Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI those type of conversations with the individual." The main factor holding back rangy 6-4 freshman wide receiver Equanime- ous St. Brown from more action on offense — he blocked a punt against USC that resulted in a touchdown re- turn — is he is ap- prenticing behind All-America can- didate Will Fuller at the X position, or the wide side of the field. " I t h i n k h e would start for a number of Power Five teams," Kelly said. "He's ready to play right now. I'm just not taking Will off the field unless I have to." Why not play Fuller in the slot or the boundary then? Because his effec- tiveness is best on the wide side where if a safety is brought over there, it aids the running attack. Why not move St. Brown to another receiver position? Because as a rookie, you first want to master your own spot, and veterans like senior Chris Brown, junior Corey Robinson, grad senior Amir Carlisle and junior Torii Hunter Jr. know theirs much better. One of the best compliments to a program's development is when fresh- men can play more out of luxury than necessity. Five or 10 years ago, fresh- man wideout Miles Boykin would have been forced into action out of necessity. Not so this year — even though he could hold his own. "Miles Boykin is a guy that is go- ing to be a really good player for us that doesn't have to play for us now," Kelly said. Same with someone such as line- backer Josh Bara- jas. "He had a cou- ple of injuries com- ing in," Kelly said. "And sometimes kids have a percep- tion of what they need to be when they come in … he put on too much weight. " We h a d t o get him into our w e i g h t - t r a i n i n g program and our nutrition program, and we've got him back to where we see him in terms of size and weight." Sometimes, players develop to the point where the NFL covets them enough to negate returning for a fifth season. Offensive tackle Ronnie Stan- ley, cornerback KeiVarae Russell and running back C.J. Prosise are Exhibit A this season. If the program is flourishing, many more such exhibits will follow in the years to come. ✦ Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com 2015 REDSHIRT CANDIDATES Freshmen (12): Linebackers Josh Barajas and Asmar Bilal, wide receivers Miles Boykin and Jalen Guyton, cornerbacks Shaun Crawford (medical) and Ashton White, safety Mykelti Williams, offensive linemen Tristen Hoge and Trevor Ruhland, and defensive linemen Mi- cah Dew-Treadway, Elijah Taylor and Brandon Tiassum. Sophomores (3): Running back Justin Brent, wide receiver Corey Holmes and defensive tackle Jay Hayes. Medical (3) who didn't redshirt as fresh- men: Junior running back Tarean Folston, sophomore safety Drue Tranquill and fifth- year senior safety Avery Sebastian.