Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/998819
BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 103 sue upon completion of his graduate course- work and final season. But grounded by humility and guided by faith, giving back and serving others is just as important to him as any takeaways he might deliver on football Saturdays. Tranquill started a local volunteer program in 2016 called 5th Quarter that works in con- junction with DreamTeams, a Notre Dame service club that connects college kids and student-athletes to help guide and influence in- ner-city youth in the South Bend community. "It's so much bigger than football," Tran- quill said. "I think maintaining that perspec- tive is huge." And that perspective was born and contin- ually nurtured from an unwavering Christian faith. Tranquill shared this story from when he was 12 years old. "I was sitting in my room and I was ambi- tiously dreaming of what my future might look like," he recalled, "and I remember taking a poster off of the wall in my room and writing on the back, 'Lord, I trust you, the plans you have for me. If you give me the platform so I can influence others, I'll give it all back to you in full.' "It's been cool to kind of see that come to fruition. It humbles me and makes me feel really good. But with that comes a lot of responsibility, and I recognize that." The 5th Quarter initiative is aimed at send- ing college students and student-athletes into primary education centers to mentor under- privileged children who are struggling in the classroom and/or who are not getting the proper academic or life skills support at home. "Anything to give back," is how Tranquill describes this mission and all of his tireless volunteer work. "How can I be like Drue?" is how Coach Kelly assessed the unanimous sentiment shared by those close to Tranquill. "He lives his life the right way." And when Tranquill isn't giving his time to local youth, or nurturing his devout faith, or chasing down opposing ball carriers, this first-team Academic All-American can likely be found acing a test or studying for his me- chanical engineering graduate courses, one of the toughest majors to survive at Notre Dame. "The scheduling in engineering was al- ways so rigorous. There aren't a lot of elec- tive options," said Tranquill, who graduated in just three and a half years with a 3.7 GPA. "I would have to give and take on both ends with football and coursework and either leave class early sometimes, or sometimes I would ask coach to meet earlier in the day and miss a little bit of football meetings." Tranquill also opened another chapter in his life this summer when he a made a trip to beautiful Reykjavik, Iceland, with a surprise proposal and a beautiful engagement ring for his longtime girlfriend Jackie Gindt, who gleefully accepted. "She's been my rock," Tranquill said. "Through the injuries, and the recoveries, and the tough days, she was always there for me." All while Tranquill continues to be there for so many as well. "He's a guy who is going to do every- thing the right way all the time, and he cares about his teammates," Irish junior defensive end Daelin Hayes explained. "Just being an example, being vocal and using his voice to encourage younger guys, to motivate older guys and be an example for our entire team I think speaks for itself. "He's an awesome guy and a phenomenal teammate." Kelly has groomed a lot of courageous and inspirational young men during his 30- plus seasons working college football side- lines, including his last eight here at Notre Dame. Yet Tranquill's story always brings pride and amazement when Kelly is asked about how this marginal high school recruit has turned himself into a two-time team captain, an engineer, a potential future NFL player and the face of the program this year. Much of Tranquill's leadership qualities come from his by-example work during foot- ball activities. However, his willingness to help others away from the game is another reason he became only the 23rd two-time captain in Notre Dame football history. "He does everything so well, but he has really grown as a person and has reached out to our players to the point where they are identifying with his traits so much more this year than maybe last year," Kelly said. "He's doing all the little things right and if you're not, he's going to pick up the slack for you, he's going to help you, and that's pretty strong leadership right there." ✦ Drue (above) and Justin Tranquill (below) have both suffered multiple knee injuries during their collegiate careers, including ACL tears only about two weeks apart in the fall of 2015. The brothers challenged and helped each other through the rehab process. PHOTO COURTESY JUSTIN TRANQUILL "He has taken what could have been catastrophic and turned it into positives, and that's just his mindset and spirit. That's the kind of kid he is, and that's why he's a captain." HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY ON TRANQUILL