Story Poster
Photo by Rick Kimball/ISD
Notre Dame Football

Top 10 Picks Confident In Notre Dame's Future

April 26, 2018
4,243

Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey played major roles in Notre Dame’s bounce-back 2017 season.

But they're now officially off to the NFL after having both been selected in the Top 10 of the first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft. Notre Dame has known it would have to replace those two huge pieces of its offensive line puzzle for months now, but both are confident the Irish will be well-equipped to continue moving forward.

“We just put down a layer,” Nelson said of Notre Dame’s 10-3 season in 2017 after a dismal 4-8 campaign a year prior.

“The next layer will come next year.”

Nelson, who was selected sixth by the Indianapolis Colts, pointed to the changes Brian Kelly made, starting with the addition of strength coach Matt Balis.

“It was definitely the first meeting we had with Coach Balis,” Nelson said. “You could tell he didn’t take anything. He keeps everyone accountable.

“We got after it in the weight room. Everyone really bought in and trusted the process.”

Nelson also said the offense played hard for first-year offensive coordinator Chip Long.

McGlinchey, who went ninth to the San Francisco 49ers, talked about Kelly’s emphasis on reinstalling the culture in South Bend.

“As much of a buzzword as that can be sometimes, I think it really truly is that,” he said. “I’ve talked about it with Coach Kelly some, the way you win is with people. I feel as though we have the best now. I feel like we lost a little bit of that previously and that’s what gave us some hard times.

“We’ve got the right people leading the team, they’re bringing the right people in to play for the team. The amount of work you’re going to put in when you’re here, it’s going to translate into success.”

McGlinchey said, “Notre Dame attracts the best and the brightest.”

“It’s the same for the coaches as well,” he said. “People want to play here and people want to coach here. It’s about making the decision to put your own self-interest aside for the betterment of Notre Dame. I think (we have) done that and the people in place have done that starting with Coach Kelly all of the way down.”

McGlinchey says it’s now up to the current leaders of the program to continue moving in the same direction.

“Drue Tranquill is obviously one of those guys,” he said. “Guys like Shaun Crawford will be huge for us. I think Sam Mustipher is going to be a guy who’s extremely vocal and is going to step up in a huge way for us. It’s going to be his team.

“There will be guys all over the place. There are a lot of alphas left in that locker room and the coaching staff will make sure they find them.”

Both linemen offered advice for their former teammates.

“I would just say to keep working hard this offseason and keep putting in the work to be successful,” Nelson said. “They have a lot of talented guys who love each other and play together.”

“Just to trust one another,” McGlinchey added. “That’s one thing I thought I was in fault the year previously. I think I pushed a little too hard. I think I spread myself too thin.

“It’s about trusting your teammates, trusting your coaches and doing your job first and then finding a way you can help after that. If you can do that, you’re probably going to be a pretty good leader. You’ve got to set the example and be the example.”

 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.