Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Senior offensive linemen Chris Watt and Zack Martin lead the way for a strong group UNIFIED SEASON KICKOFF: OFFENSIVE LINE Watt is entering his second season at left guard alongside his roommate and "partner in grime" Martin, who plays left tackle. BY WES MORGAN I reputations on the field and filthy ones off it. "I don't think I could handle living with those two. t's almost as if Zack Martin and Chris Watt were des- tined to form a close bond when they arrived at Notre Dame in 2009. They both quickly developed beastly They live in a basement together," starting center Braxston Cave said. "It's exactly what you would imagine." The two offensive linemen weren't offered scholarships to mop floors, but rather to keep the starting quarterback clean and produce running lanes for running backs. Martin (6-4, 308 pounds), a senior left tackle, is one of the more experienced players on the Notre Dame football roster with 26 career starts. He began his career on the right side, as did Watt (6-3, 310), who enters 2012 with 13 starts at left guard. And with Cave (22 starts) back for a fifth year, and qual- 46 PRESEASON 2012 PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA inson and tackle Taylor Dever to graduation, is taking shape with fifth-year senior Mike Golic and sophomore Nick Martin at guard, and junior Christian Lombard slightly leading classmate Tate Nichols at tackle. Zack Martin believes the unit, which required indi- vidual focus in the offseason, can be a force. "I needed to get bigger and stronger,' said Martin. "I put ity players vying for time on the right side, the offensive line is one of the strongest groups for the Fighting Irish, head coach Brian Kelly said. The right side of the line, which lost guard Trevor Rob- 10 pounds on this offseason — I thought I should be able to control people more in the run game. I also polished up the techniques Coach [Harry] Hiestand brought in with the pass protecting." Watt and Martin are a fierce duo on the left side, and they add a collective heaping helping of personality to their daily routine. Martin is quick with a joke, and Watt's BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED