Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 PRESEASON 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI W hen it comes to discussing Notre Dame's 2017 offen- sive line, the conversation generally steers into two directions. One is whether the left side with fifth-year senior tackle Mike Mc- Glinchey and senior guard Quenton Nelson — both consistently placed in the first round of 2018 mock drafts — is the best in the nation. The other is right tackle, where fledgling sophomore Tommy Krae- mer won the job as the one new starter along the line from 2016 and is Notre Dame's highest-ranked recruit from the past three classes. And then there are seniors Alex Bars and Sam Mustipher at right guard and center, respectively. On the outside, they might be classified as undergoing "middle- child syndrome," which is receiving neither the adulation of the eldest or most experienced (captains Mc- Glinchey and Nelson) nor the at- tention and interest of the youngest (Kraemer). On the inside, though, their de- velopment as full-time second-year starters has not gone unnoticed. Three years ago, it was Bars who played the role of Kraemer when as a freshman left tackle he was referred to by head coach Brian Kelly as one of the most advanced rookie linemen he has ever seen in a quarter century of coaching. Since then, the ultra-versatile Bars has started two games at left guard (in place of the injured Nelson) in 2015, started all 12 at right tackle last season when the Irish line needed somebody who could play effectively in space, and is now at right guard to make room for Kraemer. In a pinch, Bars also honed his snapping skills this summer and could fill in at center. More significant is he has refined his body much better with lean mass, significantly reduced his body fat and increased his stamina. Bars shot up to as much as 323 pounds last season, which by his own admission was too much extra cargo. Listed currently at 312, the 6-6 Bars noted he was about 308 through camp, which has aided his mobility in a more up-tempo attack. "Alex Bars arguably has had as good a camp as anybody that we've had in terms of transforming his body in the offseason, losing 10-12 pounds and gaining explosiveness," Kelly said. "He has really put himself in position to be an elite player." "I just wanted to play at a healthy weight," Bars said. "It wasn't the best body composition that I could be at [in 2016]. I just knew that going into this year it would help me a ton if I did lose some excess weight … I re- ally attacked it this summer with that mindset." A self-proclaimed student of the game while having played everywhere along the line, Bars augments his acu- men with the playing experience he has received the past two seasons. "In film [study], I get to watch each position and understand what they do, and it really helps me understand the defenses, the different looks, the Mustipher will anchor the Irish line after making great strides with both his conditioning and as a leader during the offseason. PHOTO BY RICK KIMBALL The Middle Men Alex Bars and Sam Mustipher stabilize a veteran offensive line