Quick-hitters: Chansi Stuckey on Notre Dame freshman WRs, Lorenzo Styles move

Notre Dame wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey met with reporters Wednesday for the only time during spring practice. Here are some topics he discussed.

On his emphasis to junior Deion Colzie after a strong finish to 2022

“That was a great start. But the expectation is so high for him. He has been behind a couple guys, but now, he’s kind of at the forefront. I think this spring is trying to teach him what the expectation is now. You do something for so long, you think that’s what it takes to be successful. Now that roles have changed, it has to go to another level, another mindset.

“Most of the spring, I’m trying to teach him what it takes to expect more. Because he was doing what he did last year, like the USC game, but there’s a higher expectation now. It took him a while to figure that out. ‘I’m doing this and doing that,’ but the last couple practices before being sick today, he showed up and there was a difference. We want to see a jump from him. Then we started to see it.

“You have (Chris) Tyree. You have [Jayden Thomas]. You have Tobias (Merriweather). You get Deion being where he is, you have a significant change from what the room was like last year. Then you have the freshmen who are making noise and pushing the older guys. That’s what you want in a successful receiver room, dire competition and everybody’s happy for each other. I think that’s what we’ve created through 14 practices.”

What moving Lorenzo Styles to cornerback says about the state of the Notre Dame receiver unit

“The ownership of what the guys have done has gotten better. Recruiting, we hit on all three freshmen, and that was huge. That’s super rare. Great job by Chad (Bowden) and our recruiting staff and our whole staff recruiting and getting those guys here. That helps too. Now you don’t feel such a big loss when he goes, a guy who’s a veteran guy, has speed, has played in a bunch of games. But you certainly feel OK.

“Numbers help. We bring in three extra guys. Deion has jumped up. JT has jumped up. Chris Tyree coming over helps a bunch, a guy who can move guys around so JT isn’t locked into the slot, he can play to the boundary or to the field because [Jaden Greathouse] is there too. And Matt Salerno. And Chris Tyree. The depth overall and production of the room as a group has softened that quote-unquote blow.”

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On quickly realizing the three freshmen belong

“It’s a compliment to their coaches too, and the high schools they came from allow them to come in and be successful at Notre Dame. Just the attention to detail, what’s required, the conditioning, the intensity, being coached hard, reacting in the right way.

“You never know once you get them here. You’ve recruited them so long that it’s like, ‘Last year’s great’, then you get between the white lines and it’s, ‘Who’s this guy?’ the intensity and being accountable. The big conversation we had in the room was just because you guys are freshmen, you uphold the standard of the room as well. It’s not, ‘It’s OK, you’re freshmen.’ Your expectations are to know what to do and do it at a high level. Everyone expects that.

“That has helped them, having success in high school and then coming here and having a taste of success. ‘I can do this.’ Then doing extra work in the Gug, those guys come over all the time. Fifteen minutes here and there every day, that’s a bunch of time over a month. Those guys will put in the time and detail, just understanding. Coach (Gerad) Parker taking those guys under his wing too. I’m so glad to have those three kids here.”

On freshman Rico Flores Jr.

“Rico is thicker. Way bigger than you thought. You see him, then he gets here and it’s huge tree trunk legs, arms, has a presence about him. Good size, great route runner, attention to detail is immaculate.

“It’s really, really important to him. You have to test sometimes if kids love football. Rico loves football. It’s important to him. He’s betting everything he has on himself. He loves school. He’s working really hard, takes care of his business off the field, comes here and does extra work, lifts, asks great questions, takes notes, he’s a consummate professional only three months out of high school. The challenge to him is to keep getting better, keep working hard, reminding him why he’s here.”

On freshman Braylon James

“Braylon has had the most interesting transition because he put on 15 pounds. He got here and got 15 pounds super quick, so his spring has been getting used to carrying that extra weight. He’s the freakiest of them all. He’s 6-2, runs a 4.4, 38-inch vertical. He’s the biggest and freakiest of them all, but his body has changed so much.”

On freshman Jaden Greathouse

“JG is physically ready to play. Great ball skills, has a niftiness in and around through zones where he can be slippery and get around guys, but has enough power and quickness at the line of scrimmage to beat guys. His ball skills are out of control just from his basketball background and what they did at Westlake. Put him to the boundary and get inside the 10-yard line, he’s probably – any ball, anywhere – he’s going to make a play.”

On how grad transfer Kaleb Smith impacted the Notre Dame receivers before he left the team

“He was a veteran presence, a guy going on his sixth year just teaching the guys how to come to work and knowing what to do. He was a great veteran presence with the guys. That’s what we wanted, an example of what we want to look like in three to four years.”