Sheldon Day Returns as Notre Dame Football Captain and Leader
By Walt Kosin
An important factor to Notre Dame having a successful season this fall is the return of Sheldon Day. The former four-start defensive tackle considered entering the NFL draft this past winter, but he decided his love for the university, his desire to attain his degree, and the hope that this year’s team will do great things all caused him to return to Notre Dame. Day’s return, along with the return of offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley, make the Fighting Irish a much deep and experience team.
Sheldon Day graduated from Warren Central High School in Indianapolis. During his senior year in 2011, Day tallied 55 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Day also made a name for himself nationally. He made the second team on All American SI.com. Scout.com ranked Day as the 50th best player and 6th best defensive tackle in the country. He was rated by 247 Sports as the 81st best player and 10th best defensive tackle in the country. He was runner-up for Indiana’s Mr. Football. Day topped off his high school career by being selected to play in the Semper Fidelis All American Bowl in Phoenix.
Day graduated from high school in December, 2011 and enrolled the following month at Notre Dame. He saw a lot of action his freshman season as he played all 13 games in 2012. Day had 24 tackles and two sacks. In 2013 as a sophomore, Day played in 11 games and started eight of them. He was injured and didn’t play in the Michigan State and Oklahoma game.
Last season, Day was named one of the team captains. He started 11 games but injured his knee during the Northwestern game. He missed the Louisville and Southern Cal games before returning for the bowl game. Even though Day missed two games, he still had 40 tackles with 24 being solo stops and seven tackles for losses. He also had one sack and two fumble recoveries. More meaningful than his statistics is the fact that it sometimes takes two blockers to neutralize Day. He is a very disruptive force on the line of scrimmage and penetrates into the opposing team’s backfield often.
As one of the captains, he impacts the team as a leader. He has the respect of teammates as well as the coaching staff. He truly leads the defensive line.
The Fighting Irish really need a healthy Sheldon Day this season. When healthy, he can wreck havoc on opposing offenses, disrupt both the rushing and passing games, and set the tone for the entire defense. If he does all this consistently, the Fighting Irish will have a dominant season.