Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME he sells to recruits. "What's exciting to me is the ability to talk about Notre Dame and what it can do for them," K e l l y s u m m a r i z e d . "This isn't like selling used cars. This is chang- ing lives." BEYOND FOOTBALL A c c o rd i n g t o F O X Sports college football writer Brian Feldman, part of the deal is "the school is expected to also invest in facilities and other program en- hancements to improve the student-athlete expe- rience." Kelly's tenure at Notre Dame has been high- lighted by the 12-0 regu- lar season in 2012 that led to an appearance in the BCS National Cham- pionship Game and a No. 4 finish in the As- sociated Press poll — the highest by the team since No. 2 in 1993. This year, the Irish finished No. 11 in the AP poll with a 10-3 record. During Kelly's time, according to the univer- sity, the program three times has ranked first among FBS institutions in NCAA Graduation Success Rate numbers and never has ranked lower than sixth. In fed- eral graduation rates for football, Notre Dame has consistently ranked in the top 10 among FBS schools, while NCAA Academic Progress Rate football numbers have been at least 970 (out of a possible 1,000) in all his years at the university. Notre Dame in 2014 won the American Foot- ball Coaches Association Academic Achievement Award with a 100 per- cent graduation rate for the freshman football student-athlete class of 2007. In 2012, Kelly over- saw the first program to be ranked No. 1 in the football polls and first in NCAA GSR graduation rates while also playing for the BCS title. ✦ Steve Elmer Weighs Options For 2016 Notre Dame's 2016 offensive line could possibly have a little more rebuilding to do than expected. Right before its Feb. 9 print date, Blue & Gold Illustrated learned that current junior right guard Steve Elmer has been contemplating career options. Elmer enrolled early at Notre Dame for the spring 2013 semester and is on pace to graduate this May with a degree in economics. Despite starting 30 games with the Fighting Irish — four as a freshman and all 26 the past two seasons — an NFL career might not be Elmer's priority while he receives other appealing job offers. Last year, the 6‑5, 315‑pound Elmer served as a Congres‑ sional intern in Washington, D.C., to John Moolenaar, who represents Michigan's Fourth District. As of Feb. 9, there was no confirmation or denial from the University of Notre Dame on Elmer's future plans. The Notre Dame offensive line this year graduates left tackle Ronnie Stanley, a projected first‑round NFL pick, and two‑time captain and center Nick Martin. The projected returning starters in 2016 are senior right tackle Mike McGlinchey, junior left guard Quenton Nelson and right guard Elmer. Junior Alex Bars started a pair of games at left guard in 2015 and could also find his way into the starting lineup. — Lou Somogyi ELMER