Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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"He's one of the more improved players on this roster," first‑year quar‑ terbacks coach/offensive coordinator Mike Sanford said. "He's not where he needs to be, but none of us are. … He's done some great things to make you think that we'd like where he'd be with the ball in his hands and the game on the line. I'm really proud of him and the work he's done since the spring. "His overall grasp, knowledge and execution of the offense is pretty high right now." Like many others, Kizer has been learning on the run — apropos for a team that is expected to run better in 2015. ✦ On The Line The return of four starters along the offensive line from the Music City Bowl victory has prompted some belief that it will be the heart and soul of the 2015 team. Nevertheless, rangy 6‑7½, 310‑pound right tackle Mike McGlinchey, a junior, is slated to make only his second career collegiate start when the Irish host Texas Sept. 5, while sophomore left guard Quenton Nelson will be making his debut. Head coach Brian Kelly divides offensive line coach Harry Hiestand's five‑man starting line — adding that sophomore Alex Bars will also see time at guard with Nelson — into three categories. The top tier are veterans Ronnie Stanley (26 starts) and Nick Martin (24 starts) at left tackle and center, respectively. "You just have two outstanding players, two seniors, two veterans, two leaders that can do a lot for us," Kelly summarized. Level two is right guard Steve Elmer, who enters his junior year with 17 career starts. While his balance and technique were a work in progress last year, he has been rounding into better form. "He's so much better in space now, stays on his feet," Kelly said. "He's a different person as it relates to climbing into the second level and being able to sustain and hold on his blocks. There's been a huge elevation there. He's growing in the pass game in terms of his pass sets." Finally, with McGlinchey and Nelson, it's a matter of displaying consistency over a 13‑game season, not just be a one‑game wonder against LSU — similar to classmate and quarterback Malik Zaire. "Both of those guys have immense athletic ability — big‑time athletic ability, McGlinchey with his size and Quenton with the strength," Kelly said. "They're a little limited sometimes in terms of they're both emotional kids, and we've got to kind of keep them in check sometimes." McGlinchey is attempting to achieve the right balance. "I'm a passionate guy, I wear my emotions on my sleeve and it's something I try to work on because out on the field nobody should ever know that you're having a bad day," McGlinchey said. "You can let them know when you're having a good one … "If I miss a block I've got to know the good thing about football is the next play is five seconds later, so I've got another opportunity to do it right. "I don't think I necessarily need to be even keel out there because you need a lot of emotion to play of‑ fensive line, to be able to have a fire in your stomach, to not let the guy across from you beat you. That's something that's also played to my advantage in the way that I work and the way that I prepare, but it's also something on the field that can come back to haunt you." — Lou Somogyi