Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2020 Notre Dame Football Preview
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Tales of Owusu-Koramoah's work habits illuminated in 2019 also begin with basketball. After one day at tryouts as a ninth grader, Bre- hon was unimpressed. He was slender fresh- man who was a non-factor on offense, a prime cut candidate. "He just doesn't have any skill, so I'm going to put him on JV," Brehon said. "But I watched a couple days in tryouts and his ability grew on me because of how he never gave up on plays." There were athletic tools present, too. But Owusu-Koramoah needed to learn controlled aggression instead of running headlong into plays for better or worse. And he was lacking in mass. But overflowing with desire and energy. "He had the want-it factor," Brehon said. "He wasn't strong. But after we'd practice for two or two-and-a-half hours a day, this kid would go right into the weight room for an hour. His body changed in a matter of a year from a skinny kid to some definition. "By the time he left us, he had a man's body as a 17-year-old kid." Owusu-Koramoah was a first-team all-con- ference selection as a senior, a pesky defender who hounded Division I-bound stars like slippery point guard Jalen Ray (Hofstra) and sturdy wing Marquis Godwin (Old Dominion). He had a respectable jump shot that extended to the three-point line. He averaged 13 points per game as a senior on a team that reached the state title game. The entire package was enough for Division I Maryland-Eastern Shore to extend him a bas- ketball offer, though then-coach Bobby Collins was enamored with him beyond his skill set. "He said 'I'll make a place for you. …We can't teach what you have,'" Brehon recalled. "That's a testament to his will." All the while, his athletic traits shined. Op- posing teams were wary of Bethel's seven-foot center, Providence-bound Dajour Dickens, as a rim protector. They didn't plan for Owusu- Koramoah's transition blocks where he chased down plays and rejected shots over the rim. He did it against every level of opponent. In one meeting against rival Hampton High School, a matchup of 8-0 teams with seven combined Division I-bound athletes, Owusu- Koramoah caught a Hampton guard for a block from behind in transition to help send the game into overtime. In a holiday tournament against Lake Taylor High School, he sprinted back to swat away a go-ahead layup after his team had just committed an open-floor turnover late in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame's linebacker unit entered the 2019 off- season in a state of mass transition. Drue Tranquill, the Buck linebacker and leader of the defense, was headed to the NFL. So was top tackler Te'Von Coney, who started at Mike linebacker. Two multi-year start- ers gone, to be replaced by two unknowns. There were no obvious, proven successors. It was a prime area of concern. A month into the 2019 season, though, linebacker was a clear strength. Asmar Bilal, moved from the starting rover job to Buck, shined in his new role. More importantly, two barely there players in 2018 emerged as the leading tacklers on a defense that once again held opponents to fewer than 20 points per game. Rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah suffered a bro- ken foot in 2018 and recorded no stats in two years, but became an NFL Draft prospect after one season as a starter. Mike linebacker Drew White, after two straight seasons with spring practice injuries, tied him for the team lead with 80 tackles (8.0 for loss). Both emerged from off-the-radar backups and shoved aside prior injuries to become important defensive pieces. Owusu-Koramoah became the favorite to start at rover during the spring. White missed nearly all of spring after an injury from a ski- ing accident and won the job in fall camp. Up to that point, his only notable contribution was a six-tackle game in the win over Navy in 2018. "He fought through that [injury] to put himself in a position where that game was not just a cameo for him, and it would be more of what we've come to see this year," head coach Brian Kelly said after the 2019 Navy game, in which White made 10 tackles. Neither was surprised to get to that point, but per- haps it involved more obscurity and challenges than they anticipated. To the outside world of fans, me- dia, and perhaps even coaches, each was a surprise in going from negligible or nonexistent contributor to valuable piece in the span of one season. Notre Dame has had a few examples of it before, too. Here is a look at some other out-of-nowhere stars of the Kelly era: Tommy Rees, quarterback Kelly honored Rees' commitment upon his Decem- ber 2009 hiring. Rees was Rivals' No. 31 pro-style quarterback in 2010, a player who's normally a ca- reer backup at a place like Notre Dame and filler for a coach's first class. But when Dayne Crist was injured in November 2010, Rees found himself starting games as a fresh- man. Notre Dame went 4-0 with him at quarterback. He started in 2011, was Everett Golson's backup in 2012 and reclaimed the starting job in 2013. Matthias Farley, safety A three-star recruit in the 2011 class, Farley red- shirted his first year and was a scout team wide receiver. Notre Dame moved him to defense after the season, where he earned a backup job at safety. When Jamoris Slaughter was injured in September 2012, Farley started the next 11 games and was an important part of the BCS title game run. He has played in the NFL the last four years. Will Fuller, wide receiver As a top-200 recruit, Fuller was expected to con- tribute during his Notre Dame career. The end result was no surprise, but there was no buildup to star- dom. He had only six catches as a freshman in 2013 before a 1,000-yard, 15-touchdown season in 2014. Joe Schmidt, linebacker Notre Dame's best walk-on find since Kelly arrived had 21 total tackles in three years before earning a starting job and becoming the team's MVP in 2014. He won the award despite a season-ending injury in early November. He was Notre Dame's second- leading tackler in 2015. DeShone Kizer, quarterback The former four-star recruit was the third-team quarterback as a freshman in 2014 and struggled during 2015 spring practices while Golson and Malik Zaire competed for the starting job. Golson later took a grad transfer and Zaire was injured early in the 2015 season, which opened the door for Kizer. He didn't relinquish the job for two years and became a second-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Jarrett Patterson, center Patterson was a late addition in 2018, a player who finishes classes rather than starts them. He redshirted the 2018 season, working mainly as a backup left tackle. But on the first day of spring practice in 2019, he trotted out with the first team at center, won the job and is entrenched there for 2020. — Patrick Engel White was a low three-star recruit and obscured backup for two years before making 80 tackles as Notre Dame's starting middle linebacker in 2019. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA Drew White Goes From Nowhere To Notable 102 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW