Mustipher Ready To Tango With Virginia Tech

With the injury to senior guard Alex Bars, more responsibility will be on the shoulders of senior captain center Sam Mustipher to keep the offensive line disciplined in a hostile environment inside Lane Stadium on Saturday night.

“It is critical,” Mustipher expressed about playing without Bars.  “You have to have communications, back to the basics and fundamentals. All of that has to be to a T especially in a hostile environment like that.”

Bars won’t be on the field, but he was able to advise Trevor Ruhland and the rest of the offensive line during practice this week. The fifth-year senior won't travel this weekend to Virginia Tech as he is set for surgery next week. 

“When you lose a valuable asset like Alex, for me a close friend and I understand how much work, time and effort he has put in to be the player that he is and playing how dominant he was this season,” explained Mustipher.  “It is devastating to see anybody go down like that, but the thing I know about Alex is that he is going to be here every step of the way to help these guys.

Saturday is a big night for Virginia Tech as a program. Notre Dame is ready for the 66,233 screaming Hokie fans.

“We will see it is going to be loud down there,” explained Mustipher. “I know they have the unveiling for a statue for Frank Beamer, so it is going to be a hostile environment. It is going to be an incredible opportunity for us, we are looking forward to the challenge, and hopefully, we will deal with the noise.”

Last year’s collapse against Miami on the road is still in the back of the Irish player’s mind. They focused throughout the offseason and during this week in practice on preparing for this mid-season away matchup.

“We have just practiced chaos throughout the year, but any away game especially in an environment like Lane Stadium we understand this is not a challenge we have been presented with before,” Mustipher stated. “All offseason we have simulated the challenge, but it is one thing to simulate and another to experience, so we have to go out there back to the basic, fundamentals and technique and go from there.”

Ian Book will make his third start under center for the Irish this season and his 6-foot-3, 306-pound center knows their communication will be essential for their offense against a very talented Hokie defensive front.

“I have to be in sync with the quarterback at all times, and it is especially important for the tackles that I am in sync with them,” the upperclassmen lineman informed. “We have been working on it, but you can’t simulate an environment like that.”

Mustipher is confident he will do his job, and he also has the utmost confidence in his signal-caller to do his.

“He has a swagger about him," said Mustipher. "He is a baller, and that is all he wants to do. He is undersized, and I am sure people have told him that his entire life and he plays with a chip on his shoulder. We talk about the plays he made last week, throwing across his body, throwing that dart into the end zone or just that little shuffle pass at the end of the game to get the first down ice the game. The kid just loves ball, and he is not concerned about what everybody else is saying. He is just concerned about not letting this team down.”