Sullivan Garvin has only been on campus for a little more than a month, but the Notre Dame freshman already feels immersed in the rhythm of college football.
The 6-foot-5, 308-pound offensive lineman from Allegan, Mich., enrolled early last month and has quickly adjusted to the demands of balancing academics, strength work and the early stages of spring football.
“It's been good,” Garvin said on Wednesday. “Full of classes, lifting four times a week and now just this week we started football school Monday and Wednesdays. So starting to really get involved with the plays and the program and yeah, it's been great.”
The former three-star recruit and multi-year captain at Allegan High School has begun his Notre Dame career working at center, a brand new position for him.
“Never played it in my life,” he said. “It comes with a lot of responsibility, but I like that. Having Ashton (Craig), Joe Otting and Cam Herring, guys to kind of bounce questions around with. It's been great. New transition, but I like it.”
That responsibility shows up immediately on the field. Beyond simply snapping the ball, Garvin is learning to identify defenses and control protections.
“There's been a bit of, I guess a mental struggle because being now I'm the center, I have to identify the defense, point out who I'm going to, so there's more responsibility with it,” he said. “Learning the plays, there's a learning curve for sure, but I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it and just really need to get up to speed as quick as possible.”
Even the mechanics of snapping have required adjustment.
“It's been a change, but I really like it,” he said. “I think it's a position where I have the chance to be good at definitely and impact the team.”
Garvin has been putting in extra work after practice to refine the details.
“Usually after practice, we'll get a few up,” he said. “Me and Noah (Grubbs) and then Coach (Rob) Delaney were working on that stuff because right now sometimes my snap timing is off with the clap, so I've been working on that.”
The transition from a small-school program in southwest Michigan to one of the nation’s premier programs has been eye-opening.
“It's a whole new world, to be honest,” Garvin said. “I played in a small conference at a small school, so you get here and I'm not the biggest guy on the field anymore, you know what I mean? Everybody's like me, but stronger, faster, better, more experienced.
“It's great. I like being around people that are better. I usually rise to the occasion, you know what I mean?”
The strength program has also delivered a reality check.
“Oh man, it is next level,” he said of the workouts. “I will say though, I've trained at a gym, so that helped. I work out with a lot of Division-II and one Division-I college guy, so just being around that environment made the transition good.
“But the workout itself, it is a lot more intense. We're in the indoor first for 30 to 40 minutes doing all sorts of agility and running, and then we go and lift. It was kind of just adapting to the pace of everything, but now that I've started to adapt, it's been great and I feel like I'm the strongest I've ever been in my life.”
Garvin is already chasing bigger numbers in the weight room.
“I just want to get as strong as possible,” he said. “Right now we're in the weight room, we're doing heavy singles on our power clean, bench and squat. So yesterday, I power-cleaned 315. I think tomorrow we bench, and then Friday we squat.
“Not really sure numbers-wise what I'm hoping to hit there. The last time I benched was 385, so if I hit 390, 395, maybe 400. Squat, anywhere really I'll take.”
Garvin has long felt comfortable in South Bend after committing early and making several return trips last fall.
“I think I came to six games this year or something like that, so I've been around the place a lot,” he said. “I felt welcomed since day one. The guys are great. They bring you right in. It's been great. It definitely, I would say, helped the transition. I feel like I knew the place pretty well besides classes, but I learned that pretty quickly, so yeah, it definitely helped.”
Academically, the adjustment has been just as real.
“The classes here are no joke,” he said. “It's been a good transition, but I'm ready for it.”
He stays in close contact with fellow signee Ben Nichols, updating him regularly about the grind.
“Yeah, I'm excited for him to get here,” Garvin said. “We still talk on the regular, he's kind of doing his thing back home, but every now and then I'll update him like a Friday workout, what (strength coach Loren) Landow puts us through. But yeah, it's been good.”
Ultimately, the freshman’s mindset centers on service to the roster around him.
“To be honest, just helping the guys around me, contributing in any way I can, whether that's on the scout team in the weight room, just really any way I can contribute to the guys around me.”
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