Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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that threat in the backfield last season, Notre Dame averaged just 4.28 yards per rush — its lowest since 2010 — de- spite having the most production from the quarterback position during Kelly's tenure. Brown's first career catch at Notre Dame was a crucial 50-yard fourth- quarter reception against Oklahoma where he simply outran the secondary. Five plays later, the Irish scored the go-ahead and ultimately the game-win- ning touchdown en route to knocking off the No. 8 Sooners on the road. Notre Dame fans and coaches alike expected many more plays like that from Brown, who used his blazing speed to tantalize and tease during practice. The Hanahan, S.C., native rarely carried that speed and big-play ability into games. Brown struggled with consistency, with a big play here and there, but the breakout never came. During the final six games of the 2014 season, he started to get closer to being that player. After racking up just 21 receptions for 221 yards (10.5 yards per catch) during the first seven games last fall, Brown finished with 18 catches for 327 yards (18.2 yards per catch) during the final six contests. Notre Dame will likely be a more ground-based offense with junior Ma- lik Zaire at the helm. Teams will look to slow down the run and keep Fuller from taking over games. That will put Brown in more one-on-one situations that he must win. If he does, the Irish offense will be awfully tough to stop. NOW OR NEVER Two players that were expected to thrive when the class signed in 2012 are safety Elijah Shumate and defensive end Romeo Okwara. Neither has lived up to expectations, and the 2015 season will be each player's last opportunity to make his mark at Notre Dame. Shumate was rated the No. 113 player nationally by Rivals and was listed as high as No. 55 by Scout. The New Jersey native earned a role in the Irish secondary as a nickel player dur- ing his freshman season. He made 32 tackles and broke up four passes dur- ing his first two seasons, but could not yet make a significant mark. As a junior, Shumate began the season as the backup to Austin Col- linsworth. The senior captain went down with a knee injury the Thursday before the season opener against Rice and Shumate was thrust into the start- ing role, where he struggled out of the gate. A blown assignment resulted in an early 26-yard touchdown that tied the game. It would be a theme for Shumate throughout the season. When he was assignment sound he was effective, at least in the run game. Shumate went on to finish third on the team in tackles with 66, but his struggles with com- munication and inconsistency resulted in him losing his starting position late in the season. Shumate recovered to post a career- high 14 tackles in the 49-14 loss at USC, and he played solid football in the vic- tory over LSU. A strong spring has op- timism on the uptick, but Shumate will be in for a battle at strong safety thanks to the arrival of California transfer Av- ery Sebastian and the return to health of sophomore Drue Tranquill.