ND WR Equanimeous St. Brown Declares for NFL Draft
As per twitter, he's gone (link). Michigan plays ND next year, and though the secondary is really good, every bit helps.
Bonus: this probably hurts ND's chances to get his younger brother.*
*Edit: According to what I've read ND fans say about his recruitment.
January 5th, 2018 at 9:39 AM ^
January 5th, 2018 at 9:38 AM ^
January 5th, 2018 at 9:43 AM ^
I don't have any real knowledge of this on my own, but apparently the family was pissed with their passing game (Wimbush), and the only draw was the familiarity of having a brother on the team.
January 5th, 2018 at 10:13 AM ^
I assume that means he wouldn't be interested in us either.
January 5th, 2018 at 9:57 AM ^
and is projected as a later round pick. He should stay in school to boost his draft stock, but he's either not happy at ND, doesn't think they can help him or both.
In no way is this good news for ND.
I'd guess his younger brother had already decided not to attend ND. If he was coming, that would give Equanimeous a good reason to stay.
January 5th, 2018 at 10:07 AM ^
The dad didn't like ND's S&C program. Didn't think it got Eq ready/strong enough his first year. That was a big reason middle kid, Osiris went Stanford and not ND.
This season's passing game didn't help matters either.
Amon-Ra is likely headed to USC as his HS QB is signed there as well.
January 5th, 2018 at 10:22 AM ^
Well, it would be nice to have your brother on campus for your freshman year, particularly when you're going to school across the country
January 5th, 2018 at 9:42 AM ^
it seems like a pretty equanimeous decision to me.
January 5th, 2018 at 10:41 AM ^
Yeah, maybe he and ol' purple face didn't get along....not on the same page so to speak.
January 5th, 2018 at 9:45 AM ^
Im curious as to how many returning starters ND will have next year, and the quality of each starter. It appears we would be favored on a nuetral field, but that damn home field advantage :(
January 5th, 2018 at 9:50 AM ^
will lose their two quality OL in McGlinchey and Nelson. Nelson is their biggest loss because he was the best player in the country all year long. He's a lock to get drafted at top 10-12 as a LG.
January 5th, 2018 at 9:57 AM ^
Every team loses a number of starters every season to graduation or the FNL. It's not uncommon for a team to lose 3-5 on each side of the ball. Sure, losing star players like Baker Mayfield or Josh Rosen will almost always be felt significantly, but losing a wide receiver, or even a few linemen is common and rarely causes a significant drop off. in most cases, teams like ND have quality, experienced depth ready to step in so that even if there is a drop-off, it is not significant. ND has recruited fairly well, and has had a relatively stable staff in place for more than 3-4 seasons, so I would imagine that their roster is stable enough that these losses will not be all that harmful.
I think that as Michigan fans, we may slightly overestimate the effect of graduation because when we have lost quality starters in the past few years, the back-ups have been very young, inexperienced players. This, however, is the result of changing coaches 3 times in a decade, which has effectivley caused us to take off a few recruiting years.
January 5th, 2018 at 4:29 PM ^
Damn that FNL.
January 5th, 2018 at 4:57 PM ^
Doing three transitions in a decade will certainly dent any continuity
January 5th, 2018 at 10:29 AM ^
Our D loses so few players that they should hit the ground running next year. And while we take a big hit losing Hurst and a hit losing McCray, our depth should be greatly improved with all the young talent coming up behind them.
If our Offense can even get to C+/B- level to start the season, we should take care of Notre Dame even playing there. Our offense will need to keep improving to beat the likes of Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State down the line. MSU? Meh. They're only a threat if our O is a disaster again
January 5th, 2018 at 10:45 AM ^
That game will depend, as seemingly every big game with us does, on how the offense holds up. IF it holds up.
If it can get to even an average level, they can definitely win in South Bend. We already know what we're getting with Don Brown's defense, and if it's paired with a competent offense, dare I say even a good one, this team is capable of winning titles. But If we see minimal to no improvement from the OL or the QB next Fall, expect more of the same: defense keeps it close but they just don't have the gas to hold up for four quarters on the road against a good team by themselves.
January 5th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
January 5th, 2018 at 9:51 AM ^
Not an All-American, but he had to have made the All-Name team
January 5th, 2018 at 9:54 AM ^
When I read his name, I keep asking myself, "Is his name 'Equanimeous Street' Brown or Equanimeous 'Saint Brown'?"
January 5th, 2018 at 10:31 AM ^
It was a Catholic saint or something ...
January 5th, 2018 at 10:31 AM ^
January 5th, 2018 at 3:13 PM ^
Regardless of whether ND can replace his skill set, ND certainly cannot replace that name!
January 5th, 2018 at 9:55 AM ^
I think he could use another year. The only reasoning I could see behind this is that Wimbush hasn't been the same since the Miami game, and the backup played pretty well in the bowl game.
Maybe he's worried that Kelly is going to play musical quarterbacks again, and he doesn't want to be a part of it. Kelly has done it with Crist/Rees, Rees/Golson, Zaire/Kizer.
January 5th, 2018 at 10:12 AM ^
but this guy's family background certainly makes for entertaining reading...
January 5th, 2018 at 11:11 AM ^
That's really something. His dad went out of his way to search for a wife to give him the babies he wanted and ultimately chose her based on her toes, knees, and intelligence? And his actual surname was supposed to "Brown" but that didn't look stately enough on a uniform so the dad decided to start calling them "St. Brown"? I hope it works out well for the kid and he's able to fulfill his father's dream... er... I mean... his own dream of playing in the NFL.
January 5th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
I don't think Amon-Ra was going to Notre Dame, anyway. He's probably staying in California.
January 5th, 2018 at 10:29 AM ^
I don't care who ND lines up across from our defense. Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich will be harvesting domer souls that night.
January 5th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
January 5th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^
When asked for his reaction, Brian Kelly responded thusly: