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Notre Dame Football: 2020 Offensive regular season awards

By Andrew Hall

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 27: Kyren Williams #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half of their game at Kenan Stadium on November 27, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 27: Kyren Williams #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half of their game at Kenan Stadium on November 27, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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Javon McKinley goes into the ACC championship playing his best football. (Photo by Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images)
Javon McKinley goes into the ACC championship playing his best football. (Photo by Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame Football: 2020 Offensive regular season awards

Most Improved Player

“Mr. Reliable” Kyren Williams could easily be the most improved player as well. His off-season transformation from buried on the depth chart, to Notre Dame’s go-to player, was a pleasant surprise. But, unfortunately for Williams, he can only win one award, but, he is equally as deserving as the winner of the MIP, Most Improved Player.

When Javon McKinley committed to the Irish during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, his career looked extremely bright. It felt more likely that McKinley would depart after three years than blossoming during his fifth year. He failed to register a statistic during his first three years at Notre Dame, and in 2019, he excelled during mop-up duty. McKinley caught 11 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns.

Fans and media questioned why McKinley continually received the majority of the playing time during the early part of the 2020 season. It seemed inevitable that, when Kevin Austin returned from injury, McKinley would be replaced.

However, McKinley never stopped improving his game. He opened everyone’s eyes when he torched possible first Round NFL Draft pick, Asante Samuel Jr., for five catches for 107 yards. McKinley continued to play his best football against Notre Dame’s toughest competition.

He snagged five passes for 102 yards against top-ranked Clemson, then against North Carolina, McKinley racked up a season-high 135 yards. His improvement really helped the Irish in the pass game.

His incredible pass blocking was not even mentioned until this sentence. Frankly, McKinley has improved his game so much over the last two seasons he deserves the recognition.

Most Improved Player: Javon McKinley

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