Equanimeous aNotre name to remember
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown committed to Notre Dame in three languages, speaking German to his German- born mom, French to friends from his French- language school and English to everyone else.
To NFL scouts examining him in the last month, he has had to talk football.
“The most common question I get is, ‘ Do I love football?’ ” he said Thursday after Notre Dame’s on- campus pro day. “It’s because I went to Notre Dame and speak languages.”
Is it strange that outside interests might work against him during the biggest job interviews of his life?
“It is,” he said. “But I understand their point of view, as well — they just want to know me as a person, and that’s one of the most frequent questions they have. I can see their point, why they ask that.”
His response when scouts ask if he likes football: He left ND a year early because it was his life’s goal to play professionally. If he didn’t love football, wouldn’t he have stayed?
“I just made that clear: that this has been my dream since I was a little kid, so I continue to followmy dream,” he said.
Where it takes him is another question. The 6- 5, 214- pounder could land somewhere during the second day of the draft. The Bears, who figure to draft a receiver after the first round, might be interested. St. Brown said they’ve reached out about a Halas Hall visit. Having already signed Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel in free agency, the Bears could select a receiver as part of their position rebuild.
St. Brown is more projectable than he was productive. He had only 33 catches for 515 yards and four touchdowns as a junior, a year after catching 58 passes for 961 yards and nine touchdowns. He had one reception as a freshman.
Equanimeous Tristan Imhotep J. St. Brown has made a name for himself, though, since the end of the Irish’s season. His NFL Scouting Combine testing helped his NFL cause — he ran a 4.48 40yard dash and bench- pressed 225 pounds 20 times, a number that would make his dad, John, a twotime Mr. Universe, proud. The two have been lifting together, and he said he has gotten even bigger and faster since his Indianapolis testing earlier this month.
On Thursday, he flashed his athleticism, catching passes from ex- Irish QB Malik Zaire in front of 58 representatives from all 32 NFL teams. Zaire, who transferred to Florida for 2017, didn’t have the best chemistry with his best receivers. St. Brown made a stellar sideline catch but dropped one, too.
“I feel like my route- running was good, crisp,” St. Brown said. “I feel like I put on a good show for the scouts.”