Graduation Day At Notre Dame: Reflection & Thanksgiving
This is Commencement Day at Notre Dame, the final rite in the four years of college aimed to guide you through the ensuing days of your professional and personal life.
Actually, many of the football players already earned their undergraduate degree in December, but the walk in the stadium is often the official marker. A half-dozen also are returning for a fifth season of eligibility.
Unfortunately, the class of 2020 has been robbed of the overall graduation experience because of the coronavirus pandemic, which led to more virtual acknowledgment of thanksgiving for the blessings of remarkable achievement in a life that begins an exciting new chapter.
On National Signing Day 2016, Notre Dame inked a 23-man haul that was ranked No. 12 by Rivals.
They debuted amid tumult with a 4-8 record that resulted in seismic changes within the infrastructure. The result was a 33-6 outcome their next three years, highlighted by a College Football Playoff berth in 2018. The 2017-19 record was the sixth best in the 130-team Football Bowl Subdivision the past three years.
Four years later, here we are:
Quarterback: Ian Book
The most accomplished quarterback of the 10-year Brian Kelly era, he directed a dramatic comeback win over LSU in the Citrus Bowl to cap 2017, took over in game four during the 2018 College Football Playoff run to earn Team MVP honors, and helped lead an 11-2 result last season.
Only Brady Quinn (2003-06) likely will eclipse him in virtually every career passing category following the fifth season of eligibility for Book, who also is one of five Fighting Irish quarterbacks to rush for more than 1,000 career yards.
One of the top five to 10 returning quarterbacks in college football, a final 2020 chapter is still to be written in this Book.
Running Backs: Tony Jones Jr. and Deon McIntosh
Redshirted as a freshman, Jones finished his career with 1,481 rushing yards, 5.5 yards per carry and 12 touchdowns, while also grabbing 27 passes for 273 yards and two scores — highlighted by a clinching 51-yard score at USC in 2018.
He was a thorn in the Trojans’ side last season as well with a career-high 176 yards on 25 carries in the 30-27 victory. His 857 yards and 6.0 yards per carry paced the team, but he opted not to return for a fifth season.
After a promising sophomore year in which he rushed for 368 yards, 5.7 yards per carry and five scores, McIntosh was dismissed from school, played a year at East Mississippi Community College — i.e. Last Chance U. — and resurfaced last year at Washington State, rushing for 111 yards on 16 carries last season with one touchdown, and nabbing 17 passes for 113 yards and two scores.
Wide Receivers: Chase Claypool, Javon McKinley and Kevin Stepherson
The Canadian Claypool is the model of program development as he improved significantly each of his four seasons to become a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Named the 2019 Team MVP with his 66 catches for 1,037 yards and 13 scores, the 6-4, 238-pound Claypool also was the talk of the NFL Combine with a 4.42 40-yard dash, 19 bench-press reps of 225 pounds and a 40.5 vertical.
Top-100 recruit McKinley didn’t begin to show his wares until his senior year, which included five touchdowns, while bouncing back from an off-the-field setback that jeopardized his career. He was at the lone spring practice, indicating a probable return for a fifth season.
No Irish recruit on offense in this class displayed more promise than Stepherson, who as a freshman averaged 18.5 yards on his 25 catches with five scores.
After serving a four-game suspension to begin 2017, Stepherson emerged again with an 18.7 per catch average on 19 grabs with five more scores before repeatedly running afoul of the law and even serving jail time, resulting in dismissal.
This past year at Jacksonville State of the Football Championship Subdivision, he caught 36 passes for 479 yards and six touchdowns.
Offensive Line: Parker Boudreaux, Liam Eichenberg and Tommy Kraemer
Boudreaux transferred to Central Florida following his freshman year and started all 13 games at right guard this past season.
Left tackle Eichenberg and right guard Kraemer are returning as fifth-year seniors and third-year starters. Eichenberg conceivably could become the fourth straight left tackle under Kelly selected in the first round, while Kraemer also has an NFL career awaiting with a full season of health.
Defensive Line: Daelin Hayes, Khalid Kareem, Jamir Jones, Ade Ogundeji and Julian Okwara
Each arrived as an end — although Jones enrolled as a linebacker — and progressed incrementally under line coach Mike Elston’s tutelage, with Kareem and Okwara earning captaincies in their final seasons.
Kareem, the defensive MVP, played through a labrum tear the final month of the season, a testament to his leadership and selflessness while dropping to fifth-round status. Expect a long career for him in the NFL.
A leg injury in November sidelined Okwara, likewise “dropping” him to the third round after becoming the team’s top edge rusher the past three seasons.
Former five-star recruit Hayes was in line for a breakout senior year before another shoulder injury resulted in a medical redshirt but a probable feature role in 2020.
Ogundeji could become the 2020 defense’s version of Claypool. He arrived as a developmental figure but each year has made huge strides, and is on pace for a stellar fifth season at strong-side end.
Jones was supposed to be redshirted last season, but the injuries to Hayes and Okwara necessitated an expanded role and he responded with a quality campaign with 26 stops, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and two fumbles forced.
Linebackers: Jonathan Jones and D.J. Morgan
A special teams regular each of the last three seasons, Jones will use his fifth season of eligibility at the University of Toledo.
California native Morgan graduated in three years from Notre Dame and is using his final two seasons of eligibility at the University of Connecticut, where in nine games last season he recorded 49 tackles, seven for loss (two sacks) and had three passes defended.
Cornerbacks: Julian Love, Troy Pride Jr. and Donte Vaughn
All three received their baptisms of fire as freshmen during the 4-8 campaign, with each starting at least three games that season.
Love had eight starts as a rookie before blossoming into one of the most productive corners in school history. He registered a school-record 39 passes broken up to go with 176 tackles, and had three defensive scores. The consensus All-American departed for the pros after his junior year — but has since picked up his Notre Dame degree.
Selected in the fourth round this year, as Love was a year earlier, the speedster Pride blossomed into a legitimate pro while starting almost every game the past two seasons.
The rangy Vaughn had numerous injury setbacks and was slated to be redshirted as a senior, but lack of numbers and injuries necessitated his presence on the field.
Safety: Jalen Elliott, Spencer Perry, Devin Studstill and Alohi Gilman*
Gilman has the asterisk because he transferred from Navy after his freshman season in 2016 — and the sixth-round draft pick became a crucial figure in Notre Dame’s revival the past few seasons, including serving as a captain this past season.
A standout quarterback in high school, Elliott had to adjust to full-time defense in college and ended up becoming a three-year mainstay while joining Gilman as a captain in 2019.
Studstill actually started the most games in this freshman class (nine) but the progress of Elliott and Gilman, among others, saw him drop on the depth chart. He did graduate and used his fifth season of eligibility at South Florida, where he had 74 stops, four tackles for loss, an interception and three passes defended.
Perry played six games on special teams as a freshman before transferring to South Alabama, where he had 19 tackles in five games in 2018.
Snapper: John Shannon
One does his best at this position when he remains relatively anonymous, and Shannon did as an effective three-year starter — and in 2019 was the inaugural winner of the Patrick Mannelly Award as college football’s top long snapper.
After graduating in December, he enrolled in Chicago’s Police Academy and eventually would like to pursue law enforcement at the federal level.
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