Notre Dame Football: Top 5 MVP candidates for Fighting Irish

Sep 19, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Sheldon Day (91) celebrates a defensive play in the fourth quarter against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

Sheldon Day’s numbers don’t jump off the page at you, as the senior only had four sacks and 29 tackles on the year. But Day does so many things that don’t get accounted for.

He does a great job of getting off blocks and making plays in the run game. While he may not get a ton of sacks, he gets constant pressure on the quarterback.

He is also the leader of the defensive line. Day has taken freshman defensive tackle Jerry Tillery under his wing as Tillery has been able to learn under one of the best defensive linemen in country. If Tillery goes on to be the stud many think he’s going to be, some of that can be credited to Day.

Day was one of the few bright spots on a defense that underperformed all year long. He’ll definitely be hard to replace. Day should be one of the top defensive linemen taken in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Next: 4. C.J. Prosise