Notre Dame adds WR recruit Equanimeous St. Brown
Never mind Equanimeous St. Brown’s football talent. He showed off his trilingual ability on national television.
English, German and French were all featured in St. Brown’s announcement of his Notre Dame commitment on ESPNU. It added a twist to predictable Wednesday afternoon decision.
“I will be pursuing an academic and athletic career at Notre Dame,” St. Brown said after flashing his knowledge of all three languages.
The suspense with wide receiver recruiting essentially ended in December for Notre Dame. When the Irish stopped recruiting four-star wide receiver Lawrence Cager shortly before a planned official visit, it became clear that St. Brown would be their man.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound prospect made it official on Wednesday by signing a National Letter of Intent with Notre Dame. Safeties coach Bob Elliott helped bring head coach Brian Kelly another weapon for his offense.
“Notre Dame showed a lot of attention to me and showed that they really wanted me,” St. Brown said on ESPNU. “Coach Bob Elliott came to the house many times. I really like coach Kelly. He’s been on me hard. I felt that Notre Dame will help me pursue my dreams.”
St. Brown picked a Notre Dame hat from a table topped with caps from Utah, UCLA, USC and Stanford. Now Kelly will have to pick what language to use when communicating with his new receiver.
“He committed on national television today and spoke to his mom in German and then thanked a lot of his friends in French,” Kelly said. “I'll have to figure out what language to talk to him in.”
Kelly will also have to figure out how St. Brown and the rest of the wide receivers in the 2015 class fit into his offense. The Irish also signed C.J. Sanders and Miles Boykin, both four-star prospects, and three-star recruit Jalen Guyton at the position.
“Now you have Miles Boykin and Equanimeous with great size and then a very dynamic player in C.J. Sanders and then Jalen Guyton, who is probably one of the most productive receivers at the highest level,” Kelly said. “A pretty talented wide receiver corps to add to what we already have."
St. Brown caught just 32 passes for 485 yards and four touchdowns in his senior season at Anaheim (Calif.) Servite. He emerged as a national recruit following a junior season with 42 catches for 725 yards and six touchdowns.
Rivals ranks St. Brown as a four-star recruit and the No. 15 wide receiver in the 2015 class. 247Sports slates him as the No. 51 wide receiver.
“He has great range,” Kelly said. “He's 6-5 so another very rangy wide receiver who can run. He can get in and out of his break. Another matchup guy that I think you're going to have problems with.”
St. Brown will likely add weight to his frame during his freshman season. Whether he can work his way into an increasingly crowded wide receiver rotation remains to be seen.
“There’s a good chance I could see the field early, but it’s going to take a lot of work,” St. Brown said on ESPNU. “I’m going to be given a fair chance like everyone else. I just have to go out there and prove myself.”
tjames@ndinsider.com | 574-235-6214 | Twitter: @TJamesNDI
