Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Mike Brennan. Flanker Pat Eilers ran in the eventual game-winning touch- down. Both started as walk-ons and both went on to play in the NFL. The list goes on. "And there's that guy they made a movie about that you've probably heard of too," O'Connell said. Rudy, the gold helmets and the four horsemen undoubtedly play a role in getting some of those able-bodied young men to give up playing time at another school in favor of student loans and life as second-class football citizens. The camaraderie with other walk-ons is usually what keeps them around once the romanticism wears away. "I know guys that, in other situa- tions would have left the team or quit," O'Connell said. "It was that feel- ing of we're all in this together. That's really what it meant for a lot of guys." The WOPU nation may finally have found an ally in power if Kelly contin- ues to focus on those 20 players. He and Notre Dame stand to reap their added benefits. ✦ 2014 Notre Dame Preferred Walk-Ons Sam Bush • Offensive Lineman • Mater Dei • Santa Ana, Calif. 6-4 • 295 pounds From the same high school as linebacker Joe Schmidt, Bush is a lifelong Notre Dame fan who was a second-team all-conference offensive tackle in the very competitive All-Trinity League. Keenan Centlivre • Tight End/Wide Receiver • Bishop Dwenger • Fort Wayne, Ind. 6-6 • 216 pounds Centlivre comes from another Irish feeder school, one that has recently produced All-American tight end Tyler Eifert, wide receiver John Goodman and defensive lineman Tony Springmann. Centlivre has Division I size and attracted Notre Dame's attention after attending a summer camp on campus. His grandfather, James Keenan, is the namesake for one of the men's residence halls on campus. Grant Hammann • Athlete • Beckman Catholic • Dyersville, Iowa 6-1 • 180 pounds The former high school quarterback starred at several positions for his tiny Iowa high school. He had offers to play at Army, Air Force, Yale and Cornell, but decided to pass on those for a chance to walk on at Notre Dame. He'll likely line up as a skill position player on either side of the ball. Ryan Kilander • Offensive/Defensive Lineman • Santa Margarita Catholic • Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. 6-1 • 295 pounds Kilander beat out Bush for the first-team spot on the All-Trinity League team. He ran a 5.31-second 40-yard dash at a Nike Combine event and at one time planned to play at Cal as a preferred walk-on. Montgomery VanGorder • Quarterback • Buford High • Buford, Ga. 6-1 • 190 VanGorder split time under center for the Class AAA champions in Georgia last fall. He threw for 786 yards and nine touchdowns. He passed up scholarship offers to Eastern Kentucky and Murray State to help add to Notre Dame's three scholarship quarterbacks. He also happens to be the son of new Irish defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder.