Tag: Chasni Stuckey

Notre Dame football: Marcus Freeman on firing of Chasni Stuckey

Freeman speaks on the move…

In a bit of surprising news Tuesday, Notre Dame announced the termination of Chasni Stuckey as wide receivers coach.

Stuckey had been with Notre Dame for each of Marcus Freeman’s two years as head coach as he replaced Del Alexander in the role.

Notre Dame released a statement on Tuesday evening regarding the move.  It included the following statements from Freeman:

“First of all, I want to thank Chansi for all of the work he put into our program,” said Freeman. “ I wish Chansi and his family all the best. 

Over the past few days, we had continued discussions on the overall performance of our wide receiver group and my expectations for the development of that position. I decided it was in the program’s best interest to part ways.”

The release also noted that current offensive coordinator Gerad Parker will coach Notre Dame’s receivers in preparation for their upcoming bowl game.

Notre Dame makes top 10 for four-star wide receiver

The Irish at least still have a seat at the table

When [autotag]Chansi Stuckey[/autotag] joined Notre Dame‘s staff as wide receivers coach one year ago he was tasked with upgrading the talent at the position.  Through one recruiting class he’s taken a big step in the right direction but now he must start to stack classes to build some depth as well.

Stuckey and Notre Dame got some good news recently about a four-star receiver in the 2024 class. [autotag]Demello Jones[/autotag] of Swainsboro, Georgia released his top 10 schools and Notre Dame made the cut.

That’s not to say they’re the favorite by any means as Jones has his home-state Georgia also included as well as the likes of North Carolina, Miami, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio State, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt.

It still feels like Notre Dame ultimately winning this one would be a rather big upset, but in order to do so they have to at least have a seat at the table and they can still say they have that.

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Notre Dame football: Key assistant to remain with Irish despite NFL talks

Notre Dame will retain a solid up-and-coming assistant…at least for now!

Notre Dame has had a busy off-season not just on the recruiting front but also in searching for new coaches.  One that they won’t need to address however, at least for now, will be their wide receiver coach.  According to Irish Breakdown, Notre Dame wide receivers coach [autotag]Chansi Stuckey[/autotag] will remain with the Irish after interviewing in recent days with the Baltimore Ravens.

Stuckey has only been at Notre Dame one season but has already made a significant impact regarding the future of the Fighting Irish.  He has helped in developing a thin wide receiver room and has been vital in Notre Dame’s recruiting efforts – specifically in bettering the wide receiver position and the team’s footprint in the state of Texas.

Stuckey played his college football at Clemson before spending time in the NFL.  He got into coaching as a graduate assistant under [autotag]Dabo Swinney[/autotag] before coaching the Baylor wide receivers in 2021.  Although it doesn’t mean Stuckey will be at Notre Dame long term as other NFL or college teams will likely continue to take looks, it certainly helps the immediate outlook to have an on-the-rise assistant like him around.

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A Big Ten transfer for Notre Dame to kick tires on

Are you on board?

Notre Dame’s lack of depth at wide receiver is well documented.  All even the least informed fan had to do understand this was to watch the [autotag]Fiesta Bowl[/autotag] when just three scholarship receivers were targeted while quarterback Jack Coan threw 68 passes.

One of those three is gone to the NFL as [autotag]Kevin Austin[/autotag], Jr. had 105 receiving yards that game and led Notre Dame in receiving yardage for the year.  Former walk-on returner [autotag]Matt Salerno[/autotag] received a scholarship this off-season but Notre Dame’s outlook at receiver still lacks any sort of depth whatsoever.

It just so happens a graduate student who received all Big Ten honors a year ago entered the transfer portal on Wednesday, and that player is from just outside Chicago.

[autotag]Charlie Jones[/autotag] began his collegiate career at Buffalo where he hauled in 18 receptions for 395 yards (21.9 ypr) and three touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2018.  He then transferred to Iowa where he played the last two seasons, hauling in 21 receptions for 323 yards (15.4 ypr) and three more scores last season.

Jones was also Iowa’s primary returner on both punts (7.7 ypr) and kickoffs (25.4 ypr) last season and was named the Big Ten’s Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year.

Jones attended Deerfield High School in Illinois, located just north of Chicago.

One would assume that [autotag]Chasni Stuckey[/autotag], [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag], and the rest of the Notre Dame staff are already reaching out to try and patchwork some of the receiver issues ahead of the 2022 season.

To my understanding this Charlie Jones is in no way related to the Charlie Jones whose golden pipes played at least a small part in me becoming a Notre Dame fan at a young age.

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Notre Dame one of eight finalists for key 2023 wide receiver

Aside from Dante Moore, what 2023 prospect does Notre Dame most badly need to land?

Notre Dame is in the running for another top receiver in the 2023 recruiting class and as of Mother’s Day, the Irish and a few other finalists now know when that prospect will announce his college decision.

[autotag]Rodney Gallagher[/autotag], will be making his college commitment on the Fourth of July this year, a day that Notre Dame fans hope turns into a good one for the Irish.

Wide receivers coach [autotag]Chasni Stuckey[/autotag] is in the middle of trying to reload the Notre Dame wide receivers group after a 2022 class that saw just one commitment and 2021 class having just one commitment remaining.  Notre Dame’s lack of depth at receiver was evident in the Fiesta Bowl and Gallagher would go a long way in helping the future of the position.

Gallagher played quarterback during his junior year at Laurel Highlands in Uniontown, Penn. but is being recruited as a wide receiver.  He’s ranked as a top-100 player overall in the class by 247Sports and the second overall player from Pennsylvania.

Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, Texas, Virginia Tech, West Virginia,

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Notre Dame a finalist for another standout Texas wide receiver

Something something, horns down, something something.

The [autotag]Chasni Stuckey[/autotag] hire is already paying off for Notre Dame as the new wide receivers coach landed a commitment from Texas product [autotag]Braylon James[/autotag] a short time ago and is now in hot pursuit of another top Lone Star State target.

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[autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag], a four-star recruit who recently visited Notre Dame, released his top four schools on Sunday and the Irish made the cut.  Joining Notre Dame as finalists for the 6-2, 220-pound Greathouse are Texas, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

More good news for Notre Dame is that the Irish were pegged as his choice in a pair of crystal ball predictions earlier in the week.

Greathouse has put up just silly numbers in his three years at Westlake High School in Austin as he’s pulled down 182 receptions for 3,134 yards and 40 touchdowns in 46 games, including 20 in 16 games last year as a junior.

No those aren’t mistypes.

Greathouse didn’t announce when he’ll make his final decision but to put some context to what Stuckney is already impacting, Greathouse would be just the eighth wide receiver from Texas to commit to Notre Dame since 2000, but the second in the 2023 recruiting class.

Related – Texas one of 10 Power Five teams to not have a 2022 NFL draft pick

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Four-star wide receiver set to announce college decision

Would this get the offensive ball rolling in the 2023 recruiting class?

Will Notre Dame officially land the first wide receiver in their 2023 recruiting class this week?

The Fighting Irish are not only a finalist but are seen as the favorites to land a commitment from four-star wide receiver [autotag]Braylon James[/autotag] of Round Rock, Texas.  The 6-2, 175-pounder was a Texas 26-6A first-team all-district selection last year as a junior.

James named Notre Dame in his top-nine back in early March before making a visit to campus a couple of weeks later.  Based off several reports that visit went well and it would appear to be the leader, but as we’re all well aware, these things can change without any seeming rhyme or reason.

If he does choose Notre Dame he’d be the first commitment at the position since the hiring of [autotag]Chasni Stuckey[/autotag] as wide receivers coach this off-season.

James has over 40 scholarship offers to his name and is ranked among the top receivers in the country in the 2023 class as he ranks in the top-100 overall players by both Rivals and ESPN while being 124th on 247Sports.

James tweeted the following late Sunday night:

It seems like he may have jumped the gun just a hair in posting that as the expectation is that he’ll announce his decision on Tuesday.  Stay tuned as the [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag]’s recruiting class may be growing in the near future.

Related:

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Notre Dame officially names Stuckey as wide receivers coach

Are you a fan of the hire?

Notre Dame made the news to Chasni Stuckey being the next wide receivers coach official on Monday.  The following release is courtesy of Notre Dame athletics:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman has selected Chansi Stuckey, a heralded developer of players both on and off the field, to join his Fighting Irish staff as the wide receivers coach.

“Chansi brings a diverse skill set to our staff,” said Freeman. “He has NFL playing experience, and also has the ability to connect with our players and push them to develop their craft. I believe with him leading the way, we can build the best receiver room in the country.”

Stuckey joins Notre Dame after spending last season at Baylor as the wide receivers coach. In his lone season in Waco, Stuckey mentored Tyquan Thorton to career highs in receptions (62), receiving yards (942) and touchdowns (10) en route to second team All-Big 12 honors by the coaches and Associated Press. The 10 receiving touchdowns were the most by a Baylor receiver since Denzel Mims had 12 in the 2019 season. Fellow wide receiver RJ Sneed also set career highs in receptions (42) and receiving yards (573) under Stuckey’s tutelage. Following the season, Sneed earned All-Big 12 honorable mention by the coaches.

Prior to Baylor, Stuckey spent two years at his alma mater, Clemson, in a player development role in 2020 and graduate assistant in 2019. The Tigers won the ACC and reached the College Football Playoff in both seasons and advanced to the title game in 2019.

Stuckey was a seventh round draft pick out of Clemson in the 2007 NFL Draft when he was selected No. 235 overall by the New York Jets. He played four seasons in the league with the Jets, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals. During the 2011 season with the Cardinals, Stuckey’s wide receiver’s coach was John McNulty. He finished his professional career with 106 receptions for 1,062 yards and five touchdowns.

During his college days at Clemson, he was a quarterback in his freshman season before moving to wide receiver. In his three years as a wide out, he amassed 139 receptions 1,750 yards and seven receiving touchdowns. In his junior season, he led the ACC with 64 receptions and was third in the league in receiving yards with 770. In his final season with the Tigers, he was third in the league in receptions (50) and second in receiving yards (700).

A native of Warner Robins, Georgia, Stuckey graduated from Clemson with a degree in management. He and his wife, Summer, have a son, Aiden.

Related: Notre Dame coaching staff tracker

Notre Dame set to name five-year NFL veteran wide receivers coach

What do you think of this hire?

Notre Dame’s search for a new wide receivers coach went to many locations including a few midwest programs as Marcus Freeman originally tried to snag star recruiter Brian Hartline from Ohio State.  Hartline instead is now the Buckeyes passing game coordinator and will take on Freeman and the Irish to start 2022.

JaMarcus Shepard of Purdue and Holmon Wiggins of Alabama both also interviewed for the job but at the end of the day it wound up going to five-year NFL veteran and Baylor wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey.

Stuckey played his college football at Clemson where he was both a quarterback and wide receiver before being drafted by the New York Jets in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft.  He played five seasons in the NFL for the Jets, Browns, and Cardinals before spending time in the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts.

Stuckey is a big swing by Freeman and Notre Dame.  Clearly, Freeman and Tommy Rees saw and heard things they liked from him as he has a very short coaching resume as he got started as a graduate assistant at Clemson in 2019 before getting promoted to an offensive player development role in 2020.  He was hired as receivers coach at Baylor in January of 2021.

There are names out there that certainly have accomplished more as wide receivers coaches in the college ranks that Freeman seemingly could have hired.  Ultimately who will do the most with the position at Notre Dame, not what have they done previously?

I’d be lying if I said I had a passionate opinion on the hiring but my guess is the Irish are getting a guy who sold his recruiting abilities extremely well after what Marcus Freeman said upon being introduced as the new head coach back in December.  I’m guessing him recently playing in the NFL will help on that front for a position Notre Dame has had various struggles with in recent years.

Related:

Notre Dame coaching staff tracker

An early look at Notre Dame’s 2022 schedule

Notre Dame 2022 transfer portal tracker