Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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2016 RECRUITING ISSUE KEVIN STEPHERSON WIDE RECEIVER 5-11 • 171 FIRST COAST H.S. JACKSONVILLE, FLA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ — 66 58 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 99 100 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 128 114 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 123 162 MEASURABLES • Recorded a time of 4.47 seconds in the 40- yard dash. • Maxed out with a 40-inch vertical jump. • Bench pressed a maximum of 240 pounds. STATISTICS • Caught 48 passes for 835 yards and 10 touch- downs as a senior. • Caught 33 passes for 756 yards and 11 scores as a junior. HONORS • As a senior, earned honorable mention Associ- ated Press Class 7A all-state and Florida Times- Union second-team All-First Coast honors. • As a junior, was named third-team All-First Coast by The Florida Times-Union, and honorable mention All-Northeast Florida by FloridaHSFootball.com. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Participated in the Pylon Seven-on-Seven Re- gional Tournament at Cocoa Beach (Fla.) High Feb. 13-15, 2015, and was named the No. 8 overall standout player by Rivals.com. • Named wide receiver/tight end MVP at the in- augural Rivals Speed and Skill Challenge March 7, 2015, in Orlando, Fla. RECRUITMENT • Gave his verbal commitment to Notre Dame on June 19, 2015, on the evening of his unofficial visit for the program's Irish Invasion recruiting event. • Also received offers from Florida, Georgia Tech, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, North Caro- lina and Virginia, among others. • Visited campus the weekend (Oct. 16-18, 2015) of the game against USC. • Primarily recruited by associate head coach Mike Denbrock, and secondarily recruited by tight ends coach Scott Booker. NOTABLE • Born Oct. 1, 1997. • Wants to major in engineering or business. • Played basketball until his senior year of high school. 2016 PROJECTION • Unlikely to see the field behind a depth chart of sophomore Equanimeous St. Brown and junior Corey Holmes at the X receiver position. THEY SAID IT • Head coach Brian Kelly: "Kevin is a competitor and has all the tools to be very successful in col- lege. As an early enrollee this winter, I know Kevin is putting in the time and effort it takes to perform at a high level." • Associate head coach/wide receivers coach Mike Denbrock: "Kevin is a dynamic football player who has as good a set of hands and ball skills as we have on our football team right now. "His ability to get in and out of breaks, his quick feet and explosiveness is something I think is going to add to our football team." • BGI football analyst Bryan Driskell: "Stepherson does not get the national recognition of the other receivers in the class, but he has the talent to emerge as a productive college wide receiver. In many ways, his game mirrors that of former Notre Dame receiver Will Fuller. "He is on the thin side, but Stepherson has out- standing speed and agility. He explodes off the line and makes extremely sudden movements as a route runner."