Starters
Michael Floyd (2008-2011)
Best Season: (2011) 100 catches, 1,147 yards, 9 touchdowns
Career: 271 catches, 3,686 yards, 37 touchdowns
He may have only played two seasons in his particular decade, but during those years, Floyd made sure his name would be etched in Notre Dame record books. After being Golden Tate’s sidekick in 2008 and 2009, Floyd became the go-to guy during his junior and senior season and did not disappoint. His starring role as the alpha dog coincided with Brian Kelly’s arrival in South Bend and they certainly weren’t going to go down leaving Floyd underutilized. The only problem was that for other reasons, outside of Floyd’s control, more wins didn’t come. Floyd had at least ten catches in six games during his Notre Dame career. Five were losses.
But for all of the underwhelming seasons in terms of the win-loss column that certainly wasn’t on his shoulders, Floyd was the most complete wide receiver in Notre Dame history. There were a number of games where his dominance was evident, but none more so than the 2010 Sun Bowl against Miami. The Hurricanes had no idea how to defend Floyd as his two first quarter touchdowns helped the Irish build an insurmountable lead in Brian Kelly’s first season. He’s currently the school leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and judging by the large margin he enjoys in each category, chances are that it will remain that way for awhile.
Will Fuller (2013-2015)
Best Season: (2015) 62 catches, 1,258 yards, 14 touchdowns
Career: 144 catches, 2,512 yards, 30 touchdowns
Will Fuller was pure electricity. Floyd was the most complete wide receiver of the decade, but the one guy I could not take my eyes off was Fuller. Whether hauling in a quick slant, shaking defenders on a screen or leaving a defender yards behind on a deep ball, Fuller had a penchant for leaving the opposition dazed and confused. He had a good rapport with Everett Golson in 2014, appeared to have the same connection with Malik Zaire against Texas to open 2015, and then became a safety net for new starter DeShone Kizer, including a game winning touchdown against Virginia in his first appearance. It’s funny how a receivers ability to get open correlates directly with how often a quarterback throws his way.
Fuller, who has proven to be just as dangerous a weapon for the Houston Texans, currently sits 8th, 4th and 2nd respectively in Notre Dame history for catches, yards and toucdowns. But climbing up the record books isn’t the only way to gauge his explosiveness. Only ten college football receivers since 2000 have a season with at least 60 catches, 10 receiving touchdowns and at least 20 yards per reception. Fuller, alongside Ja’Marr Chase, Rashod Bateman and CeeDee Lamb who accomplished this feat in 2019, hit those numbers.
Chase Claypool (2016-2019)
Best Season: (2019) 66 catches, 1,037 yards, 13 touchdowns
Career: 150 catches, 2,159 yards, 19 touchdowns
If you’ve visited Fighting Irish Wire at all during this season, I’m sure you’ve already heard me wax on at length about my affinity for Claypool. As I mentioned with Jones, Claypool’s development was steady during his entire four year stay in South Bend that culminated with his captaincy and ascent to go-to-guy for Ian Book in 2019. Worries were all around as the Irish needed to replace Boykin after his departure for the NFL, but Claypool is the one who actually turned out to be the prototypical #1 receiver for the Irish.
His physicality was felt in the screen game. His strength evident when out-muscleing defenders. His large catch radius always a valuable tool for his quarterback. His willingness to do everything on the field, including star on special teams as he did at Georgia, bodes well for his chances to find a permanent spot on an NFL roster. Thanks to his four touchdown game against Navy this year, Claypool skyrocketed up the Notre Dame all-time chart to seventh in touchdown receptions. Ending his Irish career with an MVP performance, and most importantly a victory against a formidable Iowa State team, was the perfect close for a guy that worked his way to the top tier of Notre Dame wide receivers since 2010.