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Numbers to Know
By: Kyle Gibson
Game week is finally here and with every new season comes a few new names and numbers that fans may not be familiar with. Not everyone pays as close attention to the off-season practices as us Irish junkies do, so there will likely be some big plays coming from numbers you don’t recognize. Have no fear! We’ll give you a quick run-down of some emerging players that we expect to turn a few heads this season. That way when some random guy at the bar says Whoa! Who’s number 10? You’ll have the answer!
#16- WR Torii Hunter Jr.
The Junior is finally entering a season healthy and likely had the best off-season of any WR. He did play last season and had a few flashes but is still a relative unknown to the casual fan. That should change this season. Brian Kelly raved that Hunter could play any of the receiver positions and while the depth chart lists him in the slot, expect to see him line up all over the field and get a lot of looks. Some are predicting that he may challenge Will Fuller for most total receptions and yardage this season.
#10- TE Alize Jones
The true Freshman may not yet be a fully rounded TE as he needs a little more size and work to become a reliable blocker but his ball skills rival nearly every other receiving option on the team and he’s just too potent to keep off the field. With the Irish utilizing more multiple TE sets this season, expect to see a lot of Jones especially lined up on the outside. He’s already making eye popping grabs in practice so we may see the youngster get some love from SportsCenter this season.
#86- WR Equanimeous St. Brown
Joining Jones as an impressive true Freshman pass catcher is the tall and quick “EQ” St. Brown. Standing at 6’4 and wearing 86 you may confuse him at first with Corey Robinson who’s 6’5 and wears 88. Both have an incredible catch radius with the ability to go up over about any defender and come down with those 50/50 balls. What separates EQ is his speed. Kelly hasn’t been shy about praising how quick he is and that speed coupled with his ball skills and height is why he’s landed on the depth chart backing up Will Fuller on the outside.
#23- S Drue Tranquill
Here’s a Sophomore that some may recognize from last year. He took over a starting Safety role after Redfield/Shumate got put in the dog house and had some highlight plays before getting injured but still he’s pretty new and may be flying under your radar. He may look buried on the depth chart at Safety but Tranquill will be used as a specialty player all over the field thanks to his versatility and relentlessness. This is one of those guys that many have pegged as a surprise player of the year. You could see some hard hits and QBs running for their life when #23 is on the field.
#98- DE Andrew Trumbetti
In the same boat as Tranquill is this Sophomore. Trumbetti got a lot of time splitting reps at DE with Romeo Okwara last season but faded a bit after some early season flashes. He hasn’t gotten too much publicity this off-season but I’m still very high on this kid and expect him to have a lot of big plays, including notching a few sacks.
#9- WR CJ Sanders
Back to the Freshman. The small and slight CJ Sanders is listed as the third option in the slot but he’s lighting in a bottle and I don’t think there’s any way the coaches don’t give him some good snaps. He ripped off multiple impressive runs during camp, shedding tacklers while zooming in and out of his cuts. The Irish have not had someone with his type of ability in ages. In addition to lining up in the slot as a WR, Sanders will be used in the backfield as a runner as well and that might be where he does the most damage on offense. But likely his best chance to make a big impact early will be as a return man. He’ll have to prove his hands can be trusted but he’ll get a chance behind Will Fuller at punt returns and may get looks at kick returns as well. Once he starts getting more playing time, he may just be the most exciting player on the team to watch with the ball in his hands.
#59-LB Jarrett Grace
Yes a 5th year graduate student is making this list. Considering Grace hasn’t played on Saturdays since 2013, some may have forgotten what number he wears. He was once the highly touted heir to Manti Te’o in the middle of the field before a gruesome leg injury sidelined his career for a year and a half. He’ll play back-up to Joe Schmidt but he’s still one heck of a football player and possesses the talent and physicality that earned him the starting gig in ’13. Word is that Schmidt still may not be 100% recovered from his injury, so we may see more of Grace early in the season but he’ll get a lot of reps regardless throughout the season.
# 19-K Justin Yoon
Hey, you got to show the kicker some love! It’s going to be weird not seeing Kyle Brindza line up for FGs anymore but the Irish brought in the best prep kicker in the country to replace him. True Freshman Justin Yoon is the polar opposite of Brindza physically, standing at 5’10 185lbs but he’s been rock solid and nearly perfect kicking so far at practice. He may be small, but he can boom them from long range and we hope that it continues when the kicks count.
#85-P Tyler Newsome
If Yoon made the list, it’s only fair to include the new punter as well. Newsome is a Sophomore so he’s not quite as fresh but we’re still waiting to see if his ability in practice carries over to Saturdays. He’s impressed onlookers in camp with his distance and hang time but sometimes you need that light touch on a punt and there’s a lot that can go wrong from snap to punt. People typically don’t give a punter much attention unless it’s for negative reasons, so here’s to hoping that Newsome flies under the radar.
#8- S Avery Sebastian
If you’re like me and bought a #8 jersey for the season you should probably know who the other #8 is. Avery Sebastian is the graduate transfer from UCLA and will be backing up Elijah Shumate at the Strong Safety position. He’s the smallest of the options at Safety but he impressed the coaching staff who expected him to be more of a situational player rather than have a primary role. Rumor had it that he was even challenging for the starting gig so we’ll be anxious to see what kind of production we get from him.
#24- CB Nick Coleman
Another true Freshman that impressed enough during camp to climb up the depth chat to a back-up role. Coleman will play behind starter KeiVarae Russell but should get a decent amount of meaningful playing time when Russell moves down into the Nickel position. I’m always a little nervous about a true Freshman at CB but the coaching staff seems pretty confident in this young man. Hopefully we notice him for the right reasons.
#99- DT Jerry Tillery and #75- DT Daniel Cage
Meet Jarron Jones’ replacement crew. Tillery will be the starter and likely play as many downs as he’s capable of but both will be relied upon in the middle of the D-Line. The true Freshman and Sophomore respectably have big shoes to fill and will likely have their ups and downs but Tillery was the talk of the town in the Spring and we’re hoping he stays ahead of the learning curve for a typical Freshman.
Numbers to Know
By: Kyle Gibson
Game week is finally here and with every new season comes a few new names and numbers that fans may not be familiar with. Not everyone pays as close attention to the off-season practices as us Irish junkies do, so there will likely be some big plays coming from numbers you don’t recognize. Have no fear! We’ll give you a quick run-down of some emerging players that we expect to turn a few heads this season. That way when some random guy at the bar says Whoa! Who’s number 10? You’ll have the answer!
#16- WR Torii Hunter Jr.
The Junior is finally entering a season healthy and likely had the best off-season of any WR. He did play last season and had a few flashes but is still a relative unknown to the casual fan. That should change this season. Brian Kelly raved that Hunter could play any of the receiver positions and while the depth chart lists him in the slot, expect to see him line up all over the field and get a lot of looks. Some are predicting that he may challenge Will Fuller for most total receptions and yardage this season.
#10- TE Alize Jones
The true Freshman may not yet be a fully rounded TE as he needs a little more size and work to become a reliable blocker but his ball skills rival nearly every other receiving option on the team and he’s just too potent to keep off the field. With the Irish utilizing more multiple TE sets this season, expect to see a lot of Jones especially lined up on the outside. He’s already making eye popping grabs in practice so we may see the youngster get some love from SportsCenter this season.
#86- WR Equanimeous St. Brown
Joining Jones as an impressive true Freshman pass catcher is the tall and quick “EQ” St. Brown. Standing at 6’4 and wearing 86 you may confuse him at first with Corey Robinson who’s 6’5 and wears 88. Both have an incredible catch radius with the ability to go up over about any defender and come down with those 50/50 balls. What separates EQ is his speed. Kelly hasn’t been shy about praising how quick he is and that speed coupled with his ball skills and height is why he’s landed on the depth chart backing up Will Fuller on the outside.
#23- S Drue Tranquill
Here’s a Sophomore that some may recognize from last year. He took over a starting Safety role after Redfield/Shumate got put in the dog house and had some highlight plays before getting injured but still he’s pretty new and may be flying under your radar. He may look buried on the depth chart at Safety but Tranquill will be used as a specialty player all over the field thanks to his versatility and relentlessness. This is one of those guys that many have pegged as a surprise player of the year. You could see some hard hits and QBs running for their life when #23 is on the field.
#98- DE Andrew Trumbetti
In the same boat as Tranquill is this Sophomore. Trumbetti got a lot of time splitting reps at DE with Romeo Okwara last season but faded a bit after some early season flashes. He hasn’t gotten too much publicity this off-season but I’m still very high on this kid and expect him to have a lot of big plays, including notching a few sacks.
#9- WR CJ Sanders
Back to the Freshman. The small and slight CJ Sanders is listed as the third option in the slot but he’s lighting in a bottle and I don’t think there’s any way the coaches don’t give him some good snaps. He ripped off multiple impressive runs during camp, shedding tacklers while zooming in and out of his cuts. The Irish have not had someone with his type of ability in ages. In addition to lining up in the slot as a WR, Sanders will be used in the backfield as a runner as well and that might be where he does the most damage on offense. But likely his best chance to make a big impact early will be as a return man. He’ll have to prove his hands can be trusted but he’ll get a chance behind Will Fuller at punt returns and may get looks at kick returns as well. Once he starts getting more playing time, he may just be the most exciting player on the team to watch with the ball in his hands.
#59-LB Jarrett Grace
Yes a 5th year graduate student is making this list. Considering Grace hasn’t played on Saturdays since 2013, some may have forgotten what number he wears. He was once the highly touted heir to Manti Te’o in the middle of the field before a gruesome leg injury sidelined his career for a year and a half. He’ll play back-up to Joe Schmidt but he’s still one heck of a football player and possesses the talent and physicality that earned him the starting gig in ’13. Word is that Schmidt still may not be 100% recovered from his injury, so we may see more of Grace early in the season but he’ll get a lot of reps regardless throughout the season.
# 19-K Justin Yoon
Hey, you got to show the kicker some love! It’s going to be weird not seeing Kyle Brindza line up for FGs anymore but the Irish brought in the best prep kicker in the country to replace him. True Freshman Justin Yoon is the polar opposite of Brindza physically, standing at 5’10 185lbs but he’s been rock solid and nearly perfect kicking so far at practice. He may be small, but he can boom them from long range and we hope that it continues when the kicks count.
#85-P Tyler Newsome
If Yoon made the list, it’s only fair to include the new punter as well. Newsome is a Sophomore so he’s not quite as fresh but we’re still waiting to see if his ability in practice carries over to Saturdays. He’s impressed onlookers in camp with his distance and hang time but sometimes you need that light touch on a punt and there’s a lot that can go wrong from snap to punt. People typically don’t give a punter much attention unless it’s for negative reasons, so here’s to hoping that Newsome flies under the radar.
#8- S Avery Sebastian
If you’re like me and bought a #8 jersey for the season you should probably know who the other #8 is. Avery Sebastian is the graduate transfer from UCLA and will be backing up Elijah Shumate at the Strong Safety position. He’s the smallest of the options at Safety but he impressed the coaching staff who expected him to be more of a situational player rather than have a primary role. Rumor had it that he was even challenging for the starting gig so we’ll be anxious to see what kind of production we get from him.
#24- CB Nick Coleman
Another true Freshman that impressed enough during camp to climb up the depth chat to a back-up role. Coleman will play behind starter KeiVarae Russell but should get a decent amount of meaningful playing time when Russell moves down into the Nickel position. I’m always a little nervous about a true Freshman at CB but the coaching staff seems pretty confident in this young man. Hopefully we notice him for the right reasons.
#99- DT Jerry Tillery and #75- DT Daniel Cage
Meet Jarron Jones’ replacement crew. Tillery will be the starter and likely play as many downs as he’s capable of but both will be relied upon in the middle of the D-Line. The true Freshman and Sophomore respectably have big shoes to fill and will likely have their ups and downs but Tillery was the talk of the town in the Spring and we’re hoping he stays ahead of the learning curve for a typical Freshman.
