Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/373357
MURPHY'S LAW DAN MURPHY W hen a well-timed photo cap- tured a helmetless Cam Mc- Daniel striking a pose during last October's USC game, the running back became the temporary face of the team for outsiders. This year, McDan- iel is setting out to show he's here to be heard, not just seen. One of four captains chosen by his teammates in August, McDaniel has emerged this month as the undis- puted voice among that group. When something needs to be said in the Irish locker room, chances are it will be Mc- Daniel doing the talking. "I like to think I can be contagious at times," McDaniel said. "I want my work ethic to be contagious, my ac- tions to be contagious. But if it's not you have to be vocal about it some- times. And that can be uncomfortable, I'm not going to lie." Speaking up in a room full of peers is not a task for the sheepish. It takes con- fidence and conviction. It's the reason why most players with the capacity to lead prefer to do so only by example. It's why "he's not much of a rah-rah guy" is quickly joining "one game at a time" and "whatever is best for the team" in the pantheon of beaten-to-death sports interview clichés. But rah-rah guys aren't to be shunned. They are a necessity, espe- cially for a young team like Notre Dame that has a wide variety of poten- tial leaders. Notre Dame's 2012 team had a definite voice in senior linebacker Notre Dame's New Voice Senior running back Cam McDaniel, one of four captains this fall, is comfortable being a leader by exam- ple and verbally. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA