Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2019 9 UNDER THE DOME two-platoon football began in 1964. Second is linebacker for six straight years from 2004-09. Furthermore, Hainsey is the first offensive lineman at Notre Dame since Pat Filley in 1943 to be selected as a captain in his junior season aca- demically. Ryan Leahy (1994-95), the Martin brothers (Zack and Nick) and McGlinchey were both two-time se- lections, but they were as seniors and graduate students, not in their actual junior year. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT • This is the first time since 2001 Notre Dame has had both starting defensive ends named captains. That unit from 18 years ago featured second-round pick Anthony Weaver and Grant Irons, who played five years in the NFL. The 1977 national champs also had two defensive end captains in first-round pick Ross Browner and second-round choice Willie Fry, who helped propel that national title march 42 years ago. Both Kareem and Okwara have seen their names mentioned as potential first- or second-round material in 2020 NFL mock drafts. • Elliott and Gilman are the first starting safety tandem to both be named captains in the same season at Notre Dame. They combined for 162 tackles, 12 passes broken up, six in- terceptions and four forced fumbles last year. Gilman earned Pro Football Fo- cus first team All-America honors for how he graded out, while Lindy's Sports has honored Elliott as one of the five best senior strong safeties in the country. The 2018 defensive snap totals of Elliott (934, or 72 per game) and Gil- man (923) led the defense, and that's not even including their work on special teams, which easily put them over 1,000 snaps apiece. • Gilman also is the first transfer from another school (Naval Acad- emy) to be named a captain for the Notre Dame football teams since lineman George Connor in 1947, who also was the first recipient of the Out- land Trophy in 1946. Connor starred at Holy Cross in 1942-43, earning second-team AP All- America honors, before joining the Navy in World War II. After the war, the Chicago native opted to use his remaining two years of eligibility at Notre Dame, and won national titles both times. Notre Dame first named a school record seven captains in 2017. They included offensive linemen Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson, linebackers Nyles Morgan and Greer Martini, rover Drue Tranquill and walk-on Austin Webster, with running back Josh Adams added in August. Last year, the number was four with Tranquill, Mustipher, Bars and punter Tyler Newsome. ✦ Ian Book Ends QB Dry Spell Although quarterback is considered an intrinsic leadership position, senior Ian Book is only the 11th quarterback to be named a captain at Notre Dame since 1942, when the program switched to the T-formation that defines the "modern" quarterback position. It's became a little more popular to name a quarterback to the role the past 30 years: Chronologically, since 1942 they are: Frank Dancewicz (1945) — Under interim coach Hugh Devore, the future No. 1 overall pick in the NFL helped the Irish to a No. 9 finish with a 7-2-1 mark. Tom Clements (1974) — In the last of head coach Ara Parseghian's 11 sea- sons at Notre Dame, the senior co-captain broke the 29-year drought at the position after helping the Irish win the national title a year earlier. Joe Montana (1978) — He began his senior year in 1977 as third team, but after leading a dramatic comeback win in game three to propel a national title, he returned for a fifth season as a tri-captain. Notre Dame finished 9-3 and No. 7 in the Associated Press poll versus the nation's No. 1 schedule. Blair Kiel (1983) — Fourth-year starter faced an awkward situation after a 1-2 start in which he was benched in favor of freshman Steve Beuerlein. Kiel did start and performed well in the Liberty Bowl win versus Boston College (19-18). Tony Rice (1989) — Like Clements and Montana, he too became a captain (one of three that season) after guiding a national title the year prior. Rice almost did it again, extending the school-record winning streak to 23 games before the 12-1 Irish finished No. 2. Rick Mirer (1992) — Co-captain as a senior saw Notre Dame finish 10-1-1 and No. 4, and he became the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Ron Powlus (1996-97) — The first two-time captain at quarterback, he also did it with two different head coaches, Lou Holtz (1996) and Bob Davie (1997), going 8-3 and 7-6, respectively. Jarious Jackson (1999) — The third different quarterback captain in the 1990s, he broke Joe Theismann's single-season passing mark at the school set 29 years earlier, but the team stumbled to a 5-7 finish. Brady Quinn (2005-06) — Record-setting figure joined Powlus as the lone two-time captains at the position, steering a 19-6 mark during that time and finishing in the top five of the Heisman balloting each year. Jimmy Clausen (2009) — Selected as a junior, Clausen set the single- season pass efficiency mark at Notre Dame that had been held for 60 years before turning pro after the 6-6 campaign that saw head coach Charlie Weis ousted. Note: Former starting quarterbacks Arnaz Battle and Carlyle Holiday were elected captains in 2002 and 2004, respectively, but that was after shifting to wide receiver, where they would also play in the NFL. — Lou Somogyi Book is only the 11th quarterback to be named a captain at Notre Dame since 1942, and the first since Jimmy Clausen in 2009. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER