "and something that people remember me here for." If Boykin has any advice for Claypool this year, it's not to look ahead to next year. "Just focus on the season because once col - lege is over, you're obviously not going to get it back, enjoy it while you have it," Boykin said. "I know he will be happy to be done with col - lege and playing in the NFL, but college will be missed." — Todd D. Burlage Claypool enters his senior season with 84 career catches for 1,122 yards and six touchdowns, all figures he would like to surpass with an All-American year in 2019. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL