Shortly after Notre Dame named three fifth-year seniors (linebacker Drue Tranquill, center Sam Mustipher and punter Tyler Newsome) as the 2018 captains prior to spring drills — with a fourth to be announced at the end of spring — fifth-year senior guard Alex Bars made clear his objective.
“There’s nothing more that I want in the world right now than to get that fourth spot,” said the third-year starter Bars in the second week of practice while acknowledging his disappointment that he didn’t quite make the cut the first time. “It’s just another challenge. Work harder and be a better leader for the guys and get that fourth spot.”
That came to fruition when Bars was designated the fourth captain in a vote by his teammates this Friday.
The decision was hardly a surprise given Bars’ experience and how he and Mustipher are tied to the hip the way tackle Mike McGlinchey and guard Quenton Nelson were last year. It almost seemed awkward to have one as the captain and not the other after both started all 25 games each of the past two years.
“Alex understands the standards that we have here,” said head coach Brian Kelly. “He models those standards, and the players see that, they react to it positively. You can’t kid those guys … The players wanted him as their next captain. He earned it. We gave everybody the opportunity on our football team to be the fourth captain, and his peers voted for him.”
“Oh my gosh, it’s everything,” responded Bars on what having the new ‘C’ on his jersey means. “It’s the highest honor I’ve ever received … You can’t get more special than being a captain for Notre Dame football.”
Bars’ father, Joe Bars, played linebacker for the Fighting Irish from 1981-84 under head coach Gerry Faust.
In an effort to earn his new title, the younger Bars said he made it a point to reach out to every position group on the team and build relationships with them.
His leadership also has been manifested by the versatility he has brought to his position group. As a freshman, when he redshirted, Bars worked at left tackle, where Kelly described him as one of the most promising prospects along the line he’s been around in 25 seasons. As a sophomore, Bars made his first two career starts at left guard when Nelson was injured.
As a junior in 2016, Bars was shifted to start at right tackle, and then last year he started every game at right guard. In the final week of spring drills this year, Bars was moved to left guard so there can be a veteran presence next to first-time starter Liam Eichenberg at left tackle.
And yes, the 6-6 1/8, 318-pound Bars has been taking snaps at center too in case an emergency situation develops there.
“I’m fine with it,” said Bars of yet another position change. “I’m still figuring out the angles, the right sides to take, aiming points, contact points …”
One might need to go all the way back to 1951-53 the last time a Notre Dame lineman started at three different positions three straight years. That was No. 2 overall NFL pick Art Hunter, who started at center in 1951, end in 1952 and tackle in 1953.
Four has been the magic number for Kelly when it comes to how many single season captains he has per year at Notre Dame. In the five years from 2012-16, four of them had a quartet of captains — until he named a school record seven last year with McGlinchey, Nelson, Tranquill, running back Josh Adams, linebackers Nyles Morgan and Greer Martini, plus walk-on Austin Webster.
Especially notable is that each of the last seven years at least one offensive lineman was represented as a captain. No other position group has been represented more than four times in that span.
“It’s a culture we uphold in the offensive line room,” Bars said. “We set the standard very high as far as how we carry ourselves, the actual drill work we’re doing. In a way, I think people look naturally to us for guidelines as to how they should go about doing their own work …
"Coach Harry Hiestand did a great job of making sure we did everything and led that room, and Coach [first-year offensive line coach Jeff] Quinn has taken over it as well. It just works out that way.”
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