Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Vital Centerpiece Versatile Nick Martin has adapted to his new position D By Lou Somogyi ebating who is the most crucial graduation loss, or toughest player to replace, from Notre Dame's 2012 football team that advanced to the BCS National Championship Game might spark various opinions. Linebacker Manti Te'o? Tight end Tyler Eifert? The running back tandem of Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood? Safety Zeke Motta directing traffic in the secondary? Is quarterback Everett Golson's academic exile for 2013 the most devastating setback? There isn't a snap answer — but it also could be the man who does the snapping. The graduation of three-year starting center Braxston Cave leaves a void in the middle of the trenches where football games are defined. Cave's backup, Mike Golic Jr. (the starting right guard in 2012), also has graduated, and the man groomed to step into the starting role in 2013, junior Matt Hegarty, suffered a ministroke last Nov. 8 that required December surgery to patch up his heart. Hegarty gradually assimilated back into action this spring, while junior classmate Nick Martin held the No. 1 spot all 15 practices. Mr. Versatility Maybe the most versatile member of the line the past few years, Martin worked at both guard and tackle his first two seasons while apprenticing in the shadow of his brother Zack, who has been Notre Dame's top offensive lineman three straight years and is a 2013 All-American candidate. When Hegarty had his health crisis last November that temporarily put his football career in limbo, Nick Martin began taking reps at center while learning how to snap the ball. "We struggled with that at the beginning, but we've been working through that," he said of his adjustment to center. "It's starting to get there and falling in place. I think it's probably my natural position — being in the middle, making the calls." As the center, Martin has the added responsibility of making line calls for his cohorts while they get set at the line of scrimmage. Having already