BY ANDREW OWENS
R
egardless of talent, every college football player has
a different developmental timeline, ranging from
being ready to contribute on day one to those that
are never quite prepared. Irish senior safety Elijah Shumate
started most of last season, but it took him until 2015 to find
his groove in Notre Dame's defense.
"He's skyrocketing," head coach Brian Kelly said. "I wish
I had him another couple years. He's really coming into his
own. I'm really proud of him.
A STEADY
FORCE
Elijah Shumate has developed
into a consistent player
during his senior season
"Some guys, it takes longer to get to
that point. He was still cooking and
wasn't done yet. He's one of those
guys that is ascending for us. It's re-
ally nice to see, he's such a great kid.
He cares so much and was working so
hard at his craft, and was struggling
and it was wearing on him. … It is
really one of the gratifying things as
a coach when you get to see a player
break through that wall. He was bang-
ing on that wall, and you can see it's
coming down for him."
Shumate started 11 games on the
back line of the Irish defense in 2014,
but admits he didn't grasp defen-
sive coordinator Brian VanGorder 's
scheme as quickly as he would have
liked. This season, however, he has
been a consistent and playmaking
