Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/904117
28 NOV. 27, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED turned to the lineup his playing time was limited, with only 41 snaps in his first three games in the lineup. Over the next three games Stepher- son became more of a regular in the ro- tation, playing at least 57 snaps in each outing. His season reached its high point in Notre Dame's win over Navy. With its top two receivers — junior Equanimeous St. Brown and sopho- more Chase Claypool — out by half- time with injuries, the Irish offense needed someone to take up the slack, and Stepherson did just that. He caught five passes, set a career high with 103 receiving yards and his two scores marked the first multi- touchdown game of his career. "We felt like if we could get him on some drive routes underneath, that he could run and catch," said head coach Brian Kelly. "As well as we run the football, let's get those safeties down and get Kevin over the top, and we were able to do this as well." Stepherson's emergence on the field came about because of the growth he has shown off the field. It was his off-the-field actions that kept him out of the rotation early in the season, but he has worked hard to earn back the trust of his coaches. "It's been a journey, there's no question about that," the Irish head coach said of Stepherson's climb back into the lineup. "I've said this many times — I'm proud of the fact that he has shown the passion and the perseverance to be here today. "He's had many chances to fold under the scrutiny that he's been un- der, but he's persevered and Notre Dame's been great for him." ✦ NAVY INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing Att. Gain Lost Net Avg. TD Long Abey 29 95 8 87 3.0 1 13 Gargiulo 20 87 0 87 4.3 0 19 Makekau 7 49 0 49 7.0 0 10 Bonner 3 17 0 17 5.7 0 8 John Brown III 3 11 0 11 3.7 0 6 Josh Brown 3 11 2 9 3.0 0 7 Daniel 3 6 0 6 2.0 0 3 Lewis 3 6 0 6 2.0 0 3 Colon 1 5 0 5 5.0 0 5 Total 72 287 10 277 3.8 1 19 Passing Att. Com. Pct. Int. Yards TD Long Abey 6 3 50.0 1 41 1 21 Bonner 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 Lewis 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 Total 8 3 37.5 1 41 1 21 Receiving Rec. Yards TD Long Gargiulo 1 21 0 21 Scott 1 12 1 12 Carmona 1 8 0 8 Total 3 41 1 21 Punt Returns No. Yards TD Long None Kick Returns No. Yards TD Long Fraade 4 94 0 27 Total 4 94 0 27 Punting No. Avg. Long Blk. TB FC 50+ In 20 White 1 43.0 43 0 0 0 0 0 Total 1 43.0 43 0 0 0 0 0 Field Goals Made Att. Long Blk. White 1 2 39 0 Total 1 2 39 0 Defense Solo Ast. Total TFL Sacks PD FF FR Hailey 4 2 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Palmore 4 2 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Howard 3 2 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Thomas 2 3 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Ryan 2 2 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Norton 1 2 3 0.5-1 0.5-1 0 0 0 Merchant 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 Nash 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Polu 0 2 2 0.5-2 0.5-2 0 0 0 Sayles 0 2 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Thompson 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Williams 2 0 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Williams 2 0 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Daniel 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Farrar 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Jones 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Laster 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Tolentino 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Heflin 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 Wooten 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 Int. Returns No. Yards TD Long None NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing Att. Gain Lost Net Avg. TD Long Adams 18 106 0 106 5.9 0 30 Wimbush 8 44 3 41 5.1 1 21 T. Jones Jr. 3 20 0 20 6.7 0 17 TEAM 2 0 4 -4 -2.0 0 0 Total 31 170 7 163 5.3 1 30 Passing Att. Com. Pct. Int. Yards TD Long Wimbush 18 9 50.0 0 164 2 30 Total 18 9 50.0 0 164 2 30 Receiving Rec. Yards TD Long Stepherson 5 103 2 30 Boykin 2 33 0 21 Claypool 2 28 0 23 Total 9 164 2 30 Punt Returns No. Yards TD Long Finke 1 -5 0 0 Total 1 -5 0 0 Kick Returns No. Yards TD Long Sanders 3 64 0 24 T. Jones Jr. 1 2 0 2 Total 4 66 0 24 Punting No. Avg. Long Blk. TB FC 50+ In 20 Newsome 3 36.3 45 0 0 1 0 1 Total 3 36.3 45 0 0 1 0 1 Field Goals Made Att. Long Blk. Yoon 1 1 29 0 Total 1 1 29 0 Defense Solo Ast. Total TFL Sacks PD FF FR Martini 7 8 15 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 Love 10 4 14 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Coney 5 5 10 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Tranquill 5 3 8 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 Crawford 3 4 7 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Pride Jr. 4 2 6 1-2 0-0 1 0 0 Tillery 3 3 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Morgan 3 2 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Bonner 2 2 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Kareem 2 2 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Trumbetti 3 1 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Tagovailoa-Amosa 2 1 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Elliott 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 D. Hayes 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Coleman 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Genmark-Heath 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 J. Hayes 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Hinish 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Studstill 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Int. Returns No. Yards TD Long Pride Jr. 1 -5 0 0 Total 1 -5 0 0 PARTICIPATION CHART OFFENSE QB: BRANDON WIMBUSH RB: JOSH ADAMS, Tony Jones Jr., Dexter Williams WR: EQUANIMEOUS ST. BROWN, Miles Boykin WR: CHASE CLAYPOOL, Kevin Stepherson TE: DURHAM SMYTHE TE: ALIZÉ MACK, Nic Weishar LT: MIKE MCGLINCHEY LG: QUENTON NELSON C: SAM MUSTIPHER RG: ALEX BARS RT: TOMMY KRAEMER, Robert Hainsey DEFENSE SDE: JAY HAYES, Khalid Kareem DT: JONATHAN BONNER, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa NT: JERRY TILLERY, Kurt Hinish Drop: DAELIN HAYES, Andrew Trumbetti Mike: NYLES MORGAN Buck: GREER MARTINNI, Te'von Coney Rover: DRUE TRANQUILL, Asmar Bilal Stud: JULIAN LOVE Whip: JALEN ELLIOTT, Devin Studstill Field CB: TROY PRIDE JR., Nick Coleman Boundary CB: SHAUN CRAWFORD SPECIAL TEAMS Kickoff Coverage: Julian Love, Jordan Genmark Heath, Shaun Crawford, C.J. Holmes, Robert Regan, Drue Tranquill, Nyles Morgan, Te'von Coney, Greer Martini, Nicco Fertitta Kick Return: C.J. Holmes, Greer Martini, Asmar Bilal, Jordan Genmark Heath, Austin Webster, Jamir Jones, Durham Smythe, Nic Weishar, Cole Kmet, Tony Jones Jr. Punt Coverage: Julian Love, Dexter Williams, Drue Tranquill, Daelin Hayes, Durham Smythe, Jordan Genmark Heath, Tony Jones Jr., Greer Martini, As - mar Bilal Punt Return: Nick Watkins, Jamir Jones, Asmar Bilal, C.J. Holmes, Shaun Crawford, Jordan Genmark Heath, Jonathan Jones, Isaiah Robertson, Austin Webster, Michael Young Kickoff/Placekicker: Justin Yoon (PK), Jonathan Do - erer (KO) Punter: Tyler Newsome Long/Short Snapper: John Shannon Holder: Montgomery VanGorder Kick Returner: C.J. Sanders Punt Returner: Chris Finke Others: Hunter Bivin, Brock Wright