Notre Dame's 19 For '19: No. 3, Wide Receiver Chase Claypool

WHY CHASE CLAYPOOL IS RANKED NO. 3 IN THIS COUNTDOWN.

Upon further review of Clemson’s 30-3 College Football Playoff victory against his then 12-0 Fighting Irish, head coach Brian Kelly was far more encouraged about Notre Dame’s chances of continuing to rise as a top-10/Playoff caliber program than he was after losing 42-14 to Alabama in the 2013 BCS Championship.

The lines are much better fortified, the overall depth is far stronger and the infrastructure is at peak support.

“They had a couple of elite playmakers who made outstanding plays against us,” Kelly reflected on the Clemson loss. “We are now a player here or there away from being at an elite football level. …This should be much more about carrying on where we left off.”

Some might contend that those players at the skill positions will be arriving in 2020 with the likes of No. 1-ranked all-purpose back and speedster Chris Tyree and five-star wideout Jordan Johnson. But What’s Important Now (WIN) is 2019 — and there might be no one on this year’s roster more capable of filling the playmaker role than senior wide receiver Claypool.

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