Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 14, 2016 11 UNDER THE DOME On a day when four egregious special teams blunders — two turn‑ overs off punts (one resulting in a touchdown), a tipped punt and con‑ fusion at recovering an onside kick — could have cost Notre Dame its 30‑27 victory against Miami Oct. 29, two walk‑ons, former or otherwise, helped salvage the day. Senior kicker John Chereson re‑ placed sophomore Justin Yoon as the kickoff man for two reasons. One was to not overuse Yoon, who was battling tendinitis issues in his leg. The other was Chereson's own effec‑ tiveness in hang time and ball place‑ ment. Kelly opted for Chereson over junior punter Tyler Newsome, who handled kickoffs in 2015. "His hang time was really good," Kelly said of what he saw in Chere‑ son during practices. "And that is more of a concern for us in terms of what we want than how far you kick it — unless you're going to kick it out of the back of the end zone every time. Tyler has a tendency to kick it a little bit lower. "We like the fact that John can re‑ ally place it where we want it … on his last kick, we were almost able to make the tackle on the 4‑yard line, if we are in better position." Meanwhile, after sophomore C.J. Sanders tried to field a bounc‑ ing punt at his 4‑yard line that he bobbled, leading to a Miami fumble recovery in the end zone and a 27‑20 Hurricanes lead, Kelly inserted soph‑ omore wideout Chris Finke to return the ensuing punt. "When you're back there, if you lose your confidence, it can be a di‑ saster," Kelly said of Sanders, who was instructed to plant his feet at the 7‑yard line and not go for anything beyond that. "He's got to be a confi‑ dent player." A dynamic return man at Arch‑ bishop Alter High School in Ketter‑ ing, Ohio, Finke walked on in 2015 before earning a scholarship this August. He was inserted to return Miami's final punt, and he promptly brought it back 23 yards to the Miami 40‑yard line to set up Yoon's game‑ winning 23‑yard field goal. Afterwards, Kelly said Sanders and Finke would continue to compete for the top role on punt returns. "Certainly, [Finke] bolstered his chance by having a key return late in the game for us," Kelly said. Duo Provides Lift To Special Teams Sophomore wide receiver Chris Finke's 23-yard punt return helped set up the game-winning field goal in Notre Dame's 30-27 win over Miami Oct. 29. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA JAVON MCKINLEY WILL MISS THE REST OF THE SEASON Notre Dame freshman wide receiver Javon McKinley underwent surgery Nov. 1 for a broken left fibula he suffered the previous week in practice, and will be out the remainder of the 2016 season. Because McKinley made appearance on special teams in five games this year — including versus Stanford Oct. 15 in game seven — he is not eligible to receive a medical redshirt season. NCAA rules state that to obtain a medical redshirt, the injury must occur prior to the start of the second half of the season, and the student-athlete must not have competed in more than 30 percent of the season or three contests, whichever is greater. The four-star recruit from Centennial High School in Corona, Calif., saw his lone action on offense this year Sept. 10 in the 39-10 win over Nevada, taking eight snaps. He did not catch a pass this year, while the other freshman wideouts in the class saw much more action. During the 3-5 start, Kevin Stepherson snared 12 passes for 287 yards (23.9 yards per catch) and three touchdowns, while Chase Claypool's three catches totaled 52 yards. In high school, the 6-1½, 210-pound McKinley caught 174 career passes for 3,596 yards (20.7 yards per catch) and 44 touchdowns. He announced his decision to enroll at Notre Dame Jan. 9 following the U.S. Army All-American Game. McKinley, a freshman wide receiver, suffered a broken left fibula in practice during the final week of October and underwent season-ending surgery Nov. 1. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA