Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 SEPT. 26, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED IRISH IN THE PROS BY ANDREW MENTOCK P rior to week one of the 2020 NFL season, six former Notre Dame players were selected as captains for five different franchises. Per the Notre Dame football Twit- ter account, this has the Fighting Irish tied for second among all col- lege football programs. The captains are safety Harrison Smith and tight end Kyle Rudolph of the Minnesota Vikings, safety and special teams player Matthias Farley of the New York Jets, center Nick Martin of the Houston Texans, right tackle Mike McGlinchey of the San Francisco 49ers and linebacker Jaylon Smith of the Dallas Cowboys. Both Martin and McGlinchey were two-time captains at Notre Dame. It's also noteworthy that Farley, Martin and Jaylon Smith each wore a "C" on their jersey together for the 2015 Fighting Irish squad. Of the six players, only Rudolph wasn't a captain at Notre Dame, at least not for a full season. His third and final year at Notre Dame coin- cided with head coach Brian Kelly's first in 2010. That season, Kelly chose captains on a game-by-game basis. Notre Dame Among Top Schools For Producing NFL Captains Safety Harrison Smith (above) and tight end Kyle Rudolph were both named team captains by the Minnesota Vikings, giving the Fighting Irish a total of six for week one of the 2020 season. PHOTO COURTESY MINNESOTA VIKINGS NOTRE DAME IN THE NFL: Week One Highlights • Josh Adams (Played at Notre Dame from 2015-17), RB, New York Jets: Was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster the day before the Jets' 27-17 loss to the Buf- falo Bills … Played 13 offensive snaps and had two carries and two receptions for a total of 15 yards, plus a rushing touchdown. • Chase Claypool (2016-19), WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: Snagged two catches for 38 yards in his NFL debut, contributing to the Steelers' 26-16 win over the New York Giants on Mon- day Night Football … One of his catches was a spectacular grab on the sidelines that required a nifty toe-tap, and he also had one rushing at- tempt for eight yards … Per Pro Football Focus, he was the highest-graded (90.2) rookie in the NFL in week one. • Will Fuller V (2013-15), WR, Houston Tex- ans: Caught eight passes on 10 targets for 112 yards in the Texans' 34-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. • Jerry Tillery (2015-18), DL, Los Angeles Chargers: Kicked off the season with an im- pressive performance in the Chargers' 16-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, recording two tackles, one sack and two quarterback hits in a reserve role.