College Football: Top 50 players for 2017

There’s no question that Equanimeous St. Brown is a member of the all-name team. He’s also one of the best wideouts in the nation. Brown was one of the lone bright spots on a Notre Dame team that woefully whimpered to a 4-8 finish. Sophomore running back Josh Adams was the only member of the Irish offense to gain more yards from scrimmage than St. Brown. He outpaced the receiver 1,126 yards to 961 yards. Adams had 179 touches. St. Brown had 58.

After those two, the Irish offense was not very good. In those situations you rely on the guys that have proven they can produce. The 2017 team should be a bit more experienced, but they’ll have to replace their quarterback Malik Zaire. Who will take the first snap for Notre Dame next season? That’s almost impossible to forecast. The uncertainty only raises the ceiling for St. Brown in 2017.

Must Read: Notre Dame's projected 2017 2-deep depth chart

The Irish return three of their top four receivers, but the unit will only go as far as St. Brown can take them. He was targeted at a slightly higher rate than Torii Hunter Jr. (89 targets compared to 62), but didn’t secure a disproportionate amount of catches. He’ll see both of those numbers climb in 2017 and will easily exceed the 1,000 yard receiving mark.

Tom Gatewood set he school record for receiving yards in a single season with 1,123 in 1970. It’s in real danger of being shattered if St. Brown is able to play up to the level he’s capable of in 2017.