Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2020 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 149 Name Pos. Starts Josh Adams RB 25 Turned pro after junior season having amassed 3,198 career rushing yards. Josh Barajas LB 0 Transferred to Illinois State in 2017 and was beset by injuries. Asmar Bilal LB 22 Two-year starter, rover in 2018 and Buck in 2019, who recorded 176 career stops (17.5 for loss). Miles Boykin WR 13 MVP of 2018 Citrus Bowl win versus LSU followed with strong senior year to become third-round draft pick. Nick Coleman DB 14 Starting safety in 2017 before shifting to more of nickel role as a 2018 senior. Te'von Coney LB 29 Three-year starter produced 314 career tackles, with 24.5 behind the line of scrimmage. Shaun Crawford DB 11 Lionhearted figure is back for a sixth year after missing three seasons with injuries. Micah Dew-Treadway DL 0 Started all 13 games as graduate transfer at Minnesota (2019) after recording two tackles with Irish. Nicco Fertitta DB 0 Special teams regular played 46 games and recorded 40 tackles. Jalen Guyton WR 0 Dismissed from Notre Dame his freshman year and starred at North Texas before turning pro. Tristen Hoge OL 0 Transferred to BYU after sophomore year, and is bouncing back from 2019 injury. Alizé Mack TE 24 Became seventh-round pick after snaring 36 passes as a senior (68 in career). Trevor Ruhland OL 11 Guard overcame many injuries to start five times in 2018 and six as a fifth-year senior in 2019. C.J. Sanders WR 7 Return specialist scored six times (four on returns) before becoming graduate transfer at SMU. Equanimeous St. Brown WR 25 Started every game in 2016-17 before turning pro as junior with 92 career catches that averaged 16.1 yards with 13 scores. Elijah Taylor DL 0 Played four games in three years before transferring to Eastern Ken- tucky, where he started in 2018 but was injured in 2019. Brandon Tiassum DL 0 Dismissed from team in January 2018, but finished with his degree. Name Pos. Starts Jerry Tillery DL 40 A mainstay all four years exploded with strong senior year to become a first- round draft pick. Bo Wallace DL 0 Never enrolled and ended up signing with Arizona State, where he did not play. Ashton White DB 0 Played six games as sophomore reserve before becoming a graduate transfer at Buffalo and playing a limited role. Dexter Williams RB 8 Enjoyed superb senior year with 995 rushing yards after serving suspension in first four games. Mykelti Williams DB 0 Transferred after freshman year to Northern Illinois, where he recorded 231 tackles and three interceptions. Brandon Wimbush QB 16 Started all but one game in 2017 before losing his starting job in 2018 and using graduate transfer year as a reserve at UCF. Justin Yoon K 50 Became all-time scoring leader (367) and most accurate field goal kicker (80.8 percent, 59 of 73) in school history with at least 50 attempts. After some setbacks in his career, running back Dexter Williams enjoyed a superb senior year while helping Notre Dame to the 2018 College Football Playoff. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN Final Grade: C This is with the understanding that the average grade of "C" by Notre Dame stan- dards is no worse than top-15 to top-25 caliber. The 2015 haul helped the Fighting Irish record several top-15 finishes, highlighted by the College Football Playoff in 2018, but this 23-man class also had a higher rate of attrition than normal. Plus, two others left as juniors to become a sixth-round pick (Equanimeous St. Brown) and an undrafted free agent signee (Josh Adams) in the NFL. There were a lot of positive contribu- tions at the skill positions on offense and at kicker, but both lines lacked depth. Class Of 2015 Summary Players In Class — 24 • Rivals Ranking — No. 11 NFL Draft Picks • Miles Boykin — Baltimore Ravens, third round, No. 93, 2019 • Alizé Mack — New Orleans Saints, sev- enth round, No. 231, 2019 • Equanimeous St. Brown — Green Bay Packers, sixth round, No. 207, 2018 • Jerry Tillery — Los Angeles Chargers, first round, No. 28, 2019 • Dexter Williams — Green Bay Packer, sixth round, No. 194, 2019