Drue Tranquill A Natural Face Of Notre Dame Football Again
In December 2016, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly took it upon himself to immediately name seven captains for the 2017 campaign following a 4-8 debacle.
The “limited democracy,” as he refers to it, was opened up more this season after a 10-3 finish and No. 11 placement, although Kelly still has the ultimate say. However, one of the easiest decisions that will occur in 2018 came when fifth-year senior Drue Tranquill was named the 23rd two-time captain in Notre Dame football annals.
According to Kelly, Tranquill received a team high 85 percent of the vote among 88 ballots cast by the team, with center Sam Mustipher and punter Tyler Newsome joining him this spring (a fourth will be named at the end of spring).
Nobody is more qualified to be the face of Notre Dame football than Tranquill, the devout Christian, Academic All-American — he received his engineering degree in December — who has bounced back from two ACL surgeries and is now undergoing a third position switch.
“I remember when I was like 12 years old, I was sitting in my room and I was ambitiously dreaming of what my future might look like,” Tranquill recalled. “And I remember taking a poster off the wall in my room and writing on the back, ‘Lord, I trust you, the plans you have for me. If you give me the platform so I can influence others, I’ll give it all back to you in full.’
“I have to thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. It’s been cool to kind of see that come to fruition … It humbles me and makes me feel really good. But with that comes a lot of responsibility and I recognize that. It’s a lot of work, and I saw that last year.”
After enduring ACL surgeries in November 2014 and September 2015, Tranquill has started all 25 games the past two seasons. In 2014 it was at safety, where he was the second-leading tackler, and last year it was at the new, hybrid rover spot, where he thrived under linebackers coach Clark Lea, now the first-year defensive coordinator. He finished third in tackles (85), second in stops for loss (10.5) and first in fumbles recovered (3) on the upgraded defense.
This year, Tranquill was moved to Buck linebacker, where the graduated Greer Martini and top tackler Te’von Coney (now at Mike linebacker) rotated last season.
“It’s always fun coming into spring ball because I’m taking my first reps at a new position,” said the 6-2, 233-pound Fort Wayne product with a chuckle. “It’s a unique experience. It can be frustrating at times because you’d like to be farther along in your development than you are, but I’ve learned something from each position — whether it’s the coverage side of things from safety, whether it’s doing both at rover or whether it’s seeing keys in the box and seeing other keys in my run reads at Buck.
“All of them will contribute to help me be a more holistic player and have a better understanding of football as a whole.”
The move to Buck became a "recruiting pitch" to Tranquill by the coaching staff because weak side linebacker will become his natural position in the NFL.
“I knew in my mind I need development at that position, so it was kind of a general understanding that they had gotten feedback from NFL teams — I had obviously got feedback from NFL teams — and we all understood this is what I needed to develop that,” he said.
With the shift to weak side linebacker, Tranquill will be involved in much more physicality than in the open space he had at rover.
“Probably the biggest thing is being closer to the line and closer to the core of the action,” Tranquill said. “You really have to be able to expand your vision and see multiple things happening at once. Be able to read your key in the pass game but also see pullers and adjust on the fly.
“Being an engineer and seeing things more through tunnel vision, it’s going to be a challenge in terms of being able to expand my vision and see those other keys. But it’s something that I really think is going to benefit my game and my ability to see defense as a whole.”
Tranquill gained a deep respect last year for the developmental skills of Lea, who has an erudite, professorial demeanor while still keeping his teachings relatively simplified.
“He comes across as like a mentor to all of us, not just trying to coach the Xs and Os but really trying to build a culture and build a group of guys that are going to do great things here and beyond the field,” Tranquill said.
“He can take an enormous amount of responsibility and you wouldn’t be able to tell it. He still has time for all of us, he still has time to meet with us, time to talk to us … if he sees us in passing, he’s taking five minutes to see how our day is going. Everything that comes with stepping into the new role and taking on the responsibilities of a defensive coordinator, you wouldn’t even necessarily know with him. He still makes time for us.
“It’s almost father-like in that he’s very open and honest. He got to know me early and got to know what made me tick, and that has allowed him to maybe say difficult things to me, say things that I need to work on, things I need to improve upon, and I’m able to take that and know that it’s out of his genuine best interest for me.”
One of Lea’s constant preachings is to be “humble workers,” because everyone is a work in progress.
“We can’t control the outcome, but we can control our response,” Tranquill summarized.
With the engineering degree in hand and marriage to his fiancée coming this summer, the simple decision for Tranquill would have been to begin a new chapter in his life beyond Notre Dame. Yet, there also was a yearning for one more year to don the gold helmet.
“Honestly, I just love this team so much, love this university and the opportunity to play,” Tranquill said. “There’s just something special about college football. You can’t necessarily put your finger on it until you’ve actually experienced it and played it, but in my heart I knew I wanted to be a part of this thing for one more year and finish what we started.”
If only all decisions could be as easy as making Tranquill a team captain.
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