Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Nickname: "Q." Dorm: "O'Neill Hall." Major: "[I think] business, but I'm not sure yet." Favorite TV show: "'Game of Thrones.' It's just a good show, I enjoy it." Favorite place around South Bend to eat: "Buffalo Wild Wings." Toughest player you've played against: "[Senior defensive tackle] Shel‑ don Day. Really a few guys on our defensive line, but specifically Sheldon Day and [junior defensive end] Isaac Rochell. Sheldon is just a great player, he gets off the ball quick with amazing leverage. It's tough to block him." Favorite pregame music: "I haven't really been listening to pregame mu‑ sic since I got here, but probably 'Till I Collapse' by Eminem or 'Dreams and Nightmares' by Meek Mill." Favorite part of playing for Notre Dame: "Just the camaraderie of the offensive line and the together‑ ness — it's like a family. And playing for Coach [Harry] Hiestand." Getting To Know … SOPHOMORE OFFENSIVE GUARD QUENTON NELSON Earlier this season, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly made the comment about junior linebacker Jay‑ lon Smith that "I haven't coached a player like him before." It was easy to interpret that re‑ mark as one where Smith was the most talented figure Kelly had ever coached — including 2012 Heisman Trophy runner‑up Manti Te'o, also a linebacker. His statement does not mean that Smith will be the Heisman winner in 2015, but what Kelly was getting at is that there are different ways to interpret impact. For example, when Tim Brown won the Heisman Trophy in 1987 as a senior, he caught only 39 passes, three of them touchdowns. Last year as merely a sophomore, Will Fuller snared nearly twice as many passes (76) and five times more touchdowns (15) than Brown. Does that make Fuller a better player than Brown? No, because judging talent solely by stats alone is an unbalanced, if not senseless, ap‑ proach. "My comments were centered on his versatility and his ability to im‑ pact all phases of our defense," Kelly said of Smith's uniqueness. "He im‑ pacts the point of attack, where you can attack our defense in so many ways. "Manti had a way of influenc‑ ing the entire defense. He just had a savvy and a smart presence about him, like a Joe Schmidt, but certainly an athleticism about him as well. Not to the level of Jaylon. So I think they impacted differently. "I think Jaylon impacts more physi‑ MANTI AND JAYLON: DIFFERENT IMPACTS