Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI named one of the five finalists for the Butkus Award, presented annually to the nation's top linebacker. The other four are three fifth-year seniors and one senior. There haven't been two faster ris- ing figures in the program recently than sophomore wideout Will Fuller and sophomore cornerback Cole Luke. Fuller rivals Jim Seymour (1966) for best sophomore year ever by a Notre Dame receiver, while a Luke/Russell corner tandem in 2015 could rival any nation- ally. "He was a 'C' player coming into the year," Kelly said of Luke. "He's a 'B- plus' player right now." Now, add in fledging Corey Robinson and Torii Hunter Jr. in the sophomore class with Fuller … "That wide receiver group has turned into from last year at times being soft — they're a tough group now," Kelly said. "You look at them on the sideline and they've got an edge about them … they're going to be a special, special group of players." Sophomore Tarean Folston has be- come an alpha back with an all-around game. "He's been outstanding the last two weeks in pass protection," Kelly said a few days before the regular-season finale at USC. "He's been 100 percent." It's up to five-star Greg Bryant to pro- vide an ideal complement the next two years. Speaking of five stars, safety Max Redfield might be on a path that recent Irish safeties such as first-round pick Harrison Smith (2008-11) and 2012 De- fensive MVP Zeke Motta experienced: immense struggles early before excel- lent breakout campaigns as veterans. The five-man 2013 offensive line was ranked among the three best in the country, and it's in the junior year when most of them begin to flourish. Guard Steve Elmer and tackle Mike Mc- Glinchey must become standouts. Isaac Rochell has started every game along the defensive front and has evolved into a mainstay. Ideally, Eddie Vanderdoes — who signed with the Irish but ended up at UCLA — would have remained in this class to provide a little more oomph up front. This is not even including the devel- opment of others such as linebacker James Onwualu, quarterback Malik Zaire, tight end Durham Smythe and several other linemen. It's rare to have this kind of depth, balance and wow factor in one class. The 2003 haul with quarterback Brady Quinn, wide receiver Jeff Samardzija, tight end John Carlson, offensive line- men Ryan Harris and John Sullivan, defensive linemen Victor Abiamiri and Trevor Law, and safeties Tom Zbikowski and Chinedum Ndukwe was one of the more recent. After a 5-7 and 6-6 start to their ca- reers, they spearheaded back-to-back BCS bids in 2005-06. This sophomore class should be capable of producing similar, if not greater, achievements. Kelly's coaching legacy at Notre Dame will depend on it. ✦ Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com