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Notre Dame Football

Alex Bars: "I want to punish guys. I want to put them in the dirt"

March 21, 2018
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Things are a little different in the offensive line room this spring as Harry Hiestand, Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson are gone. Right guard Alex Bars and center Sam Mustipher have taken over the room with new offensive coach Jeff Quinn and look to carry on the tradition of elite offensive line play at Notre Dame. 

“It’s very weird,” Bars laughed when asked about life without Hiestand. “It’s taken a lot of changing on our part to get used to it. Coach Quinn has done a great job taking the group over. Sam and I understand the standard that has been set here by Harry.” 

The 6-foot-6, 318-pounder has also taken on the leadership role left behind from the McGlinchey and Nelson. 

 “I feel like I’m a totally different player and a leader,” explained Bars. “Mike and Q were great players and leaders. Sam and I took a backseat to them in a way, but this is our team now. Everyone looks to the offensive line to set the standard of the team. 

“I’ve been much more vocal, and I feel I’ve been a better leader for everyone in the locker room.” 

Mustipher was named a captain, but Bars is fighting with three other teammates to become the fourth captain, which is a goal for the Nashville native. 

 “Without a doubt,” Bars said of his goal to become a captain. “There is nothing more in the world I want than to get that fourth spot.” 

“I need to work harder and be a better leader for the guys.” 

Bars will continue to lead regardless of having a captain title, and it was a decision he and Mustipher made in January. 

“After the bowl game, I figured Mike and Q were gone, and this group needs someone to lead them,” stated Bars. “It fell on Sam and I. When we got back, we were a lot more vocal and leading the guys right away.

“We called each other and texted. We got each other excited for next year because it's our team.”

Bars and Mustipher were part of the offensive line hiring process as they sat in on interviews and provided feedback. Quinn is similar in many areas as Hiestand, but they are different when it comes to coaching style. 

 “The attack mentality and coming to work each day attacking,” Bars said of the similarities between Quinn and Hiestand. “They want us to attack no matter how you’re feeling.

“Coach Quinn is more inspirational and motivational. Harry, you guys know how that was. All the techniques have stayed the same. All the calls are the same, so not too much has changed.” 

In his final spring, Bars is fine-tuning his game for his last collegiate season, and it starts with the little details. 

 “I’m focused on the small details of my technique,” explained Bars. “Taking control with second-hand placement, pad level, leverage and leg drive. Little touch-ups of where I need to place my foot and where my head needs to be. 

“If you turn on 56’s (Quenton Nelson) film, it’s right there. I have a great leader and a great example right in front of me. I can turn the film on all the time.”

Bars also wants to take his physicality up a few notches in 2018. The legacy left behind by Nelson is something Bars is focused on continuing, which will please many Notre Dame fans. 

 “I want to punish guys,” said Bars. “I want to put them in the dirt. There’s another level I can definitely reach. I feel like I had a much better spring in the weight room with Coach (Matt) Balis. He’s been unbelievable for us. 

“It’s just the mentality you’re going to finish no matter what. The play could be going away, and you have to finish them. You have to drive them into the ground when you feel them stumbling. The play might be 20 yards away, but you see tons of Q’s plays where the ball wasn’t anywhere near, and he was still putting them down."

 
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