SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame submitted paperwork to the NFL Draft advisory board for junior wide receiver Will Fuller, junior linebacker Jaylon Smith, redshirt junior left tackle Ronnie Stanley, redshirt junior running back C.J. Prosise and senior cornerback KeiVarae Russell.
All five players have one year of eligibility remaining at Notre Dame and will receiver either a first round, second round or stay in school grade from the advisory board.
Coach Brian Kelly said he’s talked with Fuller, Russell and Stanley about their impending stay-or-go decisions.
[MORE: Notre Dame will face Ohio State in Fiesta Bowl]
Stanley, as has been the case since he decided to remain at Notre Dame in January, is expected to declare for the draft and be a first-round pick. Russell has appeared likely to turn pro, though it remains to be seen if the fractured leg he suffered against Boston College — he won’t play in the Fiesta Bowl — will alter his decision process.
Fuller, citing a desire to graduate, told reporters last month he’ll definitely stay at Notre Dame for his senior season, though Kelly hasn’t treated that declaration as one set in stone. Quarterback DeShone Kizer said Sunday he hasn’t talked to Fuller about whether he’ll stick to his plan to return, but hopes Notre Dame’s explosive, 1,000-yard receiver does.
[NBC SHOP: Get your Notre Dame gear]
“At this point, he’s in a position where we know he’s one of the better players in the country,” Kizer said. “Him and I have a really good relationship and I haven’t really got into it with him. There’s so much going on with this bowl game and the great season we put together so far that we’re more focused up on how we’re going to be able to throw five touchdowns in the game than the three that he sometimes can pull off.
“It’s going to be really fun for us to step out on the field and I truly hope that it’s not the last time I play with Will Fuller, but we’ll see what happens at the end of the season.”
Smith is widely expected to be a first-round pick if he does declare for the NFL Draft while Prosise is rated by Rotoworld’s Josh Norris as 2016’s seventh-best draft-eligible running back.
“I hope they all come back,” Kelly said. “I don't know if that's going to be the case, but we'll see.”