Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/542018
BY BRYAN DRISKELL I t is no surprise that Brian Kelly's best recruiting class was inked fol- lowing Notre Dame's magical 2012 run to the BCS National Champion- ship Game. Elite recruits want to play for a winner, and the Irish finished the regular season undefeated for the first time since 1988. The 2013 class was projected to serve as the foundation for another Irish run at a national championship, and half of the projected offensive and defensive starters this fall are expected to come from this class. Notre Dame's leader in rushing, receiving, tackling, tackles-for- loss, passes defensed and quarterback hurries from a season ago all hail from that 2013 group. The vaunted class is ready to return Notre Dame to where it was when the class was being formed during the summer, fall and winter of 2012. STARS MUST EMERGE Entering the 2014 season, the up- perclassmen were expected to lead the Irish. It didn't take long for that to change, with then-sophomore wide receiver Will Fuller emerging as the top offensive player and classmate Jaylon Smith, a linebacker, developing as the force that drove the defense. Fuller set Notre Dame sophomore- season records for receptions (76) and receiving yards (1,094), and tied the school-record for receiving touch- downs (15). His speed and after-the- catch skills made him a threat to score every time he touched the football, and his game steadily improved through- out the year. Kelly often noted during the season that Fuller had yet to develop into a player that could carry an offense, but was quick to point out that was exactly what he expected from the speedy youngster. Now a junior, Fuller is more capable of carrying the offense. Improving his strength, playing with better technique, becoming more sure- handed and showing greater consis- tency will allow him to do so. On the other side of the ball, it took only two games for Smith to estab- lish himself as Notre Dame's most dy- namic defender. He was exceptional in Notre Dame's 31-0 victory over Michi- gan, making 10 stops and a tackle behind the line of scrimmage against running back Derrick Green that was one of the season's top highlights. Smith racked up 45 stops and 6.5 tack- les for loss in the first five games. When fellow linebacker Joe Schmidt went down for the season midway through the Navy victory, Smith went CHAMPIONSHIP PUSH Notre Dame's vaunted 2013 recruiting class will be tasked with carrying the Irish to great heights in 2015