Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1170354
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 30, 2019 17 As for preseason accolades, he was tabbed as a first-team All-American by Street & Smith's, and was a second- team selection by both Sporting News and the Associated Press — honors generally not reserved for a player benched for two of the last six games his team played. "If you start listening to that stuff, paying attention [to the hype], then you'll go out there and play badly," Kraemer said. "So, I haven't thought of that at all." Instead, he has once again turned to the standards that were passed on from previous Irish offensive linemen. Now that he is in better shape, he is looking to carry on the torch of a technically sound mauler at offensive guard and has been studying Nel- son's play as a Pro Bowl left guard for the Indianapolis Colts. "Have you guys been on Twitter and seen the play of Q against the Chargers? I mean, you just flip on his tape any day and you can just get so much better watching 15 minutes," he said. "I think that's one thing I've really just tried to do is watch him, because he's the best of the best." Early in the season, Kraemer has shown signs of being the more agile and aggressive player he wants to be. Against Louisville, when the game was still tied 14-14, Kraemer quickly pulled from the right guard position off the left edge and picked up a line- backer and pancaked him almost 10 yards down the field. This gave sophomore running back Jahmir Smith plenty of space to pick up a big run in a game that, at that time, was still close. "He's definitely more in shape," senior running back Tony Jones Jr. said. "He can pull better and it shows in his game." Now, what Kraemer needs to do is find a level of consistency. Blue and Gold Illustrated's Bryan Driskell noted after the New Mexico game that Kraemer had reverted back to some bad habits. He wasn't getting off the line quickly and was catching Lobos defensive linemen instead of driving them back. Kraemer is far from a finished col- lege-level product and still has an additional year of eligibility. Because he generally ignores any puffery, he won't feel the need to leave early just because some 2020 mock draft or preseason award list tells him he's ready. That means Kraemer likely won't need to prove himself to NFL scouts and general managers until the 2021 combine. For now, he can just focus on getting better and showing his coaches that he can do all they ask of him day in and day out. ✦ "If you start listening to that stuff, paying attention [to the hype], then you'll go out there and play badly. So, I haven't thought of that at all." KRAEMER