Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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18 SEPT. 30, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA C hansi Stuckey sat the entire Fight- ing Irish wide receiver corps down on the sideline at Notre Dame Stadium. If there was ever a mo- ment for him to use one play as a teaching opportunity for the whole group, it was early in the second quarter of the Notre Dame's 41-17 win over Central Michigan. And, unlike in years past, he was able to single out a positive play. Senior Chris Tyree had just caught a 76-yard touchdown pass on a go route up the seam. As Stuckey said, the converted running back had "high hands" and "tracked it all the way." It was textbook, especially from a player that had never been a full-time wideout until this year. "That's why we stay after practice and do the extra work," Stuckey said on the sideline. "So we get the fruits of our labor, right?" Then Stuckey turned to Tyree. "I'm so freaking proud,. It's awesome to see how far you've come." All of the Notre Dame wide receivers have come a long way. It's a group that ranked 37th nationally in Pro Football Focus' grades for pass routes in 2022. And if not for tight end Michael Mayer, who led the team with a receiving grade of 91.6, who knows where that overall ranking would have been. Through Week 3 of the 2023 college football season, Notre Dame was No. 2 in the FBS in PFF's pass routes hierarchy with a team grade of 87.5. "I think that it's been a testament to 'Stuck,'" Notre Dame offensive coor- dinator Gerad Parker said. "It's been a testament to our guys and just doesn't show up now. It's been a commitment from spring ball and through the sum- mer, which was a critical summer for us, and our guys committed themselves in the summer, fall camp and you keep adding to it. That has allowed them to be confident, play fast and then grow in their efficiency of route running." PFF isn't the only advanced statistics entity that has detected major improve- ment in Notre Dame's wide receiver play. Sports Info Solutions gave the Irish pass catchers the second-best points earned, points earned per play, points above average and points above average per play in the country through Week 3. Per SIS's expected points added for receiving metric, a number that takes any given situation and finds the odds that each different scoring possibility comes next, Notre Dame was No. 1 in the country through Week 3. The Irish had a receiving EPA of 69.12, ahead of offensive juggernauts Washington (68.61), Oklahoma (64.99) and USC (63.29). "I've got a lot of confidence in our wide receivers," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. "They put the work in. The development Coach Stuckey has done with those guys, to have young guys making plays, to have a converted running back making plays, Jayden Thomas, Deion]Colzie, those guys are all playing really well." Those aren't words Freeman could get up in front of a microphone and con- fidently spout to reporters a year ago. Notre Dame relied on the same three wide receivers — Thomas, Braden Lenzy and Lorenzo Styles — down after down in 2022 with only so-so results. Notre Dame got 1 catch from a true freshman last season. Through four games in 2023, true freshmen had 16 catches for the Irish. And the player who had the only freshman catch last year, Tobias Merriweather, had 6 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown in the first four games of his sophomore campaign. Tyree's rapid evolution from full-time running back to playmaking wide receiver is evidence enough of Stuckey's ability to develop his players. But Merriweather coming into his own and Thomas leading the team in catches through four games are instances of it too. Add in freshman Jaden Greathouse ranking first in touchdown receptions among Notre Dame wide receivers through four games, and fellow fresh- FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR Notre Dame's wide receivers are on pace for one of their most productive seasons in recent memory