Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/542018
FOOTBALL RECRUITING yards and a score in a 56-36 victory over Lake Mary; three passes for 91 yards and a score in a 34-19 win against DeLand; and made four catches for 89 yards and two scores in a season-ending loss to Apopka … Also ran back a kickoff for a touchdown against Lake Mary … Named to The Times Union All-First Coast third-team as a junior. Recruitment: Stepherson committed to Notre Dame immediately following the Irish Invasion on June 19 … Chose the Irish over LSU and Florida … Also held offers from Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Michi- gan State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia and West Virginia. BGI's Take: Over the summer, Stepherson domi- nated every event he attended, including the Irish Invasion. Stepherson can absolutely fly on the foot- ball field. The First Coast standout gets to full speed quickly and is able to accelerate past defensive backs for big plays. He is a true deep threat in the mold of current Irish standout Will Fuller. A neces- sary trait for such a receiver is the ability to track the deep ball, something Stepherson does well. He has the elusiveness and vision to make big plays in the screen game. Stepherson dos a very good job catching the football away from his body, shows fast hands and a great deal of confidence in his ball skills. His agility and speed should lend to him eventually developing into a dynamic route runner. Once that part of his game catches up to his physi- cal schools his game could take off. TARGETS DAMIAN ALLOWAY Fontana, Calif. (Summit H.S.) Measurables: Listed at 5-10 and 170 pounds by Rivals.com … Ran a 10.6 in the 100-meter dash and a 21.8 in the 200-meter dash to win both events in the Sunkist League Track Finals. Rankings: Ranked as a consensus four-star pros- pect … Rivals.com lists him as the No. 110 player and No. 20 wide receiver nationally … Listed as the No. 181 player nationally by 247Sports, No. 196 by ESPNU and No. 215 by Scout.com. Statistics/Honors: Racked up 1,277 yards of of- fense in 2014 to lead Summit to a playoff berth … Finished with 32 receptions for 635 yards (19.8 yards per catch) and 10 touchdowns, also rushed 54 times for 642 yards (11.9 yards per carry) and eight touchdowns … Added 33 tackles, three in- terceptions and four touchdowns on kick returns … Earned first-team Sunkist All-League honors as a running back … Named to the 2014 All-CIF Southern Section Central Division first-team as a defensive back … Earned a spot on the Daily Bulletin Inland Valley All-Area first-team as a utility player. Recruitment: Has narrowed down his list primarily to Notre Dame, UCLA, California and Wisconsin … Plans on taking an unofficial visit to Notre Dame in July and is set to return for an official visit on Oct. 17 for Notre Dame's matchup against USC. BGI's Take: His game is similar to that of incoming freshman C.J. Sanders. The Summit standout has high-end speed, elusiveness and agility. He pos- sesses the ability to make sharp cuts and weave his way in and out of traffic. Alloway is a major threat in Jacksonville (Fla.) First Coast wide receiver Kevin Stepherson has the big-play speed the Notre Dame coaching staff was looking for in the 2016 class. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM