Year In Review: Notre Dame's Top Five Players In 2015
During the next week, Blue & Gold Illustrated will review the top moments of the 2015 season, including all of the notable events, top game performances, top individual plays and more.
We begin with a look at the top five Irish players from the 10-3 campaign. Four were drafted by NFL teams in late April, while there’s a chance the fifth doesn’t even start for the Irish this fall.
1. Will Fuller, WR
In 2015, Fuller caught 62 passes for 1,258 yards and 14 touchdowns after he snagged 76 passes for 1,094 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2014.
Fuller again was the unquestioned leader in terms of production for the receiving corps and also came up with a pair of game-winning touchdown receptions — at Virginia and at Temple.
He was named team MVP at the awards banquet Dec. 11.
Fuller arrived in South Bend as a four-star receiver in 2013, but few could have foreseen the type of impact he would have for the Irish. There was no clear replacement for TJ Jones when he graduated, but Fuller stepped into that role, and then some, in 2014 and 2015.
Last month, Fuller was drafted 21st overall in the NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.
2. Jaylon Smith, LB
Smith was named the Butkus Award winner as the nation’s top linebacker, joining Manti Te’o (2012) as Irish players to win the award in the last four seasons. Smith registered 114 tackles (nine for loss), five passes defended and two fumble recoveries during the season.
In the 44-28 Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State, Smith suffered a torn ACL and LCL that included nerve damage, leading to his dive in the NFL Draft from the top-10 to the beginning of the second round to the Dallas Cowboys.
With so much attention on Smith’s injury since Jan. 1, it’s been easy to forget just how remarkable of an athlete he is and how well he performed for Notre Dame.
3. Sheldon Day, DT
Day passed up the NFL Draft last offseason to return for one final season at Notre Dame. He was praised by Kelly throughout the season for his leadership and on-field performance.
Day recorded 45 tackles (15.5 for loss), four sacks, 13 quarterback hurries, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles. The 15.5 tackles for loss are the most for an Irish player since 2006.
Because the defense struggled so much in 2015, Day’s performance sometimes gets forgotten, but he was a constant disruptor of opposing offenses. The Irish missed Jarron Jones during the regular season at nose guard, but Day stepped up his play in his final season in South Bend.
4. DeShone Kizer, QB
Twelve months ago at this time, few around Notre Dame’s program expected Kizer to carry a lead role with the Irish in 2015.
All of the attention at the time surrounded Everett Golson and Malik Zaire and their impending battle for the starting spot. Kizer even admitted that he wondered whether football was the right path for him.
But, after the transfer of Golson to Florida State and a season-ending injury to Zaire just seven quarters into the season, suddenly the keys of the offense belonged to Kizer.
The Toledo, Ohio, product performed better than almost anyone could have imagined, directing Notre Dame to a 10-3 finish, Fiesta Bowl berth and close to a College Football Playoff berth.
He finished with 2,884 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions through the air and 520 yards and 10 scores, a Notre Dame quarterback record.
As a sign of Notre Dame’s depth and talent at quarterback, Kizer isn’t even guaranteed to be the starter when the 2016 season begins at Texas on Sept. 4.
5. Ronnie Stanley, LT
Stanley made what many viewed to be a risky decision a year ago when he passed up a likely first-round NFL Draft selection to return to Notre Dame. That call paid off when he became the No. 6 overall pick of the Baltimore Ravens last month.
Left tackles are one of the few positions that consistently earn top-five selections because of the need to protect the quarterback in the NFL. There is no question that Stanley accomplished that while in South Bend and is now entrusted in blocking for a franchise quarterback in Joe Flacco.
Stanley became a more consistent performer as a senior and held up well against Clemson’s Shaq Lawson and other formidable pass rushers in 2015.