Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2017 49 and that's why he's here: He wants to be a really good football player one more time." The 5-10½, 202-pound Smith's discipline and leadership could con- tinue to make him that No. 2 man if he can avoid past injury maladies. "I'm just thankful," he said of hav- ing a second chance at Notre Dame. "It's a day-by-day process. If I'm not in, I just hope I can contribute help- ing the younger players." And that's the type of attitude the staff wants. "The others can be great talents, but he's a senior and understands what it takes," Alexander said. "He goes out every day, takes care of his business, he tries to be fundamen- tally sound and compete at a high level, and there are just not a lot of concerns that you have about him. "Younger guys — you're still try- ing to give them a little bit of push. There is still some resistance when it gets tough. That just goes with expe- rience and maturity." Part of that maturity for Smith has included not getting into trash talk- ing with the Irish corners, but focus- ing on his duties. "With a tempo offense, there's no time to say anything," Smith said. "If you're not looking at the signal, then you're falling behind." Smith's appreciation of the in- ner workings of the human body also have been buoyed by the new strength and conditioning regime. "Where I came from I thought it was crazy hard, but here it's a notch up from that," Smith said. "You're hitting everything, the neck, the calves … it's a complete program." Meanwhile, Smith is becoming a complete enough player to continue his ascent. "He's a little different than I thought," Kelly said of Smith. "I thought he was more of a take-the- top-off-the-coverage kind of guy. Speed. But he's got strong hands. … He's very strong. And he's got a mature presence about himself. He's exceeded my expectations. "He wants to be ahead of every- thing. He's done a great job of working with our strength staff, nutritionists and certainly trainer Rob Hunt to put himself in the best position he can be." DEPTH SITUATION Michigan graduate transfer Freddy Canteen — who earned his degree in three years — is similar in his ap- proach, and seriously vying to be in the top half of the receiver group despite barely playing the past two seasons with the Wolverines while he, too, like Smith, was ravaged by injuries. "We wanted to add experience to the room, we wanted to add speed to the room, and I think we hit on both of them with those two guys," Alexander said. "There's a room full of hungry players. Cam and Freddy have not been playing much over the last couple of years and have that in common. "There's a hunger and desire there, and I think the other guys are trying to match that and say, 'We have to stay relevant and visible.' They're competing their tails off." In addition to playmakers such as Sanders and Stepherson, the receiver meeting room also features excellent size with junior Miles Boykin (6-4, 225) and sophomore Chase Claypool (6-4, 228) to complement St. Brown (6-5, 203). Yet none had a more pro- lific or higher rated high school career than 6-2, 221-pound Javon McKinley, who had surgery last November on a broken fibula and is trying to find his rhythm in his return. Complementing the size facet is the elusiveness of Sanders, Stepher- son and possibly top punt returner Chris Finke, who scored touchdowns in each of Notre Dame's last two games in 2016. Yet, ask Alexander about someone such as Claypool, and it comes back again to consistency in the attitude toward competition and correctly ex- ecuting play after play. "You see his explosiveness, how powerful he is, but he has to be more than that," Alexander said. "He has to make sure that his focus and at- tention to detail is at a high level. The good news is there is a cluster of guys — Claypool, Boykin, Finke, Sanders — doing a good job. There is good depth at the position." Even freshmen Jafar Armstrong (6-1, 214) and Michael Young (5-10, 190) have tossed their hats into ring. "He's a big, strong kid," Alexan- der said of Armstrong. "His lifting numbers and effort in workouts are comparable to the guys who have been there before. He is powerful. "Michael can go vertical, he's dy- namic. I didn't know how smart he would be picking up the offense, but he's smart in terms of grabbing it. He makes strong catches and is physical when releasing." Not even including double-tight-end alignments, playing time will remain extremely competitive at wideout. It's a year where Notre Dame can "go deep" at receiver, and not just vertically, to bring out the best in all of them. ✦ Junior Miles Boykin is among a host of talented pass catchers who are battling for playing time this fall. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL