Irish defensive lineman Sheldon Day will return for his senior season after considering forgoing it for the upcoming NFL Draft, Notre Dame announced Saturday.
The lone junior captain for the 2014 Notre Dame team, Day started 10 games before spraining his MCL during the Nov. 15 loss to Northwestern. He returned for the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 against LSU, in which he recovered a Tigers fumble and collected two tackles.
Day picked up 40 tackles, one sack, nine quarterback hits and two recovered fumbles in his 11 games during the entire 2014 campaign, helping him earn the team’s Moose Krause Lineman of the Year award.
“I believe we’ve got an opportunity to have a special season in 2015, and I wanted to be a part of that success,” Day said in a press release. “I was blessed to play in the national championship game as a freshman in 2012, and I want to do everything in my power to reach that stage again with my guys.”
Day enrolled early in the University in January 2012, along with former Irish quarterback Gunner Kiel. The defensive lineman, majoring in information technology management, is on track to graduate from the Mendoza College of Business in May 2015, according to the release.
The Indianapolis native was one of four Irish players to request an evaluation from the NFL Draft Advisory Board and consider leaving the University early, along with senior quarterback Everett Golson, senior offensive lineman Nick Martin and junior offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley.
Martin had previously said he would return for the 2015 season. Stanley has not yet announced what their future with Notre Dame will be.
