Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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The Winning Edge Sophomore safety Elijah Shumate knows little about defeat W By Lou Somogyi hen Notre Dame sophomore safety Elijah Shumate lamented this spring that you "win some and lose some," it evoked laughter. During his New Jersey high school football career at Paterson Catholic (which closed its doors after the 200910 academic year) and then Don Bosco Prep, Shumate never experienced defeat while starting and later starring as a four-year varsity running back, safety and linebacker. Then with Shumate playing all 12 regular-season games as Notre Dame's nickel back and a special teams mainstay as a freshman last season, the 12-0 Irish start pushed his personal winning streak beyond 50 games. According to Shumate, the 42-14 loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game was his first setback on a football field since a 2007 playoff game in the eighth grade. "That was really hard," reflected Shumate on the Crimson Tide debacle. "I never want to have to go through that again, but it's part of life, it's part of growing up; win some, lose some." Well, as long as 99 percent of the time you win … Another growing process occurred this spring for Shumate while he attempted to nail down the safety position vacated by the graduated Zeke Motta, last year 's Defensive MVP (linebacker Manti Te'o was voted the Team MVP). While junior Matthias Farley and senior Austin Collinsworth worked primarily as the boundary safeties, Shumate was at field safety. All three are likely to see extensive action this season, similar to the MottaHarrison Smith-Jamoris Slaughter rotation in 2011. Unlike junior Matthias Farley, who came out of nowhere last year to excel at safety after working as a reserve wideout his freshman season, the 6-0, 213-pound Shumate is primed to make a 2013 impact that might eclipse Farley's in 2012. With the speed to play corner — Shumate ran the second leg at Don Bosco for the 4x400-meter relay team that placed fifth at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in 2011 — and the size and physical nature to align at safety,