Notre Dame Receiving Corps In Transition And Rebuilding Mode
In five of the last seven seasons, a wide receiver was named Notre Dame’s Monogram Club MVP, most recently Will Fuller this past year.
That recent “tradition” probably will not occur in 2016. The Fighting Irish lost their top three receivers from last season — Fuller, Chris Brown and Amir Carlisle — and the top-returning figure, senior Corey Robinson (65 career catches, but only 16 last year), is currently sidelined because of concussion protocol, which he also has had in the past.
The top returning receiver from 2015, senior Torii Hunter Jr. (28 catches, 13.0 yards per grab, two touchdowns), also has been moonlighting as a reserve for the baseball team, thereby missing a couple of the first five practice sessions this spring.
Meanwhile, two developing sophomores, slot CJ Sanders and boundary man Miles Boykin, also were sidelined on Wednesday. Sanders, the top return man, is out approximately four months with a hip flexor. Boykin, redshirted in 2015, had finger surgery, although head coach Brian Kelly projects him to return to action next week.
When associate head coach/wide receivers coach Mike Denbrock lined up his No. 2 unit during Wednesday’s practice — the last until next Wednesday because of Easter break — it included freshman Kevin Stepherson, an early entrant who should be preparing for his high school prom, and walk-ons Chris Finke and Omar Hunter.
Not that the first unit was replete with experience, either: In addition to Hunter it included junior Corey Holmes (zero career catches) and sophomore Equanimeous St. Brown (one career catch). Here is a summary of the unit through five practices.
Torii Hunter: The Man For All Positions
The senior has learned the slot (Z), where he split time with Carlisle last year, the wide field side (X) and the boundary (W). Because top two W candidates, Robinson and Boykin, were both sidelined on Wednesday, Hunter is the most likely figure there while St. Brown is being groomed as Fuller’s heir at X.
Consequently, Holmes is now working at the inside slot position, where he was used full-time on Wednesday. This allows the freshman Stepherson to concentrate only on the X.
“We want to keep Stepherson on the outside,” Kelly explained. “It’s easier to manage the outside positions than the inside. The inside has so much more read routes, and you’ve got to work in and over coverages and ‘sit down.’
“It requires a lot more ‘savviness,’ if you will, so we want to utilize Hunter’s speed and his matchup ability on the perimeter. We’d like to keep him outside if we could, so we moved Holmes inside with Finke … we’d like to keep EQ, Hunter and Stepherson on the outside as much as we can if possible.”
The 6-0, 195-pound Hunter does not possess the game-breaking skills of Fuller — extremely few do in college football — nor the size/range of a Robinson, Boykin and St. Brown. He’s more in the physical genre of 2013 Notre Dame MVP TJ Jones.
“I think he actually runs better than TJ ran — and TJ ran fine and obviously was a very good football player for us,” Denbrock said of Hunter. “But I think he’s smoother and his gait’s a little looser and he appears to be a little faster down the field when he’s out there route running.
“Maybe not exactly the same things that we got from the overall, electric speed of Will Fuller, but he can give us some down-the-field opportunities.”
Denbrock added that Hunter’s overall skills were enhanced from a “quick twitch standpoint.” Wherever he will be aligned, Hunter is considered the aircraft carrier for this year’s receiving corps.
X Position: St. Brown & Stepherson
Kelly stated last season that the 6-4 St. Brown could have started at a lot of schools and was more than ready to contribute for the Irish — but he could not take Fuller off the field. Shoulder surgery last November has slightly slowed St. Brown’s progress while shaking off the rust during the opening parts of spring.
“He’s going to be a big factor in what we do,” Denbrock said. “He’s always been a kid who really is smart [he is fluent in several languages] and understands our offense. He’s picked it up very well. Knowledge hasn’t been the issue; it’s been more the experience … that continues to grow.”
St. Brown did not have the game experience Robinson and Fuller did as freshmen, and a shoulder injury inhibited some weight training, so his learning curve as a blocker and pass catcher, route runner, etc., is a little steeper for now.
When Denbrock was asked who has the best hands on the team, he replied Hunter but added, “Stepherson’s close. He’s got really, really superior ball skills.”
The Florida native Stepherson arrived with relatively limited fanfare, especially compared to future incoming classmates Javon McKinley and Chase Claypool, but Denbrock noted the excellent coaching Stepherson received at First Coast High in Jacksonville.
“He comes in with fundamental skill set that allows him to look smoother and more polished early,” Denbrock said. “… He’s just really overwhelmed about the amount of offense we have in right now, but doing a good job of fighting his way through it.”
W Receiver: Robinson & Boykin
Hunter has had to work here more because of the injuries to Robinson and Boykin. However, don’t be surprised if Durham Smythe, Alizé Jones and Nic Weishar are inserted in double-tight-end situations — in the slot or the boundary —that Notre Dame might run more frequently, similar to 2012 with Tyler Eifert.
Denbrock acknowledged that Robinson underwent a crisis of confidence last season while his catch total dropped from 40 as a 2014 sophomore to 16 as a 2015 junior, but he’s been encouraged by some signs of the younger, playmaking Robinson returning.
“I think we’re in the new definition phase of what his role is going to be, and he’s got as much right to define that as I do,” Denbrock said. “We’re going to let him do that.”
The 6-4, 225-pound Boykin repeatedly was mentioned by Kelly last year when asked which freshman in practice are making the most strides.
“Miles is another big, long receiver that has to figure out the same things that EQ has,” Denbrock said. “When is it time to be a bully against this corner? When is it time to out-athlete this guy? When do I use my length, when do I use my speed?”
Z Receiver: Holmes, Sanders & Finke
Although Kelly prefers Hunter to line up on the outside, the senior could still see reps at the Z, unless the tight ends take on the role. This is where Hunter played last year, and that’s where his experience at dealing with its more complex nature gives him an advantage.
Holmes made headlines this winter with eye-popping combine numbers, including a team-best 4.39 in the 40-yard dash. How that translates into functional football speed and effective production remains to be seen, which is why Denbrock is tapping the brakes a little on Holmes while awaiting more consistency from him.
“It’s always interesting running on a clock and running when you have a helmet on and you have shoulder pads on,” Denbrock said. “Some guys play at different speeds … he’s done a much better job in the last year or so of learning how to play fast. He’s translated that better than he has at any point so far.
“He just needs to continue to be reminded — and when he sees it on film when he’s not running quite full speed like he can, he sees it. He knows that’s something that he needs to continue to address, but he’s done a better job than in the past.”
Sanders displayed explosiveness in the return game last year, returning both a punt and kickoff for touchdowns, but Denbrock said the speedster needs to continue to improve his hands and route running before getting more into the rotation. Finke will attempt to push Sanders for action at slot and in the return game.