Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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healthy food at local markets. Fresh-squeezed strawberry juice replaced Kool-Aid. Home-cooked Haitian recipes loaded with fish, rice and beans replaced fast food burgers. Montelus promised his mother his grades would improve and he would earn a scholarship. If it meant a college education for her son, Fabre said the work was worth it. Montelus weighed 255 pounds his sophomore year and won the starting job at left tackle. Dibiaso said he didn't allow a sack all season in Everett's spread offense. He was 295 pounds as a junior and again didn't give up a sack on his way to a second state title. This summer, he'll show up on the Notre Dame campus well beyond 300 pounds as the largest member of an impres- OL John Montelus sive group of freshmen linemen. The scholarship offers started to trickle in shortly after his sophomore season, just like Milo said. They started to tour campuses and football camps in Milo's Jeep. They decided if Montelus was going to college it might as well be a good one, so studying became a bigger priority. He still never missed a day in the weight room. "I decided to push myself," Montelus said. "If it wasn't for Coach Milo, though, I wouldn't be here now. He's basically a dad to me." "I wouldn't do it if he weren't such a good kid," Milo said. "He's a special kid. He appreciates everything you do for him. Even the hard work that we give him, he appreciates that." More hard work awaits Montelus, who now has to carve out a spot on a bolstered depth chart for the Notre Dame offensive line. He's one of five incoming freshmen that make up the core of this recruiting class and one of the better offensive line hauls in recent program history. Montelus will likely shift inside to an offensive guard or center position for the Irish. He'll spend another year in the weight room before he gets a shot to see the field. Playing time and a future football career are a low priority for Fabre. The sport got Montelus where he is today, but it no longer has to be his path to a better future. "We came here because I have a dream. I have a goal," she said. "I want John to finish his college degree in his four years or five years so he can be somebody. … I know he's going to do it." ✦ 6-5 ✦ 320 pounds ✦ Everett H.S. ✦ Everett, Mass. Notable: Born on Sept. 8, 1995 … Bench presses 375 pounds, squats 500 pounds five times and power cleans 260 pounds … Ran the 40-yard dash in 5.2 seconds … Undecided on a college major, but is considering engineering and marketing … Helped Everett High School to three consecutive Massachusetts Super Bowls as a three-year starter at tackle. Rankings: Rated as a four-star recruit, the No. 2 player in Massachusetts and the No. 12 offensive guard prospect in the nation by 247Sports … Ranked as a four-star recruit, the No. 4 offensive guard in