St. Brown Looking Forward To Seeing One-On-One Opportunities
Notre Dame receiver Equanimeous St. Brown could have a new signal-caller throwing him the football on Saturday as the jury is still out quarterback Brandon Wimbush. The junior quarterback has a grade 1 strain and could miss the road game at North Carolina this weekend.
Redshirt freshman Ian Book very well could make his first start, and it’s clear the 6-foot-4, 203-pounder has trust in his fellow California native.
“I feel he has always been ready,” St. Brown said of Book. “He’s a great quarterback and a great player. He’s a great leader. If he is the quarterback, I believe in him.”
St. Brown also feels Book is well educated in what defenses are going to throw at him, as well as his ability to get the football out of his hand.
“He reads the defense well,” stated St. Brown. “He has a nice touch to the football when he throws it.”
If Book does get the start, the Tar Heels defense will give him plenty of opportunities make plays down the field. North Carolina has put their cornerbacks on islands all year and will likely do the same on Saturday to stop the powerful Irish rushing attack.
“They play a lot of man, and it will give us a lot of opportunities one-on-one,” St. Brown said. “As a receiver, that’s what we look for. It’s our turn to make plays.”
On the year, St. Brown has 14 receptions for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers are down from last year, but the Irish are also 4-1 versus a 2-3 record in 2016.
The Notre Dame receivers have been called upon to block more this fall, and that’s more than fine in St. Brown’s eyes, as it was an area he wanted to improve on heading into the season.
“We do whatever it takes to win,” explained St. Brown. “If I have to block more, then I have to block more. That’s an area I wanted to improve on, and I have.
“I wanted to have more effort and improve technique-wise. Physicality is a part of football, so everyone has to be physical.”
North Carolina enters Saturday’s contest with just a 1-4 record, but the Irish aren’t taking them lightly.
“We take every week game by game,” stated St. Brown. “North Carolina is a good team, and we don’t care about their record. They are a faceless enemy to us. We have to go out and play.
“We’ve heard enough about it, so we’re all on the same page right now. We know what we have to do when we go out there.”
If the Irish can get a road win in Chapel Hill, St. Brown believes it would provide momentum heading into a much-needed bye week.
“It would be real exciting and a major turnaround from last year,” said St. Brown. “It would be a major confidence booster going into USC.”