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Notre Dame Football

New Notre Dame WR Coach Chansi Stuckey Made Immediate Impact At Baylor

January 25, 2022
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Chansi Stuckey is certainly moving up the coaching ladder quickly.

The former Clemson wide receiver spent a couple seasons in off-the-field roles at his alma mater before being hired as Baylor’s wide receivers coach in January 2021. After just one year in Waco, Stuckey landed the coveted receivers job at Notre Dame.

His hiring was officially announced on Monday.

“He's on the rise, for sure,” Paul Catalina of Baylor’s Sic ‘Em 365 Radio told ISD. “He called up Dabo Swinney and said, ‘I'd like to get into coaching.' For a Clemson guy, Dabo made it happen. And then when there was a position open at Baylor, he got highly-recommended. They needed a wide receivers coach and he and Dave Aranda meshed for that time.

2021 was Stuckey’s first season as a full-time coach, but he made an immediate impact.

“I would say that his impact was that he got a group of wide receivers who had a really bad year the year before, enthusiastic about playing in an offense that they hadn't played in before,” said Catalina.

Catalina added that the issues with the 2020 Batylor offense went beyond the receivers, “but it wasn't good.”

That changed in 2021 with Tyquan Thornton leading the group with 62 receptions for 948 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“He's a players' guy, for sure, absolutely players' guy,” Catalina said. “The receivers really did respond well to him. They all played well. They didn't have big years, but it was a lot better than it was.”

Catalina said the early reports on Stuckey as a recruiter were positive, although a single calendar year is a small sample size.

“Just based on his overall personality and demeanor, I would assume he's a pretty darn good recruiter, especially in the living room,” he said. “He's a very strong person of faith, so that's going to play at Baylor. It's going to play at Notre Dame.

“He's just a happy person in general. He's not one of these hostage-taker recruiters, like, 'You better get on board or not.' He very much meets people on their level.”

Even though he was only in Waco for a year, the feeling is he will be greatly missed.

“I just know from talking to the athletic director, Mack Rhodes, he really liked Chansi Stuckey as well and thought he has potential to grow in the coaching world.”

 
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