Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 PRESEASON 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI A year ago at this time, the Notre Dame wide receiver corps was the most inexperienced position on the team. The re- turning player with the most career starts (four) and second-most career catches (two) actually was then-se- nior linebacker James Onwualu. It was much different this August, beginning with the presence of 12 scholarship wideouts — seven of whom have caught at least one touch- down pass in their collegiate careers. For first-year Fighting Irish wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexan- der, the most difficult aspect of his job is whittling that dozen down to a manageable rotation of six — maybe seven — in a game. "You probably don't get that far into your rotation," Alexander ad- mitted, "but at the same time if we're going fast and we're running a lot of plays, to have two different groups [of three] go in and be effective, that's what we're looking for." After the first two weeks of cam- pus, the lone player among the dozen who had "punched his ticket," per head coach Brian Kelly, was junior Equanimeous St. Brown, whose 58 catches for 961 yards and nine touch- downs easily paced the 2016 team. That's no surprise given St. Brown's unofficial snap count of 630 last year (about 53 per game) was far more than the No. 2 and No. 3 returning play- ers, classmate C.J. Sanders (383) and sophomore Kevin Stepherson (348). What has been the surprise is Sanders (24 catches, two touchdowns last year) and Stepherson (25 catches, 18.5 yards per grab and five scores) might not even make the cut among the top six entering the season opener against Temple Sept. 2, which speaks to the competitiveness on the unit. Perhaps no single position better reflects Kelly's dicta of intangibles — mental toughness, assignment awareness/execution, attitude, etc. — trumping talent than the receiver unit. "It's not just about your potential, but how are you playing and reacting in every situation," Alexander echoed. CAMERON SMITH MAKES HIS MOVE By the end of the third week of pre- season camp, Arizona State graduate transfer Cameron Smith was on the threshold of becoming the second wideout to punch his ticket as a regu- lar because of his combination of skill and "doing it the right way." As a sophomore at Arizona State in 2014, the speedster Smith nabbed 41 passes, six for scores, including a 43- yard TD reception against the Irish in a 55-31 Sun Devils victory. An in- jured knee sidelined him in 2015 and limited him to 12 catches last season before he graduated with a degree in biological sciences. At Arizona State, he was named a "Scholar Baller" — a form of Dean's List — every semester and wants to go into stem cell research and earn a Ph.D. Alexander and new offensive co- ordinator Chip Long coached Smith at Arizona State, so it's no surprise he has quickly assimilated into the offense. However, Alexander admits he and Long had to ask Smith some tough questions before he opted to do graduate work at Notre Dame. "He wants to find a cure for things that someone has … I think he enjoys wearing a white lab coat," Alexander explained. "He's very focused, and he has an idea of what he wants to do after football. "There was a point in time we had to ask, 'Is football going to be impor- tant to you?' In talking to him in a di- rect manner, football is important to him, this season is important to him, GOING DEEP Competition for playing time at wide receiver has been enhanced by the volume of options Cameron Smith, a graduate transfer from Arizona State, caught 41 passes with six scores in 2014, but was hindered by injuries his last two season with the Sun Devils. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN