Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/783750
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2017 83 DelVaughn Alexander inherits a talented group of wide receivers BY MATT JONES N ew Notre Dame wide receiv- ers coach DelVaughn Alexan- der said the first thing he did when he was hired last month was find a list of the Irish receivers and circle the ones from California. Alexander, a Los Angeles native, was looking for some common ground. The former Arizona State assistant has a reputation as a tireless West Coast re- cruiter, and even though he missed out on several Notre Dame prospects the first time around, he'll have a chance to coach them in 2017. "I reached out to some of those guys and said, 'You may not have come to Arizona State, but I'll get to coach you here at Notre Dame,'" Alexan- der said. "You reach out to things that are familiar and then you go from there." Notre Dame has three scholarship receivers from California: juniors Equa- nimeous St. Brown and C.J. Sanders, and sophomore Javon McKinley. Sopho- more Chase Claypool is from British Columbia. Those four, plus Florida sophomore Kevin Stepherson, comprise the core of what figures to be a strong receiver group at Notre Dame in 2017, now led by the veteran coach. Alexander replaces longtime Brian Kelly assistant Mike Denbrock, who left to become the offensive coordinator at Cincinnati. "Immediately we kind of show up together and they start the weight training and I'm waiting for the background check to go through, so I'm here in the weight room and observing," said Alexander, who was officially hired Jan. 19. "Guys are eager in terms of the energy, eager to see what's new. They have great energy, they're coming up, they're shaking my hand, introducing themselves. It's been a pretty warm welcome." According to Blue & Gold Illustrated's unofficial 2016 snap counts, Notre Dame returns 72.9 percent of its 2,399 total receiver snaps from last season. St. Brown played a position- high 630 snaps and caught 58 passes for 961 yards and nine touchdowns. Stepherson had 25 catches for 462 yards and five touch- downs, while Sanders had 24 receptions for 293 yards and two scores. Kelly said he was impressed by the 45-year-old's plan to develop the team's receivers, as well as the Los Angeles na- tive's recruiting experience on the West Coast. "What I loved about DelVaughn is his organization skills and his ability to teach the wide receivers, as well as being a veteran coach who has built great rela- tionships with his players," Kelly said. Alexander was asked about Claypool specifically, a receiver many are eager to see more of in 2017. "He's a freak athlete," Alexander said of the 6-5, 205-pounder. "He's got great size, he's got outstanding quickness, he's got good bend, he's flexible and he's a competitor. We talked about composure and what that means … he likes to vent his frustrations, which is good. But he explained in five seconds that it's over and he can get over it. "I explained that in one second you'll get a penalty, so it doesn't take that long. Just something small, but it's all a mat- ter of teaching and growing. I know it'll happen in the spring, he'll be frustrated, but we'll come back to that teachable moment." Alexander is now reunited with for- mer Arizona State assistant Chip Long, who is now the Notre Dame offensive co- ordinator. The two worked together with the Sun Dev- ils from 2012-15. Working with Long, one of the top young offensive minds in college football, was an opportunity Alex- ander said he couldn't pass up. "I just felt great about who I'll be working with here," Alexander said. "Coach Long and our relationship here. The opportunity to not just talk about playing for a national championship, but going out to execute every week to win one. There's a differ- ence there. I'm just excited." Alexander has also made coaching stops at UNLV (1998, 2000-02), Oregon State (2003-04), with the San Diego Char- gers of the NFL (2005-06) and Wisconsin (2007-11) prior to arriving at ASU. Alexander is the second USC alum to coach at Notre Dame in the past 20 years, joining former quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford Sr. in that regard. Sanford was Alexander's receivers coach with the Trojans before leaving for Notre Dame. "Watching my wide receiver coach leave and go to Notre Dame 20 years ago, then you say, 'Okay, good for you, I understand,'" Alexander said. "So it's always been a pos- sibility." And though he played for the Trojans — where he backed up Johnnie Morton and Keyshawn Johnson — Alexander said there are no hard feelings from his playing days about the Irish. "What were my thoughts of Notre Dame? Just like every game, every place I've been, you just want to win by one," Al- exander said. "Did I hate Notre Dame? No. I've learned that hate is something that a lot of people have outside of sports in athletics. There's a lot of talk there when you talk about hate. "We work a great job, we're surrounded by great people, and hate is a big word." ✦ Alexander has been reunited with offensive coordinator Chip Long, whom he worked with at Arizona State from 2012-15. PHOTO COURTESY JOE RAYMOND TAKING THE REINS WIDE RECEIVERS COACH DELVAUGHN ALEXANDER