Notre Dame Football: 4 Players Who Have Surprised Us in 2014

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — While there haven’t been many shocking revelations from the first three Notre Dame football games, a host of players have turned heads with their early season play.

The Fighting Irish have rolled to a 3-0 start and hit the road this week to face Syracuse at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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Finally pulling out the whites for this week #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/prFJgSdcDa

— Ryan Grooms (@NDFBEquipment) September 21, 2014"

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#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/CnrCIgNfvK

— Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) September 22, 2014"

Before diving into this week’s matchup, let’s look at some of those players who have surprised. We discussed some of the eye-catching performances last week, so we’ll focus on other examples this week.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Will Fuller

USA TODAY Sports

Will Fuller

When it became clear that Irish senior wide receiver DaVaris Daniels would miss games due to the academic probe, Notre Dame was lacking a productive pass-catcher in its deep group.

Junior Chris Brown headlined the targets with a team-best 17 career receptions and a grand total of one reception from Irish quarterback Everett Golson.

But it’s been Will Fuller—not Brown or any of the other receivers—who stepped up and provided something similar to No. 1 wide receiver production. Fuller’s performance has been surprising, but that has nothing to do with his natural ability. We knew he was fast. We just didn’t know he’d be as reliable a target as he has been.

Fuller paces the squad with 19 receptions (eight more than anyone else), 225 receiving yards (103 more than anyone else) and three touchdown grabs. The sophomore has nabbed at least four receptions for at least 51 yards in all three games.

His apparent chemistry with Golson is eye-catching, and it’ll be interesting to see how their connection develops throughout the season. Considering Fuller has shown shaky hands on a few occasions—especially on short passes toward the sidelines—the ceiling seems high and still rising for Fuller as the top pass-catcher.

Elijah Shumate

Credit: 247Sports

Elijah Shumate

Like Fuller, Shumate has unquestioned natural ability. He can fly around the field and pack a punch with his hits.

Through his first two seasons, Shumate played in 22 games and earned four starts. But heading into his junior season, it seemed he was stuck behind a horde of safeties. Austin Collinsworth and Max Redfield were the starters, and Eilar Hardy, Nicky Baratti and maybe even Matthias Farley could have been in position to log snaps, too.

But by injury (Collinsworth and Baratti) and off-the-field matters (Hardy), Shumate has climbed into a starting spot in the secondary.

After a shaky outing in the season opener against Rice, Shumate thrived against Michigan and made plays all over the field. He shifted to free safety when the Irish were shorthanded at safety against Purdue and turned in another solid performance.

Again, if you had said during his freshman year that Shumate would be playing like this as a junior, that would have been reasonable. But based on his status in the spring and even during fall camp, Shumate has been one of the key surprises on defense.

Cody Riggs

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Cody Riggs

Without KeiVarae Russell for an undetermined period of time, Cody Riggs has become an even more important addition for the Irish.

The graduate student, who started 26 games at cornerback and safety over four seasons at Florida, has turned into a rock in the secondary for Notre Dame and has also added some juice to a lifeless punt return game.

Though Riggs had plenty of experience from his days with the Gators, it can be easy to forget he’s also shifting positions as well. After converting back from cornerback in 2013, Riggs started all 12 games at safety for Florida last season. In 2012, however, he only played two games before an injury ended his season.

In other words, it’s been a while since Riggs settled in as a starting cornerback. That’s part of what makes Riggs a slightly surprising player through three games. He has held down his side of the field and boosted a defense that is allowing just 6.6 yards per pass attempt to the opposition.

As a punt returner, too, Riggs has provided a lift. He has hauled in six punt returns for a grand total of 64 yards. As a team, Notre Dame has 101 punt return yards. In 2013, Notre Dame amassed just 106 total punt return yards the entire season. Riggs, in his four seasons at Florida, returned just one punt for zero yards. That was in 2011.

Riggs hasn’t been a shocking revelation in his two roles, but it’s moderately surprising to see his transitions go this smoothly.

Steve Elmer

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Steve Elmer (79)

We dove a bit deeper into the offensive line problems last week, but we’ll focus here on sophomore right tackle Steve Elmer.

Elmer has had his share of issues this season, though they haven’t really been glaring problems for the most part. Yes, sometimes he has been exposed on the perimeter, but that’s to be expected for a second-year player who switched positions before the season.

The surprising aspect is the potential for change again on the offensive line. The day after the Purdue game, Kelly said the Irish coaching staff would sit down during the bye week and figure out if they have their offensive linemen in the right spots.

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Kelly said that Steve Elmer could move back to guard, Christian Lombard could move out. Mike McGlinchey could come in.

— Irish Illustrated (@NDatRivals) September 14, 2014"

Kelly and offensive line coach Harry Hiestand likely know which issues are correctable and which are not, so we’ll get a sense of just how problematic some of the line play has been based on any changes they make.

As it relates to Elmer, it’d be surprising if the struggles aren’t deemed correctable (at least in the short term). Elmer was pegged as a 4-star recruit and the No. 12 offensive tackle in the nation, and he was the No. 112 overall player in his class. At 6’5.5”, 315 pounds, Elmer appears to have the ability to make it at tackle.

Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting stats and information courtesy of 247Sports.com. Star ratings reflect 247Sports composite rankings.

Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.