Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/998819
WIDE RECEIVERS 58 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Michael Young's freshman season in 2017 ended with a clutch third-down touchdown grab in the fourth quarter during the Citrus Bowl win versus LSU. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN QUOTABLE: HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY ON 6-4 SENIOR MILES BOYKIN'S IMPROVED STRENGTH AND SEPARATION SKILLS: "He's a guy that can defeat one-on-one coverage and get you out of a loaded box by just throwing a fade to him. If you're going to leave him one-on-one to the boundary, you're going to have to deal with going up and getting the football. We think he can take it away from anybody." PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern Starters *** So far, the top group has received more notice on paper than on the field. Senior Miles Boykin and junior Chase Claypool were Rivals250 recruits, and Boykin is coming off an MVP performance in the 21‑17 victory over LSU in the Citrus Bowl. Boykin didn't really make his presence felt through the first three regular seasons of his career, but the three‑catch, 102‑yard effort against LSU served as a springboard to a strong spring. Claypool has elite size and his potential is special, but he must become more consistent from an effort and execution standpoint. Sophomore Michael Young could boost this grade even higher. His speed and playmaking potential are needed to compensate for the void created by the dismissal of Kevin Stepherson. Experience **½ Boykin and Chris Finke are entering their senior sea‑ sons, Claypool and Javon McKinley are both juniors, and even though Young is a sophomore, he was a rota‑ tion player last season, hauling in a touchdown pass in the bowl victory over LSU. Notre Dame's returning receivers have played a com‑ bined 1,539 snaps and totaled 72 catches for 1,059 yards and eight scores. That is not top‑shelf production or experience, but Notre Dame will not be putting a green unit on the field either. What keeps this grade from being higher is the fact none of the returners have experience as a go‑to player. Depth *** Four of the five returning scholarship receivers were part of the rotation last season. The only returner that wasn't is McKinley, who sat out last season while re‑ covering from a leg injury he suffered late in the 2016 season. McKinley was the No. 59 overall player in the country in the 2016 recruiting class. Add in a freshman class that has the talent to make an immediate impact and Notre Dame will field a group that complements each other. It has big, physi‑ cal wideouts (Boykin, Claypool, McKinley and fresh‑ man Micah Jones), strong route runners with good ball skills (Finke and freshman Lawrence Keys) and potential big‑play weapons with their speed (Young, freshman Braden Lenzy and freshman Kevin Austin). Overall Grade *** The story at wide receiver is similar to the quarter‑ back, running back, tight end and offensive line posi‑ tions: Talent, depth and experience are not missing, but it lacks much in the way of consistently proven figures. Offensive coordinator Chip Long will be able to use the diverse skill sets discussed above to create unique matchups each week. Notre Dame can go big, it can go fast and it can use a combination of those two groups. This looks great on paper, and the raw ability the unit returns is what once again has expectations for the receivers high. However, if Notre Dame wants to vie for a playoff berth, the unit will have to compete collectively better than it did in 2017. BY THE NUMBERS 8 Career touchdown receptions returning among Notre Dame's wide receivers after junior Equanimeous St. Brown (13 TD) turned pro early and sophomore Kevin Stepherson (10) was dismissed for repeated arrests and rules violations. Senior Miles Boykin's three scoring catches lead the way. 33 Receptions by St. Brown last year to pace the team, prior to turning pro. That marked the fewest catches in one season by the leading Irish pass catcher since 2000, when David Givens grabbed 25. It also was the first time since 2007 the top Irish receiver caught less than 50 in a season. 180 Receiving yards by Chase Claypool (on nine catches) during the 48‑37 victory versus Wake Forest Nov. 4. That represented 44.7 percent of his 402 total yards receiving while playing in all 12 regular‑season contests. He had 174 receiving yards combined in the eight previ‑ ous games (21.8 yards per contest).