Blue and Gold Illustrated

There are very few people built bigger than Q. "If he ever gets a free release up to the linebacker, it's going to be a long, long day for you, I don't care who you are. He's a great player, and he's really improving on his techniques." Kelly said the brains of the operation that still set the tone are the veteran trio, but Nelson and McGlinchey have complemented it with their unbridled ferocity. "They bring a nasty attitude and a toughness to that group," Kelly said.. "… [The veteran three] are hard work‑ ers, play hard and play tough. But I think that there's a personality that those two bring to the five that has defi‑ nitely shown itself this year." Nelson has taken taekwondo to en‑ hance his flexibility and footwork, and credits his father Craig, who played at Syracuse, for instilling the "tough gentleman" personality in him. "He really helped me and shaped me into becoming more of a brawler, more of get‑after‑you type of player," said Nelson, who starred at Red Bank Catholic in New Jersey. "Whenever I was being soft, he'd al‑ ways tell me. He was always honest with me and told me when I played bad. His honesty definitely helped me a lot. "If you have someone just telling you you're doing good every time, then you're not going to get better. You're going to be content with who you are." Yet in interviews, Nelson comes across as almost sheepish and extremely uncomfortable talking about himself. "Every day you've just got to flip the switch," he said. "Off the field, I'm a nice guy. On the field, I'm going to get after you, I'm going to come for you every play." His most difficult transition to the college game is seeing varying defenses every week, but that hasn't stopped this offense from becoming the first since 1996, head coach Lou Holtz's final sea‑ son with the Irish, to open a new season with three straight 200‑yard rushing outputs. Combining Nelson's aggression with proper technique also has been a chal‑ lenge he's gradually adapting to, espe‑ cially because of a better grasp of the playbook than in his freshman year. Sometimes he doesn't have his hands in the right place, and sometimes he needs to regroup instead of continu‑ ing to keep driving. Still, he prefers his errors to be of commission rather than omission. "It's better to have too much aggres‑ sion than too little, and I'm learning to balance it," Nelson said. It also hasn't hurt Nelson's progress to have two of the team's best leaders, Martin and Stanley, sandwiching him. "It helps me tremendously," Nelson said. "If my technique is a little off and we're doing a combination block, it's all right because I have them with me. But still … I don't want to be the guy whose technique is a little off. "I want to be the guy that's doing his job right, and it doesn't matter who's playing next to me." Nelson does have a disagreement about his on‑field reputation. "I wouldn't classify McGlinchey and me as nasty and brawlers … I think we all are," he said. If he says so. ✦

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