Top Irish Players Against Navy
Offense: WR Chase Claypool
Who else could it be? Claypool has been dominant as of late but he played at an even higher level against Navy.
He finished the game with seven catches, 117 yards and four of Notre Dame’s seven touchdowns.
Claypool was targeted nine times during the contest, even on a few plays where other guys were open. But he was so dominant that quarterback Ian Book knew if he threw the ball up to Claypool, there was a good chance the six-foot-four-inch wide receiver would make a play, and he often did.
Defense: DE Khalid Kareem
When it comes to total tackles, Kareem didn’t finish among the top-eight Irish defenders. Instead, he was the catalyst for two of the most important plays of the game.
Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry had the Mids chugging along on their first offensive possession and they were nearing the red zone. That’s when Kareem came to the rescue and stripped Perry in the backfield and Notre Dame recovered the fumble. He then ended the next Navy drive prematurely, stripping Perry once again.
Kareem finished the game with three solo tackles, two TFLs, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup.
Special Teams: C Colin Grunhard
In most weeks, it’s easy to go with a specialist for the category, especially when kicker Jonathan Doerer makes his only field goal attempt and seven extra points.
But this week were bestowing the honor of Top Special Teams player to center Colin Grunhard, who fair caught a 47-yard kick off late in the third quarter.
It’s rare for an offensive lineman, let alone one that’s roughly six-feet tall and 290 pounds, play on the third level of a team’s kick return, but that’s been Grunhard’s role over the past few weeks. Tonight, Irish fans got to see why.
When the short kickoff came his way, he immediately signaled for a fair catch, backpedaled more than five yards, almost bumped into a teammate and still caught the ball with ease of a veteran punt returner at the Irish 18-yard line.
----
• Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_MikeSinger, @CoachDeDario and @AndrewMentock.
• Like us on Facebook.