Notre Dame's Middle Men
When it comes to discussing Notre Dame’s 2017 offensive line, the conversation generally steers into two directions.
One is whether the left side with graduate student/tackle Mike McGlinchey and senior guard Quenton Nelson — both consistently placed in the first round of 2018 mock drafts — comprises the best in the nation.
The other is right tackle, where fledgling sophomore Tommy Kraemer has won the job as the one new starter along the line from 2016 and is Notre Dame’s highest ranked recruit from the past three classes.
And then there are seniors Alex Bars and Sam Mustipher at right guard and center, respectively.
On the outside, they might be classified as undergoing “middle-child syndrome,” which is defined as receiving neither the adulation of the eldest or most experienced (captains McGlinchey and Nelson) nor the attention and interest of the youngest (Kraemer). On the inside, though, their development as full-time second-year starters has not gone unnoticed. They round out a corps that Lindy's has rated as the third best offensive line in the nation in 2017 from a preseason perspective, behind only Alabama and Oklahoma.
Three years ago, it was Bars who played the role of Kraemer when he received so much attention as a freshman left tackle. Head coach Brian Kelly referred to him as one of the most advanced rookie linemen he has ever seen in a quarter century of coaching.
Since then, the ultra-versatile Bars has started two games at left guard (in place of the injured Nelson) in 2015, started all 12 at right tackle last season when the Irish line needed somebody who could play effectively in space, and is now at right guard to make room for Kraemer.
In a pinch, Bars also honed his snapping skills this summer and could fill in at center.
More significant is he has refined his body much better with lean mass, significantly reduced his body fat and has increased his stamina and effectiveness. Last season Bars shot up to as much as 323 pounds which, by his own admission, was too much extra cargo.
Listed currently at 312, the 6-6 Bars noted this Saturday that he is about 308 through camp, which has aided his mobility in a more up-tempo attack.
“Alex Bars arguably has had as good a camp as anybody that we’ve had in terms of transforming his body in the off-season, losing 10-12 pounds and gaining explosiveness,” Kelly said, “He has really put himself in position to be an elite player. He moves well, he’s smart, has multi-position ability … smart, tough, athletic. Really good football player.”
“I just wanted to play at a healthy weight,” Bars said. “It wasn’t the best body composition that I could be at [in 2016]. I just knew that going into this year it would help me a ton if I did lose some excess weight … I really attacked it this summer with that mind-set.”
A self-proclaimed student of the game, Bars noted that his understanding of each position has enhanced his ability to read defenses. That augments the playing experience he has received the past two seasons.
“In film [study] I get to watch each position and understand what they do and really helps me understand the defenses, the different looks, the different blitzes, and what to do on each one of them at each position,” he said.
Last year’s Irish offensive line had only 27 career starts entering the season. This year that number has swelled to 76, which is even more than the 2015 unit that had 68, led by first-round pick Ronnie Stanley and second-round selection Nick Martin, and it was the heart and soul of the 10-3 campaign. The most inexperienced player on that unit was McGlinchey, who had only one career start, but his development was facilitated by the return of four other starters.
“I can help Tommy especially,” said Bars of playing next to Kraemer, the one new starter this year. “I played there last … We’ve been talking through a lot of stuff and figuring it out together.”
Whereas Bars enrolled as a tackle and is now a guard, Mustipher arrived as a guard before shifting to center for the first time in his football playing days in 2015 to start grooming as the heir to Martin.
A case of the “yips” with the snapping temporarily emerged in mid-season last year before it was ironed out. This spring, Kelly placed Mustipher right up there with McGlinchey and Nelson as a team leader even if “captain” was not next to his name. That has continued through the summer and 11 practices this month.
“He was beyond reproach in everything … as an engineering student, excelling in the classroom,” Kelly said. “His summer was outstanding in terms of the way he transformed himself physically, but as a leader as well.”
The two backups behind Mustipher this spring, Tristen Hoge and Parker Boudreaux, transferred to BYU and Central Florida, respectively. However, similar with Bars working with Kraemer, Mustipher’s guidance with junior Trevor Ruhland, a former guard, has better solidified the center position.
“If you’d ask [offensive line coach] Harry [Hiestand], Ruhland has graded out really well, which was important for us to have a backup center,” Kelly said.
Mustipher’s development also is benefitting junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush, a first-time starter.
“Sam not only has the experience but has the knowledge to put a lot of the protection checks and things that centers are required to do, especially with a younger quarterback,” Kelly said. “Sam has taken a lot of that responsibility on his shoulders.”
The head coach did admit that fatigue took a toll on Mustipher last year as the fourth quarter rolled around, but there has been an appreciable difference this August.
“Sam was one of those guys that, at times, conditioning … you worried a little about him at times,” Kelly said. “There’s no worry about that with him at all.”
“I expect to be a guy the team can count on every down to get the job done and snap the football to the quarterback, go execute the block,” said Mustipher succinctly of his objectives this season.
“Getting set right away, getting my hand on the football as fast as possible and just going from there.
“We’ve communicated a lot before, but now we just communicate more and are more sure of ourselves. I know what to study now going into games and tape … “It’s now just jelling more with the guys, becoming a master of what we have offensively and being an expert on what the defenses are going to run as well.”
Like in 2015, the 2017 Notre Dame unit is expected to “lay it on the line.”
----
• Talk about it inside Rockne's Roundtable
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_CoachD,
@BGI_MattJones, @BGI_DMcKinney and @BGI_CoreyBodden.
• Like us on Facebook