Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Will Fuller Plans To Return In 2016 Junior wide receiver Will Fuller broke protocol in his meeting with the media Nov. 11 when he discussed his NFL future, but it's one that won't disappoint the Notre Dame coaching staff. Although Fighting Irish players are under strict orders not to talk about their pro aspirations during football season, Fuller surprised the media contingent when he divulged that he plans to return in 2016 for his senior season. The revelation occurred after he was asked whether Senior Day against Wake Forest Nov. 14 also has a chance to be his final appearance in Notre Dame Stadium. The Philadelphia native replied with a suc- cinct "no." "I'm going to graduate," Fuller said. "That's what I came here for." When asked again if that meant he also will suit up as a football senior in 2016, he replied, "Yes, yes." Projected in some 2016 mock drafts to be a late first-round pick, the game-breaking speedster said CHARTING THE IRISH OFFENSIVE LINE DOMINATION In the 42-30 win over Pittsburgh Nov. 7, Notre Dame was once again forced to go to the bench for a lead running back, after senior and former backup C.J. Prosise exited the game at the end of the first quarter with a shoulder injury and never returned to the contest. It eventually proved little issue for the Irish, though, because true freshman Josh Adams — a former three-star recruit according to Rivals — rushed for 147 yards on 20 carries, an average of 7.3 yards per at- tempt. Three of his carries went for 20-plus yards, and he even was credited with a five-yard touchdown reception on a shovel pass from sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer. While plenty of credit should go to head coach Brian Kelly's recruiting at the running back position and the coaching of first year running backs coach Autry Denson, it's important not to overlook the offensive line's contribution to the productive run game. Football Outsiders tracks a statistic called "opportunity rate," which sets a criteria for trying to measure how often a team's offensive line helps their running back reach the second level of the defense. Carries that go five-plus yards are considered "opportunities" for the running back to do some damage in the second level and pick up additional yards on their own. The Irish offensive line ranks No. 2 nationally in opportunity rate, getting their running backs to at least the five-yard mark on 47.7 percent of carries through the first nine games. Only Baylor (52.5 percent) ranked higher. OPPORTUNITY RATE NATIONAL LEADERS Rk. School Percentage 1. Baylor 52.5 2. Notre Dame 47.7 3. LSU 46.9 4. Oregon 46.5 5. Ohio State 46.0 Rk. School Percentage 6. Appalachian State 45.8 7. Oregon State 45.1 8. Texas Tech 44.8 9. Georgia Tech 44.7 10. TCU 44.4