Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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68 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW If there was a "drawback" to his talents, it's that he didn't have time to develop fully in football weight room work. Despite his rangy frame, he was only about 280 pounds as a col- lege freshman. The trade-off was that his foot- work made him an ideal candidate to develop over several years in college. His line coach at William Penn Charter, Ed Doyle, described McGlinchey as "the proto- typical left tackle with long arms and really good feet." Meanwhile Tom Lemming, a re- cruiting analyst for four decades, described him as one who "could be the best left tackle they've had in 20 years at Notre Dame [or since two-time All-American Aaron Taylor]." The consensus four-star prospect's wel- come-to-college-football moment occurred as a freshman in the fall of 2013 while preparing for the home game versus Oklahoma. He was moved up to the second unit and in 11-on-11 was matched up against the powerful Stephon Tuitt, who would be a second-round pick just months later after his junior campaign. "He gave it to me pretty good," said Mc- Glinchey, wincing at the memory. "I just re- member coming over to Coach Hiestand and he was just like, 'This is the real deal, dude. You better pick it up or you're not going to be here.'" It wasn't until late in his sophomore year in 2014 that his first extensive duty occurred as a reserve during the 49-14 debacle at USC in which he often was matched up against first- round pick Leonard Williams — and held up a little better than expected. When fifth-year senior tackle Christian Lombard saw his football career end because of injury, McGlinchey's starting debut occurred against an always formidable LSU front line in the Music City Bowl, and the sophomore re- sponded with a superb effort, helping the Irish amass 263 rushing yards in the 31-28 victory. First-Round Timber The starting right tackle in all 13 games in 2015, McGlinchey earned the highest grade among the Fighting Irish linemen in Pro Foot- ball Focus' elaborate analysis system. His plus-23.2 season ranked No. 1 among all right tackles in the nation, and he graded out as the eighth-best overall tackle in the country (Stanley was 13th). His plus-20.7 run-blocking grade was stellar, and his plus-4.4 pass-block- ing grade equaled Stanley's. It's hardly a surprise that McGlinchey is considered Notre Dame's top pro prospect in 2017, even though he will have a fifth season of eligibility remaining after this fall. ESPN's Todd McShay for now has him projected as the No. 17 overall pick in an early mock draft and The Big Lead has him No. 18. "I don't think that there's much doubt that he's going to be playing at another level," Kelly said. "His athleticism, his length, his tough- ness … his IQ, how he carries himself, he's going to be a great pro. "He came in with very little knowledge of an offensive line, just even vocabulary, words of an offensive lineman didn't resonate with him. It's really developmental for him and he's made great progress, but I definitely see him playing this game for a long time." He has become somewhat of a hybrid of his predecessors, Martin and Stanley. Mc- Glinchey is rangier than Martin (part of the reason why Martin plays guard in the NFL) and is considered more of a road grader in the run game than Stanley, who like McGlinchey excelled in high school basketball while play- ing for the nation's top-ranked team at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman. McGlinchey's main personal challenge has been to harness his passion/hunger for domi- nance into a calmer, business-like on-field demeanor like a Martin or Stanley. "You need to have a fire in your stomach and the want to beat the guy across from you," McGlinchey said. "But at the same time, you've got to be cool, calm and col- lected, because if your head's not in it, you're not going to be able to make your block. … It's a process of learning how to get beat and regain yourself for the next one." Hiestand met with McGlinchey in January about moving to the left side for two reasons. One was to find a comparable successor to Stanley. Two was to form a lethal left side — a la Martin and Chris Watt from 2011-13 — with junior Quenton Nelson, who Mc- Glinchey already describes as "one of the best guards in the country." The offensive line collectively is in a state of flux because it needs to replace three-year starters in Stanley and center/two-time captain Nick Martin, plus right guard Steve Elmer, a 30-game starter who opted to graduate this May and move on with his life after forming a strong right side with McGlinchey last year. "Somebody's got to do it," McGlinchey said of the shift. "I'm just following the ex- ample of others before me." This spring, McGlinchey, remained a vo- cal, intense presence — and a good bet to earn a captaincy — but was more attuned to building collective cohesion along the re- vamping line. "I don't really hide my emotions too much," McGlinchey said with a smile. "That's something I've had to work on, reeling it in at times. I'm definitely not a guy that is quiet out there. … The idea is to get everybody do- ing the same thing the same way at all times. That's what we work for. "We're going to have cohesion, no matter what." Pro Football Focus' rating system graded McGlinchey as the No. 1 right tackle and the eighth-best overall tackle nationally in 2015. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA "It's a special accolade to be a left tackle at the University of Notre Dame. … It's something I want to live up to, if not exceed." MCGLINCHEY