Slap the Sign
Fansided

Notre Dame football: Replacing 2015’s star players

By Alex Koslow

Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jaylon Smith (9) is helped off the field by head coach Brian Kelly and trainers after an injury on the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jaylon Smith (9) is helped off the field by head coach Brian Kelly and trainers after an injury on the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Brian Kelly will have to dig deep to find players to replace the NFL talent on both sides of the football that were seen in 2015’s team.

Notre Dame’s 2015 roster had NFL talent at every level, both offensively and defensively. However, many of those players took the opportunity to leave South Bend early in pursuit of making it big in the pros.

Everyone knows about the quarterback situation, and Notre Dame is in a position every college team wishes for: having two very good quarterbacks battling it out for the starter position. But what about everyone around them? Here’s a breakdown of the stars that left and those that look to replace them.

Related Story: How good is Notre Dame's running back situation?

At running back, CJ Prosise burst onto the scene last season in an unexpected role when starting back Tarean Folston went down with an ACL injury in week one against Texas. From then on, Prosise handled most of the heavy lifting, finishing the season with 1,029 yards and 11 touchdowns. Prosise decided to leave school early and ended up getting drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round.

Sharing the load last year with Prosise and getting first crack at the starting spot this season is sophomore Josh Adams. Adams had a big freshman season in 2015, filling in when needed, especially after Prosise missed a few games with a concussion. Rushing for 835 yards and six touchdowns is no easy task, especially for a true freshman thrown into the backup role after expecting to be no higher than third on the depth chart. Adams will have to outwork Folston though, who is making a comeback from his injury.

Will Fuller was DeShone Kizer’s favorite target last season, and for good reason. Fuller had the speed to beat any corner deep and drew constant attention from opposing defensive coordinators. During his junior season, Fuller had 1,258 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. Over his three seasons, Fuller caught 30 touchdowns, second to only Malcolm Floyd in program history.

Fuller, just like Prosise, skipped his senior year and got drafted 21st overall by the Houston Texans. Chris Brown, who was a far second to Fuller with 597 yards and four touchdowns, also took his talents to the NFL, leaving the team without its top two receiving threats from a year ago.

The heir to the Fuller throne is Torii Hunter Jr. Through three seasons, Hunter Jr. has yet to be the star Irish fans had hoped for, amassing only 428 yards, 363 last season, and three touchdowns. As the only player coming back last season that finished in the top six on the team in receiving yards, Hunter Jr. needs to be that go-to guy for either Kizer or Malik Zaire. The other receivers on the roster, all seven of them, have a total of two catches. That doesn’t bode well for Brian Kelly, but sometimes the best way to see who’s ready for the big stage is to throw them in the fire.

On defense, Kelly has to replace much of 2015’s core. Defensive linemen Romeo Okwara and Sheldon Day left to the NFL after racking up 13 sacks and 29 tackles for loss combined. Replacing those two are junior defensive end Andrew Trumbetti and sophomore defensive tackle Jerry Tillery. Trumbetti and Tillery combined for 28 total tackles and two sacks and have a long way before being able to replicate the disruptive force that was Okwara and Day.

The hardest person to replace for the Irish defense is linebacker Jaylon Smith. As the captain and leader of the unit, Smith lead the team with 115 total tackles and nine for loss. Smith won the Butkus Award for best linebacker in college football and was seen as a sure-fire top-10 pick in the draft. Unfortunately, Smith tore his ACL and MCL in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State but still was drafted early in the second round by the Dallas Cowboys.

Replacing Smith could likely be junior Greer Martini. Sophomore Te’von Coney would have been also been in contention to be the starter, but after getting arrested this past Friday for possession of marijuana, his future at Notre Dame could be in jeopardy. Martini is getting thrown into the mix after starting four games last season and racking up 35 tackles.

More from Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The final NFL-level player that left Notre Dame is cornerback KeiVarae Russell, who was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round. Russell tied with Cole Luke for most interceptions on the team  in 2015, with two, and also had four passes defended. While those aren’t exactly the stats of a shut-down corner, Russell still brought energy to the Irish secondary and was seen in the preseason as a potential All-American.

Luckily, Luke is back for his senior year and will likely shift to that number one corner spot vacated by Russell. Senior Devin Butler may have been the one to take Luke’s old spot but has been suspended indefinitely after he was arrested for resisting arrest and battery of a police officer. With Butler out, junior Nick Watkins will have first shot at taking the starting spot.

Next: What do six arrests say about Brian Kelly's Irish?

Kelly has his hands full in replacing his most productive players of 2015, but luckily for him, the replacements have been in his system for a few years. While having the quarterback position locked down with a win-win situation, everyone around them needs to step up if the Irish want to take a step forward and compete for the College Football Playoff.

Home/Notre Dame Fighting Irish