Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/941859
6 MARCH 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI A lthough Notre Dame's scholar- ship number exceeded 90 in De- cember after the early signing period (Dec. 20-22), head coach Brian Kelly was comfortable in the knowledge that the Fighting Irish would not sur- pass the NCAA scholarship limit of 85 by the start of next season. By National Signing Day Feb. 7, Notre Dame was at 89 — which means more departures are inevi- tably ahead between now and next August. Yet in January, nine players were subtracted from the roster: • Junior running back Josh Adams and junior wide receiver Equanime- ous St. Brown both declared for the NFL Draft. • Junior defensive tackle Elijah Taylor is transferring. He redshirted as a 2015 freshman, played sparingly in four games in 2016 (when he re- corded all three of his tackles in the finale at USC) and was sidelined in 2017 after suffering a Lisfranc injury on day two of spring drills. • Junior wide receiver/return man C.J. Sanders will receive his under- graduate degree later this year and then, as a graduate transfer, will use his final season elsewhere. • Freshman defensive end Jona- than MacCollister, caught in a logjam at his position, has transferred to the University of Central Florida to play tight end. He is joined there by for- mer high school teammate/offensive lineman Parker Boudreaux, who left Notre Dame last summer. • Finally, on Jan. 16, the univer- sity confirmed the dismissal from the team of four players, an action taken unilaterally by Kelly: sophomore wide receiver Kevin Stepherson, sophomore running back Deon Mc- Intosh, freshman running back C.J. Holmes and junior defensive tackle Brandon Tiassum. The game-breaking Stepherson has had multiple arrests in his two seasons with the Irish, was "unof- ficially" suspended the first four games of 2017 — and then he and Holmes were suspended indefinitely prior to the Citrus Bowl after they were arrested for shoplifting Dec. 15. A day earlier, Stepherson was charged with speeding, driving with- out a valid license and possession of marijuana. He reportedly is serving a jail sentence. McIntosh, the third-leading rusher in 2017 with 368 yards, was sent home from Orlando, Fla., during the UNDER THE DOME INEVITABLE ATTRITION Nine football players leave voluntarily or are dismissed in January Running back Josh Adams (left) and wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (right) will be greatly missed by the Irish next season, after combining for 2,046 yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns last year and then leaving early for the NFL Draft. PHOTOS BY BILL PANZICA