Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME draft analyst Daniel Jer- emiah, a former NFL scout, said Stanley was the best offensive tackle he studied all year. Shortly before his de- cision Jan. 13, Stanley summarized the diffi- culty of his choice with one word on his Twitter account: "Torn." U l t i m a t e l y, w a t c h - ing the national title matchup between Ohio State-Oregon Jan. 12 and graduating from the es- teemed Mendoza Col- lege of Business — the five-time reigning No. 1 un dergraduate b usi- ness school in the na- tion according to Bloom- berg BusinessWeek — in management consulting were tipping points to return. "We've got a chance to have a special season next year," Stanley said in a released statement. "Many of my team- mates are returning and I've made strong bonds with lots of them. If all of them weren't com- ing back this year, it would've made it an easier decision to leave. All this, the opportunity to graduate, and much more, led to my decision to stay." "Ronnie has devel- oped into a premier of- fensive lineman," head coach Brian Kelly said. "With another year at the position, and gaining more knowledge under the outstanding coach- ing of Harry Hiestand, Ronnie could be the best tackle in all of college football." T h i s p a s t s e a s o n , S t a n l e y re c o rd e d 1 6 knockdown blocks and yielded just one sack (the fewest among any Irish offensive lineman), and he came into his own as a leader during prepara- tion for the 31-28 victory versus LSU in the Music City Bowl. The Irish dis- played a surge, power and fire that had been absent most of the 2014 campaign while totaling 263 rushing yards. When Kelly declared that a "flag football" style was not going to cut it against the ultra- physical Tigers defense, i t w a s S t a n l e y w h o emerged as the loudest voice among the four other offensive linemen who started in the game and will be returning in 2015. "He was extremely vo- cal, more than he's ever been, and it just kind of charged up everybody," Kelly said. "Ronnie is not a big talker. It just seemed to elevate every- body's play on the offen- sive line." A carryover to 2015 would be even better. DAY NOT YET DONE In 2015, Day could join Willie Fry (1976-77) and Grant Irons (2000-01) as the lone Irish defensive linemen to be a two-time captain. The 2014 Notre Dame Moose Krause Lineman of the Year will have a huge crew — po- NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL TICKETS 25 YEARS IN BUSINESS Call today for Special Discount 1-800-925-2500 www.NotreDameTickets.com