Brian Kelly details challenge of stopping Drake London

USC wideout Drake London has emerged as not just No. 1 target in USC’s offense but also one of the top receivers in the country, providing a near-impossible challenge for Brian Kelly and the No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish to defend.

Through six games, London has tallied 832 receiving yards on 64 receptions, averaging a whopping 13.0 yards per reception, and he’s scored five touchdowns as well. It hardly seems to matter who’s under center, as London has thrived alongside both USC quarterbacks in Kedon Slovis and Jaxson Dart. Notre Dame will have its hands full this weekend, as Kelly is tasked with stopping the potent deep-ball threat — and the Notre Dame head coach understands just how tall a task it may be.

“Well, we’re just going to do what Stanford did,” Kelly said jokingly, referencing London’s four-catch, 68-yard, one-touchdown, season-low performance, when asked how Notre Dame will stop the dynamic wideout. “I don’t know. … Certainly, you can’t do what Stanford did, but [London] is a really, really good football player. And you have to have a plan for him, just as we had one for [former USC wide receiver Michael] Pittman and the other players that they had. If you just line up and say, ‘OK, we’ll live with what the consequences are,’ it’ll be like George Karlaftis at Purdue. We couldn’t just line up and let George rush the passer, we had to have a plan for him.”

Two weeks ago, amidst London’s ascent to the Associated Press midseason All-American team, Pro Football Focus revealed that the USC star had 13 contested catches at the time, meaning 27 percent of all passes he’d reeled in came with a defender — or multiple defenders — draped on him. To put that statistic in perspective, London’s 13 catches at the time paced the USC team and the country, and it wasn’t even close; no other college receiver in the country had reeled in more than seven contested catches. His size and ability to catch in traffic should pose a challenge for Kelly.

Given London’s success at USC, Kelly compared him to to Purdue wide receiver Drake Bell. Last season, prior to exiting Purdue’s matchup against Kelly’s Notre Dame team due to an injury, Bell had seven catches for 64 receiving yards.

“[London and Bell] are similar in their competitive spirit. I mean, they are great competitors,” Kelly said, likening the USC target to a former Notre Dame opponent. “They’re different in terms of size, obviously. They’re both, for me, guys that just have such an incredible high football IQ, understand the game, body leverage and the yards after catch are what scare you the most. … I think both of them are outstanding players. This kid [London] is just a ferocious competitor, and he’ll block you. They use him to block, too.”

London’s dominance is a bright spot in what has been a tough season for USC, as head coach Clay Helton was fired in his seventh season at the helm after an upset loss to Stanford. He’ll look to replicate his high-level play against Notre Dame.

London has even caught the eye of USC legend-turned-NFL quarterback Carson Palmer, who won the Heisman Trophy and was recently inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame. If Palmer’s comments are any indication, Kelly should have his hands full on Saturday.

“Drake London is obviously a phenomenal talent,” Palmer said of the USC star, via WeAreSC. “But man, he’s this new breed of big, physical talent. You see guys who I played against like Megatron, Calvin Johnson, who has that frame at 6-foot-4, kind of power forward-style frame. It seems like he’s that kind of athlete that has that pull-away speed. And we keep seeing him catch all these jump balls and back-shoulder throws, but he’s got the ability to get over the top of a DB and catch the long ball in stride. I think the sky’s the limit.”