Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/864798
40 PRESEASON 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY BRYAN DRISKELL N otre Dame is looking to put its disastrous 2016 season be- hind it, but it won't be easy. The Irish face what Athlon Sports believes is the 13th-toughest schedule in the country, with four opponents being ranked in the top 20 of the preseason coaches poll. Despite their 4-8 record from last season and this year's tough sched- ule, there are high expectations for the Irish in some circles. Phil Steele ranked Notre Dame No. 16 in his publication's preseason power poll and predicted it would be the No. 1 most improved team in 2017. It would appear — at least on paper — that the Irish have the talent across the board to quickly make last season a distant memory. Steele ranked the Irish receivers and tight ends as the third-best unit in the country, the of- fensive line as the sixth-best group and the running backs as the nation's 10th-best outfit. Rivals recently ranked Notre Dame as the eighth-best team in the country in regards to recruited talent over the last five years. A number of Notre Dame players have been named among the nation's finest at their po- sition group and several unproven players have been noted as breakout candidates. All of that looks great on paper, but Notre Dame will need their best players to back up the expectations and become consistently effective producers. How well the student- athletes listed below play will go a long way to determining how suc- cessful the Irish will be in 2017. This list is the 10 most important players on the roster, combining tal- ent, the importance of their position and their opportunity to make im- pact plays. 1. LG QUENTON NELSON A strong case can be made that Nelson was Notre Dame's best player last season, and he's certainly receiving the most preseason hype heading into 2017. He was named a preseason first-team All-American by Phil Steele's, Sports Illustrated, Lin- dy's Sports and Street & Smith's. Nelson seems poised to become Notre Dame's next great offensive lineman. The 6-5, 330-pounder has all the traits needed to be an elite player FRONT AND CENTER Linemen and linebackers dominate Notre Dame's top-end talent Drue Tranquill, a senior captain, will be asked to play a key role for the Irish this fall, serving as the rover in first-year coordinator Mike Elko's defense. PHOTO BY RICK KIMBALL