Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1007651
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2018 7 UNDER THE DOME comes in and he's the best quarter- back and forces us to start him," Kelly said with a smile. O-LINE HAS MAIN FIFTH-YEAR CANDIDATES Offensive line is the prime excep- tion in redshirting because of the time it takes to develop strength and proper technique. Although there are always outli- ers such as a Quenton Nelson, who opted to become the first offensive lineman taken in this year 's NFL Draft rather than return for a fifth year, or a Ronnie Stanley in 2016, even first-rounders such as Zack Martin and Mike McGlinchey came back for a fifth season, just like center Sam Mustipher and left guard Alex Bars did this season as captains. In the 10 most recent football sea- sons (2008-17), 35 offensive line re- cruits have enrolled at Notre Dame and 32 were redshirted as freshmen (91.4 percent). The three exceptions were guards Trevor Robinson in 2008 and Steve Elmer in 2013, and right tackle Robert Hainsey last year. Hainsey was a co-starter with sopho- more Tommy Kraemer, who was red- shirted in 2016. Perhaps not coincidentally, Rob- inson, Elmer and Hainsey all en- rolled early in January, providing them some groundwork. Sophomore Aaron Banks is the only other offen- sive lineman to enroll early at Notre Dame since that practice began in 2006. This year, none of the four offen- sive line recruits — John Dirksen, Luke Jones, Cole Mabry and Jarrett Patterson — enrolled early, mean- ing that preserving a fifth season of eligibility is more likely for them, especially with the two-deep pretty well set at the end of spring. Still, the option to play in one to four games this year is there without the penalty of eliminating the fifth season of eligibility in the future. Otherwise, Kelly said that with skill players especially, preserving a fifth year might not be as practical. "I came to that conclusion a few years ago, in that if they're ready to play, play them as freshmen in some capacity — even if its four games, five games," he said. "If they can contribute that first year, they're go- ing to be good enough to move on after four. "They get their degree here in un- der four anyway. If we feel like they can compete at that level, they're go- ing to play as freshmen." ✦ The NCAA's new redshirting rule will allow Notre Dame to give freshman quarterback Phil Jurkovec some game experience without costing him a year of eligibility. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN