Listed Measurements: 6-foot-2, 235 pounds
2017-18 year, eligibility: Sophomore with four years of eligibility remaining including 2017
Depth chart: Not only is Shannon the starting long snapper, he is the only one on the Irish roster.
Recruiting: Rivals.com rated Shannon a two-star recruit, yet he was a U.S. Army All-American. Thus are the oddities of long snapper recruiting. Among recruiting services who ranked long snappers by position, Shannon was considered the top in the country. He weighed offers from West Virginia and West Point, but chose to follow his in the footsteps of his grandfather, a four-year starter for Notre Dame.
CAREER TO DATE
Shannon preserved a year of eligibility last season while Scott Daly used up his as a four-year starter at long snapper.
QUOTE(S)
It is a long snapper’s goal to go without ever being mentioned in a press conference. Rare does such come with positive remarks, yet that is exactly what Irish coach Brian Kelly offered days before the Blue-Gold Game.
“A guy that has made really significant progress — and you guys don’t care as much about [it] but it keeps me up — is John Shannon,” Kelly said. “We’re asking him to do a lot more than we did last year, and he’s made significant progress.”
WHAT KEITH ARNOLD PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“Unless Scott Daly’s injured, Shannon is redshirting. Saving that year of eligibility sets the Irish up perfectly for four seasons of Shannon after Daly came through the program perfectly as well, replacing scholarship snapper Jordan Cowart. It also allows Shannon more time to recover from a torn labrum, an injury he had repaired in January after playing in the Army Bowl.
“With all the pedigree you want at the position, Shannon will be at his best when he’s not heard from. That’s easier said than done for long snappers.”
2017 OUTLOOK
Let’s keep this simple: Now healthy and at the top of a depth chart of one, Shannon could have a heavy workload this fall if the Notre Dame offense scores at the rates offensive coordinator Chip Long certainly envisions. Then again, if it doesn’t, that simply means Shannon is firing more often to senior punter Tyler Newsome rather than junior kicker Justin Yoon.
DOWN THE ROAD
Shannon should be a four-year starter, just like his grandfather, as well as Daly. Look for the Irish to pursue another long snapper recruit in either the class of 2020 or the class of 2021. Some may wish the position would be manned by a walk-on, but as Kelly indicated, the long snapper’s duties are a cause of concern for coaches, and spending a scholarship to avoid that headache is of a value not to be dismissed.
2017’s Notre Dame 99-to-2
Friday at 4: Goodbye A-to-Z, hello 99-to-2 (May 12)
No. 99: Jerry Tillery, defensive tackle
No. 98: Andrew Trumbetti, defensive end
No. 97: Micah Dew-Treadway, defensive tackle
No. 96: Pete Mokwuah, defensive tackle
No. 95 (theoretically): Darnell Ewell, defensive tackle
No. 94 (theoretically): Kurt Hinish, defensive tackle
No. 93: Jay Hayes, defensive end
No. 92 (theoretically): Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, defensive tackle
No. 91: Ade Ogundeji, defensive end
No. 90 (theoretically): Cole Kmet, tight end
No. 89: Brock Wright, tight end
No. 88: Javon McKinley, receiver
No. 87 (theoretically): Jafar Armstrong, receiver
No. 86: Alizé Mack, tight end
No. 85: Tyler Newsome, punter
No. 84 (theoretically): Michael Young, receiver
No. 83: Chase Claypool, receiver
No. 82: Nic Weishar, tight end
No. 81: Miles Boykin, receiver
No. 80: Durham Smythe, tight end
No. 78: Tommy Kraemer, right tackle
No. 77: Brandon Tiassum, defensive tackle
No. 75: Daniel Cage, defensive tackle
No. 74: Liam Eichenberg, right tackle
No. 73: (theoretically) Josh Lugg, offensive tackle
No. 72: Robert Hainsey, offensive tackle
No. 71: Alex Bars, offensive lineman
No. 70: Hunter Bivin, offensive lineman
No. 69: Aaron Banks, offensive lineman
No. 68: Mike McGlinchey, left tackle
No. 67: Jimmy Byrne, offensive lineman
No. 65: (theoretically) Dillan Gibbons, offensive lineman
No. 58: Elijah Taylor, defensive tackle
No. 57: Trevor Ruhland, offensive lineman
No. 56: Quenton Nelson, left guard
No. 55: Jonathan Bonner, defensive lineman
TRANSFERS
No. 66: Tristen Hoge, offensive lineman, transfers to BYU
No. 50: Parker Boudreaux, offensive lineman
No. 30: Josh Barajas, linebacker, to transfer to Illinois State
INJURIES
No. 13: Tyler Luatua, tight end, career ended by medical hardship