Notre Dame Football: The Best Irish Players To Wear No. 7

Will Fuller, WR, 2013 – 2015

Our first non-quarterback to grace the list! Will Fuller was one of my favorite players when he was with the Irish, and had an uncanny ability to just flat out make huge plays week-in and week-out. His speed certainly helped, as he was one of the fastest players in the country — running a blazing 4.32 second 40 yard dash at the 2016 NFL Combine.

Fuller saw limited action his freshman season — finishing with just six catches for 160 yards — but goodness did he make up for a slow start during his sophomore and junior seasons. He had a breakout season in 2014, recording a career-high 76 receptions for 1,094 yards and tying a school record with 15 receiving touchdowns. He followed 2014 with an equally impressive junior campaign, logging 62 receptions, a career-high 1,258 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.

Fuller’s ability to make plays in the passing game made him one of the best receivers to ever play for the Irish — and that is a very good group of names to be included with.

In 2015 alone, Fuller gave us the game-winning 39-yard touchdown vs. Virginia with 12 seconds left, a 75-yard touchdown on the first Irish offensive play of the game vs. USC, and the game-winning 17-yard touchdown vs. Temple with under two minutes to play.

He ranks fourth on Notre Dame’s all-time receiving yards list (2,512), second in receiving yards in a season (1,258), second in receiving touchdowns in a career (30), and as mentioned earlier is tied for first for receiving touchdowns in a season (15).

Fuller is no-doubt one of the best players to come through Notre Dame during the Kelly era, and is one of the greatest receivers in school history. Not surprisingly, he has emerged as one of the better receivers in the NFL in his first two seasons when healthy. Fuller is the most deserving non-quarterback to make this list.