'12 NJ S Elijah Shumate (Notre Dame Signed LOI)

rtrn2glory

rtrn2glory

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covers much better in man to man than you could hope for from a true freshman that is a safety...elite level ball skills too
 
Emcee77

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Very impressive. So pleased with his pass coverage ability. Future star for sure.
 
scUM Hater

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I know, I will have a bunch of extremists throwing molotav cocktails through my pictture window. As I say: " Let's Roll!"
 
ryno 24

ryno 24

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Elijah Shumate will be a safety again. Possibly starting next year. He is very talented and his coverage skills are much better than expected.
 
PANDFAN

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im suprised he isn't in the 2 deep, i know he comes in on rotation but he has been pretty consistent for us
 
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TheChosen1

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PANDFAN said:
im suprised he isn't in the 2 deep, i know he comes in on rotation but he has been pretty consistent for us
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Don't care if he's in the two deep three deep or four deep. He's a player and plays a whole bunch. Goes to show you in the beginning of the year when these charts come out and BK says "he's going to play for us this year" ....he is
 
rtrn2glory

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think the staff found him too valuable where he is currently and they'll wait til spring to put him back at safety if that's what they decide to do
 
C

Cackalacky

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Shumate and Russell are everybit as physical and athletic as Blanton or Grey were as seniors. I was a fan of Blanton but totally dissappointed by Gray. It has been so obvious even in the first 3 games. There is a definite diiference in CWs players vs BKs players.
 
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notredomer23

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Cackalacky said:
Shumate and Russell are everybit as physical and athletic as Blanton or Grey were as seniors. I was a fan of Blanton but totally dissappointed by Gray. It has been so obvious even in the first 3 games. There is a definite diiference in CWs players vs BKs players.
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Completely (respectfully) disagree. Blanton was one of the better ones we have had the past decade. He was good in coverage and a sure tackler every time. Gray, while sometimes not great in coverage, would always make tackles. I rarely remember him missing them. Shumate has been great so far in limited action. Russell, while decent in coverage so far, is the worst tackler in our defense right now. No knock on him considering he was a running back prior to camp, but its a fact. He simply isn't a good tackler yet.
 
Sherm Sticky

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notredomer23 said:
Completely (respectfully) disagree. Blanton was one of the better ones we have had the past decade. He was good in coverage and a sure tackler every time. Gray, while sometimes not great in coverage, would always make tackles. I rarely remember him missing them. Shumate has been great so far in limited action. Russell, while decent in coverage so far, is the worst tackler in our defense right now. No knock on him considering he was a running back prior to camp, but its a fact. He simply isn't a good tackler yet.
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I agree with you mostly. Russell has been really good in coverage imo. I think he has had better coverage than Jackson. but, you are correct he is the worst tackler on defense. he will improve throughout the season though.
 
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Buster Bluth

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PANDFAN said:
im suprised he isn't in the 2 deep, i know he comes in on rotation but he has been pretty consistent for us
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He's the #1 Nickel DB, is he not? Notre Dame will be in the nickel a lot on Saturday.
 
IrishLion

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Yes I was going to say that there isn't an "official" spot for him on the standard 3-4 depth chart. He plays the nickle/star/whatever-you-call-it, which Diaco seems to be using more and more. This leads to showing how well the run defense plays, as teams are passing more and more, meaning we see Shumate more and more. I love seeing Day-Tuitt-Ishaq-Shembo all out there pass rushing in that package, kind of like the Giants 4-DE Nascar package.
 
Ironman8

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Brian Hamilton ‏@ChiTribHamilton
Elijah Shumate, #NotreDame freshman safety and alum of NJ power Don Bosco Prep: "The last time I lost was in 8th grade."
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Must be tough.
 
Ironman8

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Winning Ingrained In Shumate

Free article on Elijah from ISD:

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – When was the last time you lost at something? It’s been a long time since Notre Dame freshman Elijah Shumate lost a football game. In fact, the last time he lost on the gridiron was in the eighth grade in a Pop Warner game.

“We were in the semi-finals and we lost by a point,” Shumate recalled. “We missed a field goal. That hurt a lot.”

Fortunately, Shumate wasn’t the kicker. In the time since Shumate’s last football loss the Fighting Irish football team has tasted defeat 22 times, but the freshman doesn’t even remember what it’s like to lose a game and doesn’t want to feel it any time soon.

His high school career at New Jersey’s Don Bosco Prep ended with an 11-0 record after the school won its sixth consecutive New Jersey SIAA Non-Public Group 4 title. It also ended with him and his Ironmen teammates being ranked the number one high school team in the nation by USA Today.

“When you’re used to winning you know nothing else but to win,” Shumate said after Wednesday’s practice during Notre Dame’s bye week. “So that’s the mentality you play with. You play to win. You play your heart out. You play with your team, within your team and you just do your job.”

Shumate plays with a toughness that belies both the fact that he is a freshman as well as his soft spoken nature. That probably comes from his upbringing in the mean streets of East Orange, NJ as well as what he learned playing at Don Bosco.

“At Bosco they preached a lot about being mentally tough for any situation, no matter how big the task is,” Shumate said of his high school football experience. “You gotta be mentally tough and mentally prepared for whatever they throw at you, so I think that prepared me the most.”

“Coming in here and being mentally tough. I’m a freshman, but I can’t play like a freshman. I have to just go out there and just play the game I love to play and that has helped me get on the field a lot.”

Shumate is a safety, but his primary responsibility has been playing nickel back in the Irish secondary. It’s a position that’s not on the field on every down, but it brings with it its own skill set.

“There’s definitely a lot of responsibilities, because it’s like playing outside linebacker, but it’s still like playing a little bit of corner and safety at times,” Shumate explained of his on-field duties. “It’s definitely more difficult, because you stick on the slot, who’s a lot faster, It’s a big task, but I’ve been coached well.”

Coaches are not the only ones who have helped Shumate since he arrived on campus this past summer. He credits veteran safeties Jamoris Slaughter and Zeke Motta for bringing him along as well.

“They’ve been helping me out a lot in the film room and just being like coaches on and off the field,” Shumate said of the mentoring he’s received from his teammates. “The injury with Jamoris, that hurt a lot, but he plays a big part in helping all the young kids, including myself and KeiVarae (Russell) and teaching us what we’ve gotta learn. Zeke – he’s a great leader out there on the field. He definitely shows us a lot.”

Motta had to tell Shumate where to lineup often during the Purdue game, but there was less of it against Michigan State and even less last week against Michigan. The credit goes to Motta for helping him not only on the field, in the film room, where he spend nearly two hours a day during the week, as well.

The 6-foot safety has not had what he thinks is a “breakthrough” moment on the field during a game yet, but he says he has been building confidence since early on in camp.

“In camp when I was going against my team I feel like my team was a big confidence booster,” Shumate recalled. “For me, just going against my team and getting better every day and just working on everything I needed to work on I felt as though once the coaches put me in a position and I was coached and everything I would go out there and just perform to the best of my abilities. I just let my performance on the field just talk for itself.”

Shumate’s stats don’t pop off the page when looking at them. He has a total of three tackles, three pass break-ups and three pass deflections. Two of those break-ups were on key third downs though against Michigan State. He played in big games in high school and now Shumate is making big contributions on a bigger stage at Notre Dame.

“It’s definitely been a big experience,” Shumate said in freshman understatement. “It’s been a big dream and accomplishment. I’ve worked so hard just to come in here and play, like in the offseason before I got here, because I wanted to come in and play right away. It’s definitely been a big transition from high school to college. This is a big stage, playing at one of the most prestigious schools, if not the most prestigious school in the country.
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