Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 NOV. 21, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY MATT JONES Q uenton Nelson knows what type of player he is. And he doesn't feel the need to prove it to anyone other than himself. Notre Dame's 6-5, 325-pound left guard has perhaps the best profes- sional future of anyone on the roster, a bright spot during an otherwise miserable season in South Bend. The Holmdel, N.J., native regularly appears on various NFL mock drafts and projections, a meteoric rise to stardom in less than three years with the Irish and just 20 games as a starter. "It's nice to get those compliments and everything, but I don't feel any- thing, any pressure to prove it to those people," Nelson said. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. lists Nelson as his top draft-eligible guard in the country. ESPN's Todd McShay said Nelson is "one of the best guards in the country" and projects as a day- one starter in the NFL. Even when looking only at his col- lege résumé, Nelson has put together a terrific 2016. Pro Football Focus, which grades every snap of every college game, had Nelson as a mid- season All-American at guard. PFF wrote that Nelson, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, is the No. 32-ranked player for the 2017 NFL Draft. "Nelson has impressed since step- ping in as a starter last season," the website noted. "He's a powerful run blocker, and he's shown capable of making blocks on the move in the run game. He continues to improve in pass protection and he brings one of the nation's best all-around pack- ages to the guard position." Nelson was always that dominat- ing presence on the offensive and de- fensive lines. At Red Bank Catholic High School, he used his overwhelm- ing strength and size to win every matchup he ever had, turning into a consensus top-100 recruit and a rare five-star prospect according to Rivals. His skills earned him an invite to the U.S. Army All-American game in San Antonio — and Nelson made his first trip back to the city Nov. 12, when the Irish played Army in the Shamrock Series. Nelson committed to Notre Dame early in the process, picking the Irish over Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Stanford and, well, almost every top- tier program in the country. Strength was never a question — as a high school senior, Nelson was able to bench press 225 pounds 26 times, more than multiple 2014 NFL Draft picks. "The one thing that stands out about Q is that here's a guy that just is relentless," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said on National Signing Day. "He's going to come af- ter you play after play after play. And again, his desire to want to be great is what always stood out about Quen- ton … he's always pushing himself. "Every time we talk to him, he's coming back from something." Once he got to Notre Dame in the summer of 2014, Nelson said he had to adjust to life as just another former top recruit. "Just going against Sheldon Day and Romeo [Okwara] when I first got here, being put with the twos at right tackle … it was just all new to me go- ing against men my size that were all so physically dominant and had such great technique," Nelson said. One area Nelson said he's grown most in is his ability to not let one bad play affect the next one. Like a lot of dominant prep players, Nelson was not used to struggling on the field. The soft-spoken Nelson — who is enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business and is majoring in manage- ment consulting — called the transi- tion to the college game "tough." "It's definitely been a process since I've gotten here," Nelson said. "I've been pretty good with learning to be coachable and fixing my own mis- takes. It's been hard sometimes, like when I was younger getting beat and I would hold onto that and it would frustrate me and hurt my play." Nelson came to Notre Dame with high expectations, and most assumed he would play tackle for the Irish. Af- ter a redshirt season in 2014, Nelson assumed the left guard spot in 2015 and quickly found success. He started 11 of 12 games last sea- son and was part of an offensive line that helped the Irish average 5.63 rushing yards per carry (eighth-best in the country). "I've played well. I can always im- prove, and I try to do that week to week and up my game," Nelson said. "I'd say I've played well, but there's mistakes made out there where I watch it on Sunday, or even during the game I know, 'I wish I did that better.' Move on to the next play and learn from the mistake." Under the watchful eye of Notre Dame offensive line coach Harry Hi- estand, Nelson is on an NFL trajectory, the same path several former Irish of- fensive linemen have followed. Just last season, Nelson was flanked by two NFL talents — left tackle Ronnie Stanley (sixth overall pick) and center Nick Martin (50th pick). Just look at Nelson's Twitter time- line (@BigQ56) and you'll see he keeps an eye on Notre Dame's offen- sive linemen in the NFL. He re-tweets clips of dominating blocks by Zack Martin of the Dallas Cowboys, pos- sibly the best guard in the league. Though his personal goals are lim- ited to this season, Nelson — who grew up a fan of the New York Giants — has always dreamed of playing in the NFL. "It just shows where hard work will get you and believing in your technique," Nelson said of the for- mer Notre Dame players now in the NFL. "I just see myself trying to im- prove every day and not trying to think about the future." ✦ SOFT-SPOKEN STAR Quenton Nelson is having a great junior season Nelson was tabbed as a midseason All-American by Pro Football Focus and is rated as the top draft-eligible guard in the country by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA "… HE BRINGS ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST ALL-AROUND PACKAGES TO THE GUARD POSITION." PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS ON NELSON