Notre Dame football puts walk-on tight end Davis Sherwood on scholarship
The Avery Davis injury continues to have ripple effects. Notre Dame placed Davis on the medical list and promoted a valued walk-on to the scholarship roster to bring the Irish back up to 85 scholarship players. Sophomore tight end/fullback Davis Sherwood is officially on scholarship for the Fighting Irish, according to a source close to the situation.
Sherwood shows up as an able pass catcher and a trusted blocker repeatedly in practices. He played in 12 of 13 games during the 2021 season as a special teams staple. He appeared on 22 kickoffs, 8 kick returns, 58 punts and 26 punt returns as a true freshman. He also logged 1 snap along the Notre Dame defensive line.
He laid the foundation for what could be an even more involved sophomore season.
Notre Dame has four scholarship running backs, two of them being sophomores along with one true freshman. None of them have been a starter at this level. Sherwood hasn’t either, but he could provide a backfield blocking element at 6-3, 228 pounds that only Audric Estime could match among Irish running backs. The only fullback named on the roster is freshman walk-on Justin Fisher. Odds are when offensive coordinator Tommy Rees dials up a play in which a true fullback is required, Sherwood will be the guy.
It’s clear Sherwood has been an ardent student of the Michael Mayer school of tight end play, too. Sherwood often makes touchdown grabs in competitive periods in practices that are open to the media. He’s not going to push Mayer for playing time, and he might be behind junior Kevin Bauman, sophomore Cane Berrong and freshmen Holden Staes and Eli Raridon in that regard as well. But Sherwood’s presence in practices does not go unnoticed.
Promoting Sherwood is proof he has done everything asked of him in just over a year at Notre Dame. It usually takes walk-ons several years to receive a scholarship. Wide receiver Matt Salerno was not granted one until year five. Sherwood has his as a sophomore.
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Sherwood told BlueandGold.com in Oct. 2021 he fell victim to a lack of film because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He didn’t believe the outlook college coaches had for him was accurate. He didn’t play his senior year of high school ball until the spring of 2021, well after most programs had already wrapped up their 2021 recruiting classes.
“I really didn’t want that to be the reason why I didn’t go play at a dream school like Notre Dame,” Sherwood said. “I really wanted to come here and bet on myself and push the envelope for however far I can take football. And, obviously, hopefully earn a scholarship, start on the defense and make it to the NFL.”
Scholarship: earned, even if he had to switch sides of the ball to secure it. He has plenty of time to accomplish his other objectives. This is just the start for Sherwood.
