Notre Dame K Blake Grupe Maximizing Opportunity
Notre Dame kicker Blake Grupe made the tough decision to enter the Transfer Portal in January, but he quickly found a home in South Bend.
Special teams coordinator Brian Mason was a significant reason why Grupe chose Notre Dame and there are no regrets five practices into the spring.
"He's the man," Grupe stated. "There's a lot of special teams coordinators, but he's special in the way he brings energy in meetings and gets guys to buy in. He's just a spark plug. He ignites the guys."
Mason has made sure to pay attention to the small details and makes sure to give feedback following each kick.
"He's very instructive," explained Grupe. "After a kick, he gives you one thing he sees. He definitely knows his stuff. There aren't many coordinators across the country that have that knowledge. He's awesome to work with there."
Grupe isn't being handed the job as he's competing with sophomore Joshua Bryan, who spent 2021 behind Jon Doerer.
It's a competitive atmosphere and one that isn't toxic as both kickers are pushing each other to be better for Notre Dame.
"It's going good," Grupe said. "It's healthy competition and that's all you can ask for. We're both hitting the ball great and going out there and doing our jobs. You just try and go out and be the best version of yourself every single day."
The transition to Notre Dame has also gone smooth for Grupe. He has noticed some minor differences compared to Arkansas State, but nothing that will impact his game.
It's college football at a whole other level," stated Grupe. "Seeing the guys out here work, seeing the size and speed - it's going good. It's really nice to be here and experience it."
That said, Grupe has felt the power of Notre Dame as the lights are a little brighter with more fanfare in South Bend.
"It's a different level," said Grupe. "It's a different stage, bigger atmosphere and crowd. There are a lot more fans. It's easy to get caught up on that, but you just take advantage of all those opportunities and resources this school provides.
"It's nice to be at a school that everyone cares about and there's a lot of history. It's awesome to be part of it."
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