Te'von Coney, Kevin Stepherson Make Impact In Notre Dame Lineup
Notre Dame’s 49-14 victory against USC this weekend not only signaled to college football that a new College Football Playoff contender might be in the mix this November, but that a couple of its players — junior linebacker Te’von Coney on defense and sophomore receiver Kevin Stepherson on offense — are on the verge of moving to a higher level in the lineup.
It’s not a case of either not having had previous impact. Last year as a sophomore Coney started nine games and finished fourth on the team in tackles with 62. Meanwhile, Stepherson enjoyed one of the finest freshman campaigns ever by an Irish wideout when his 25 catches averaged 18.5 yards and included five touchdowns. Only all-time Irish receptions leader Michael Floyd snared more TD passes as a rookie with seven in 2008.
An outstanding spring and August by senior captain Greer Martini resulted in Coney working as the “third starter” at the two inside positions with Martini and senior Nyles Morgan at the beginning of this season. He took snaps at Morgan’s Mike position too, but through the first six games Coney had 231 snaps and Martini 228.
With Martini sidelined against USC because of a procedure done on his knee Oct. 12 — head coach Brian Kelly projects the senior will be back in the lineup this week versus No. 14 North Carolina State — Coney had a full-time assignment and maximized it versus the Trojans as Blueandgold.com’s Defensive Player of the Game.
In the first quarter alone he had five tackles, two for loss, highlighted by sacking USC quarterback Sam Darnold on the Trojans’ first play from scrimmage, at the Irish 43-yard line. Not only did he register the sack but he stripped the football from him and recovered it near midfield to set up a short field and a 7-0 Notre Dame lead.
Coney finished with a game high 11 tackles while helping wreak havoc in general against a USC offense limited to 76 yards rushing.
“He played his butt off,” praised Kelly, who noted that Coney recorded two-and-a-half tackles on special teams. “He played the whole game — came off the field when we went dime and nickel — but played that position by himself, as well as contributed heavy to special teams. It was his best performance at Notre Dame.”
Meanwhile, Stepherson reflected the togetherness and “buy in” of the 2017 Fighting Irish. While not fulfilling the expectations on and off the field demanded by the staff, the wideout was banished to football purgatory — or "Siberia," as Kelly joked —during the spring, summer, August and through the first month of the season, and served an “unofficial” University suspension in the first four games of September.
The easy route was a transfer, but Stepherson earned the respect of the football office for taking his medicine and remaining steadfast about staying at the school.
He was allowed to return to action versus Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 30 and took 10 snaps while catching a pass for minus-three yards. The snap count increased to 13 the next week in the 33-10 win at North Carolina, where he did not catch any pass attempt.
However, during the ensuing bye and while preparing for USC, Stepherson’s work habits and attention to detail began to show themselves, and it was rewarded.
In an effort to attack USC on the edge at the start of the game and work the offense outside/in, Stepherson took a reverse/counter 13 yards on the second play of Notre Dame’s second series — right after Coney’s sack and fumble recovery — to set up the first TD on the next play.
On the ensuing Irish possession, Stepherson went wide again off a jet sweep for 11 yards. Later in that drive on second-and-8 from the USC 23, he made a difficult, twisting catch of a back-shoulder fade for a touchdown.
Stepherson would finish with a team high three catches for 58 yards to go with his two carries that totaled 24 yards.
“I think probably what I liked the most was his energy and his assignments, getting all of his assignments correct, Kelly said. “There was, I think, just overall focus in terms of getting lined up, having the right energy, really being locked into the game, a maturity that he continues to work on playing here at Notre Dame.”
Possessing game-breaking speed as a vertical threat, Stepherson’s presence should continue to bolster an offense that ranks among the top dozen nationally in scoring with a 41.3 average, and perhaps open up even more avenues.
“It’s pretty easy to point out his athletic skills,” Kelly said. “We've never questioned those. This has been about having the right traits, not the talent. And he's starting to really get that. And as he continues to show more of that, you're going to see more and more of him on the field.”
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