Notre Dame's Kelly, Denbrock Impressed With Chris Finke
At 5-foot-9 ¼ and 180 pounds, Chris Finke had to win Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame coaching staff over.
During the month of August, that’s exactly what the sophomore receiver did.
On Monday, Kelly gave the former Archbishop Alter (Ohio) High School product a scholarship, awarding Finke’s efforts during the preseason.
“He’s been really solid,” Kelly said Wednesday. “I just thought that what I wanted to see was that consistency kind of make its way through the entire camp before we made a decision on him.”
Finke, who is expected to back-up sophomore slot receiver C.J. Sanders, competed with junior Corey Holmes during the preseason. Kelly said Finke was able to hold Holmes off, and Holmes is now working at the X position behind Torii Hunter Jr.
“Not that Corey can’t play in there too, but I had other options there and Finke just really won us over with his consistent play,” Kelly said.
Finke, who has not been available for media interviews this preseason, has also impressed receivers coach Mike Denbrock, who is rotating a number of young, inexperienced players this month. Denbrock said he expects to play about nine receivers in 2016; the Irish played seven last year.
“I have nothing but positive thoughts about what Chris is doing and how he’s doing it,” Denbrock said at media day last week, before Finke was given a scholarship. “He is in a position to be in the mix to get on the field. ...We’re going to put those guys out there, and they’re going to be ready for it. He’ll be one of the guys you’ll see out there playing.
“He’s got dynamic speed and explosiveness, there’s no doubt about that. If you want to single cover Chris Finke then you’ve got issues. He’s a little slight, so he gets bumped around a little bit when they’re zoning and really grinding the vertical releases. He’s got work to do there, but there’s certainly areas where he can help our football team.”
Finke is also rotating in at punt returner behind Sanders, Kelly said. As a prep senior, Finke returned six punts for touchdowns and broke the school’s record for return yards.
Kelly said he envisions Finke in situations where Sanders needs a break or poor weather conditions force the Irish to use two returners.
“He’s a pretty dynamic returner as well, so with that dual kind of role that he possesses he earned a scholarship,” Kelly said of Finke. “...If we need to give C.J. a blow, we feel very confident with him out there as a 1B.”
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