Robert Hainsey: Heir To Notre Dame O-Line Leadership, Skills
It is hardly unusual to name an offensive lineman as a captain at Notre Dame.
With junior right tackle Robert Hainsey one of seven Fighting Irish captains selected in 2019, this marks the eighth consecutive year the offensive line has had representation as a position group: Zack Martin (2012-13), Nick Martin (2014-15), Mike McGlinchey (2016-17), Quenton Nelson (2017), Sam Mustipher (2018) and Alex Bars (2018).
That is the longest streak of any position group ever at Notre Dame since two-platoon football was re-introduced in 1964. Second is linebacker in the six straight years from 2004-09.
What is rare, though, is Hainsey is the first offensive lineman at Notre Dame to be selected a captain in his junior season since Pat Filley in 1943. Ryan Leahy (1994-95), the Martin brothers (Zack and Nick) and McGlinchey were two-time selections — but they were as seniors and graduate students, not in their actual junior academic year.
In the last 100 years, beginning with running back/quarterback Leonard “Pete” Bahan for head coach Knute Rockne’s first unbeaten team in 1919 (9-0), Hainsey is the 11th Notre Dame player in his junior year academically to be accorded the honor. Linebacker Jaylon Smith in 2015 had been the most recent.
Intrinsic leadership skills, advanced training and superior technique have been the hallmarks of Hainsey’s career so far. He was the lone season-long captain at superpower IMG Academy as a high school senior in 2016, and was a rare co-starter as a freshman offensive lineman for the 2017 Notre Dame unit that won the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s best quintet up front.
Last year as a sophomore, despite getting hampered in the first month of the season with a lower leg issue, Hainsey was graded out by Pro Football Focus as Notre Dame’s top lineman in 2018 — with Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Chip Long noting that he was perhaps the most consistent player of any position group on offense.
Hainsey’s performance was highlighted by a 76.1 run blocking grade from PFF that ranks sixth nationally among returning Power Five offensive tackles with at least 450 snaps in 2018. His 80.7 pass block grade ranked 17th, but his overall pass blocking efficiency was No. 4 (including just one sack and two hits allowed).
Now a junior, his strength is matching his technical skills, and the game experience/success the past two years against many of the game’s premier defensive linemen bolsters his approach.
“Hats off to Coach [Matt] Balis and the strength staff,” said the 6-4 5/8, 295-pound Hainsey. “…Those guys push you to your limits and make you better people and players for it. I’ve grown a lot and I’ve matured into my body a little bit more this off season.”
Competing every day against what is considered one of the best group of edge rushers in the country — including fellow captains Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara, along with senior Daelin Hayes — further enhances his objectives.
“It’s a blast going against those guys in practice,” he said. “You get to work every play to make you better. If they get me on one [rush], then I realize this is something I need to work on. I’ll stay after and work on that. The next day I’ll be focusing on that, among other things. It’s just a great way to learn my weaknesses from guys like that, because if I learn them now and can correct them, then they won’t be a problem in September.”
His pragmatic approach serves him well in maintaining an even keel — which in turn helps make him a model of consistency.
“It’s never as good as you think it is, it’s never as bad as you think it is,” said Hainsey, who next season could become the 24th two-time captain in the program’s history. “If you think it was the worst day ever, and go watch it [on tape], it’s, ‘it wasn’t too bad.’ If you had a great day, then you go watch it, it’s ‘I messed these things up.’
“ … You have to self-correct on the field, but when you go finish, you can obviously tell certain things. So I work on some things outside and then you come back and watch the film and really see what you have to work on the most. I’ll write those things down... and those are my focus for the next practice.”
In the 30-3 College Football Playoff loss to Clemson, Hainsey was graded out by PFF as Notre Dame’s top performer at any position on offense with a 70.9 mark (no one else was higher than 65.4). On the other side of the ball, no Tigers offensive lineman was higher than 62.6.
However, the setback and the individual grades are not what Hainsey focuses his attention on.
“The mission never changes,” said Hainsey of the foremost goals to win a national title and graduate. “I can’t say that [the loss] affected us too much because we need to be the same people every day, not change our goals based on outcomes of certain games.”
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