Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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Top Five Players 1. Will Fuller, Wide Receiver There wasn't a more productive, more clutch player in the 2013 class than Will Fuller. The Philadelphia native finished his career ranked second all time at Notre Dame with 30 career touchdowns, and he is tied for fourth with 2,512 receiving yards and seventh with 144 career receptions in only three seasons. In 2015, Fuller finished with 1,258 yards — the second-best single-season mark in Irish history — on 62 receptions. His 14 receiving touchdowns were the fifth-best single-season mark in school annals. Fuller also tallied a pair of game-winning, fourth-quarter touchdowns that season. The Associated Press named him a second-team All-American following that campaign. Fuller earned honorable mention honors from Sports Illustrated in 2014, when he tied a single-season school record with 15 receiving touchdowns. 2. Jaylon Smith, Linebacker Smith, the most physically gifted player in the class, finished his Notre Dame career with 293 tackles, 24.5 stops for loss and 10 passes broken up. He earned consensus All-America honors following the 2015 season and won the But- kus Award, which goes to the nation's top linebacker. Smith was a strong all-around player that played the run well, could make plays when allowed to attack and was outstanding in coverage. Despite his consistently strong play, Smith was never utilized by former defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder as a weapon, which limited his numbers. That didn't keep him from being a highlight reel player and from registering 226 tackles in his final two seasons in a Notre Dame uniform. 3. Mike McGlinchey, Offensive Tackle Fuller and Smith made an immediate impact at Notre Dame, but it took McGlinchey time to crack the lineup. Once he did, he was outstanding. After redshirting his freshman season in 2013 and serving as a backup for the first 12 games of his sophomore season, McGlinchey stepped into the starting lineup for the first time in Notre Dame's 31-28 victory over LSU in the Music City Bowl. He finished with 39 consecutive starts for the Irish. McGlinchey was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press following the 2016 season. In 2017, he dominated, earning consensus All-America honors and helping lead an offense that set a school record with 6.25 yards per rush while racking up 269.5 yards per game on the ground. 4. Cole Luke, Cornerback There is a drop-off between the top three players in the class and everyone else, but cornerback Cole Luke was a solid player in a Notre Dame uniform. A three-year starter, Luke was at his best during the 2014 season. His 11 passes broken up that year were the third-best single-season mark in school history, and his 15 passes defended were the best single-season effort for a Notre Dame player since 1978. Luke finished his career with 152 tackles and eight interceptions. His 24 career passes defended was the fifth-best mark in school history. 5. Isaac Rochell, Defensive End A three-year starter, Rochell racked up 168 career tackles, 22 tackles for loss and an impressive 27 quarterback hurries. He was a strong run defender that constantly played out of position as an end. He did whatever was asked of him, which meant moving to nose tackle for the 2014 Music City Bowl game against LSU, where he blocked a field goal in the 31-28 win. Rochell had at least seven tackles for loss in each of his three years as a starter and twice had 10 hurries in a season. Wide receiver Will Fuller ended his career at Notre Dame ranked second all time in touchdown recep- tions with 30 over three seasons. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS Year-By-Year Record 2013: 9-4, Pinstripe Bowl vs. Rutgers (W, 29- 16). Final Rankings: AP No. 20, Coaches No. 24 2014: 8-5, Music City Bowl vs. LSU (W, 31-28). Final Rankings: AP unranked, Coaches unranked 2015: 10-3, Fiesta Bowl vs. Ohio State (L, 44- 28). Final Rankings: AP No. 11, Coaches No. 12 2016: 4-8. Final Rankings: AP unranked, Coaches unranked 2017: 10-3, Citrus Bowl vs. LSU (W, 21-17). Final Rankings: AP No. 11, Coaches No. 11 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 151