Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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96 MARCH 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE T wo Super Bowl appearances in two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs; two years remaining on a three-year, $19 million contract; married to his high school sweetheart, Jackie, with three young children, Drue Tranquill appears to have life's course all figured out. And maybe he does. But that wasn't always the case for the sixth-year NFL linebacker who's often been called "the perfect person." Initially, Tranquill was a promising professional baseball prospect while at Carroll High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., then a committed Purdue football re- cruit, and then, a last-minute Fighting Irish recruiting target. With so many paths to choose from out of high school, Tranquill spent many of his early col- lege days at Notre Dame fretting over whether he had followed the right one. Raised in a tight-knit and spiri- tual family, Tranquill missed his four younger siblings back home. The rigors of his mechanical engineering major were overwhelming, and just the new- ness of the whole situation was hard to handle. So for guidance, Tranquill, now 29, revisited a written vow he made to his Lord when he was only 12 years old. "Lord, you know the plans you have for me. If you give me the platform to reach people, I promise I'll give it back to you in full," Tranquill shared. Those words have become a common motivational and inspirational message for Tranquill, who suffered two ACL in- juries at Notre Dame, and a devastating ankle injury while with the Chargers in 2020, any of which could've forced him out of football. Instead, he forged ahead. "If I'd just been sulking and [saying], 'Why me?,' that just elongates the heal- ing process," said Tranquill, a two-time Irish team captain, of his initial reaction to the multiple injuries. "That doesn't give my body the best response to heal- ing. It doesn't give myself the best edge to move forward." The Chiefs fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, 40-22, in Super Bowl LIX Feb. 9, but Tranquill — now fully healthy, con- fident and comfortable in his own skin — made 11 tackles, including a sack, while performing on the grand stage and making good on that written promise. "Fall back to the truth, fall back to what you know about yourself, learn to laugh at yourself," said Tranquill, who won the 2018 Danny Wuerffel Trophy, for his notable work in the community, classroom and on the football field. "If you make a mistake, learn from it. It's failure, everybody goes through it." ✦ FIGHTING IRISH HEADLINERS Nikola Djogo (Played at Notre Dame from 2016-21), PF, Basic-Fit Brussels (Belgium), BNXT League Carving a nice niche as a reliable player overseas, the versatile 6-foot-8 forward has played his best basketball of late, averaging 12.1 points and 5.7 rebounds over a seven-game stretch through Jan. 17. A shooting guard at Notre Dame, the Ontario, Canada, native has found a comfortable place as a starting power forward in his first season with the European franchise. Since leaving Notre Dame, Djogo made career stops in Hungary and Croatia before landing in Belgium. Cormac Ryan, (2020-23), SG, Oklahoma City Blue, NBA G League The 2024 undrafted free agent is trying to carve a place in the NBA's developmen- tal league. Through 10 games during his rookie season, the 6-foot-5 sharpshooter had made two starts and was averaging 11.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest. The New York City native was also third on the team with 42.0 percent accuracy (27 of 59) from three-point range and was averaging 26.9 minutes per game. Kyren Williams (2019-21), RB, Los Angeles Rams, NFL The St. Louis native went for 76 yards on 16 carries, and added 16 receiving yards and a touchdown, in a 27-9 win over Minnesota in the wild card round of the NFC playoffs Jan. 13. The former fifth-round draft pick followed that up with 106 rush- ing yards on 19 carries in a 28-22 loss to the Eagles in the divisional round Jan. 19. Williams tied for fifth among NFL tailbacks this season with 17 total touchdowns. Super Bowl Regular Drue Tranquill Keeping The Faith I R I S H I N T H E P R O S Tranquill, a fourth-round pick by the Chargers in the 2019, has found success with the Chiefs, making Super Bowl appearances in each of his two seasons in Kansas City. PHOTO COURTESY KANSAS CITY CHIEFS