Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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18 SEPT. 26, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE F orgive Irish senior Robert Hain- sey for feeling a bit selfish in the days leading up to the season opener against Duke Sept. 12. Notre Dame's starting right tackle as a junior in 2019, Hainsey had his ankle rolled on during the Virginia Tech game, broke it and missed the final five games after undergoing surgery. Couple his ab- b r e v i a t e d 2 0 1 9 c a m p a i g n w i t h t h e u n c e r t a i n t y through this spring and summer of whether there would even be a 2020 football season, and Hainsey's self-gratification of simply running out of the tunnel and onto the field was understandable after won- dering for 10 months if he had already taken his last snap at Notre Dame. "I don't care if there's no fans or if it's like a scrimmage," said Hainsey, who became a two-time Irish captain i n 2 0 2 0 . " T h e fact that we get to play football is such a blessing this year." G i v e n t h e p h y s i c a l a n d t e c h n i c a l d e - velopments re- quired to play his position in college, seldom is any offensive lineman at Notre Dame, or any- where else, ready to play on day one as a freshman. Even former Irish standouts Quen- ton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey required a redshirt season before eventually becoming All-Americans and top-10 NFL Draft picks. Hainsey broke the developmental mold. He rotated with Tommy Kraemer at right tackle as a freshman in 2017, becoming a critical member of an of- fensive line that earned the coveted Joe Moore Award as the nation's best front-line unit. Hainsey took over as the starting right tackle in 2018 and hasn't looked back. By his junior year in 2019, Hainsey had already showed enough reliability and leadership qualities to be named a captain — another rare feat for a junior lineman. Even with the missed time last sea- son, Hainsey still entered 2020 with more than 1,800 career snaps at right tackle. He logged 423 snaps last season, did not allow a sack in 252 pass plays, and permitted only two QB hits and six QB hurries. "He has been an integral piece to their line for the past three years," Pro Football Focus analyst Anthony Treash noted this preseason, "and has been a wall in pass protection over the last two, particularly." A TOUGH SELL Hainsey's road from roughneck son of a veteran Pittsburgh cop to a 2020 All-America candidate at Notre Dame wasn't necessarily a straight one. In fact, it took him nearly 1,100 miles out of his way. Going against the wishes of his fa- ther Ron Hainsey, a brash and confi- dent Robert was selling a relocation plan that his father wasn't buying. IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., is a launching pad for premier high school athletes to realize elite college opportunities and, oftentimes, pro- fessional careers. Robert was readying for his junior year in the summer of 2015 at Gate- way High School in Monroeville, Pa., just outside of Pittsburgh, when the opportunity to attend IMG surfaced. Robert explained to his father that Gateway High School didn't pro- vide him the level of competition he needed to grow as a player and a person, and moving into an exclu- sive athletics boarding school about 20 hours from home for his last two years of high school was the best course for his present and future. "The difference between sticking at Gateway or learning at IMG was going to be huge," Hainsey recalled. "I wanted to play early and start in college, become an All-American and eventually try to make it to the NFL." Like most protective parents would, the elder Hainsey thought this was all happen- ing too fast and too soon for his son. "You're only like 15 years old and you're going to go to school across the country?" Ron Hain- sey explained last year to Blue & Gold Illustrated. "How can I watch you play? Are you going to be safe? I couldn't support that decision at the time." Robert went low with his counter- argument, pulling the guilt card on his father. "I will be mad at you someday about this," Rob- ert recalled say- ing. "If I'm as good as people t e l l m e , t h e n I n e e d t o b e s o m e w h e re t o play against the best." Ron conceded, and "a couple o f d a y s l a t e r, I'm driving 18 hours to Florida a n d d ro p p i n g him off," he said. "And we never looked back." STEADINESS THE RULE Much has happened and changed since Hainsey left IMG and chose Notre Dame over Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, hometown Pitt and so many others. But one aspect hasn't — an un- yielding work ethic that made Hain- sey one of the best Irish offensive lineman in the last decade and a leadership model for his teammates. "[Hainsey] is one of the most detailed people I have ever been around," fifth-year senior left tackle Liam Eichenberg explained. "He is one of the people that pushed me to be great, pushed me to improve every single day. It's just great hav- ing the opportunity to be teammates "I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE EXCITED TO PRACTICE. MAYBE THAT'S BECAUSE I GOT SOME FOOTBALL TAKEN AWAY FROM ME LAST YEAR. I THINK ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY NOW." HAINSEY CHERISHING THIS MOMENT A year after having his season cut short by injury, Robert Hainsey is enjoying every minute of his senior campaign