Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 PRESEASON 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BLOCKING OUT THE NOISE Every year college coaches implore their players to "block out the noise" from fans and media, be it positive or negative. In the cases of fifth-year senior left tackle Mike McGlinchey and senior left guard Quenton Nelson — both captains — they are familiar with the "blocking" aspect. The "noise" centers more on their individual sta- tus as perhaps the best offensive line combination in the land. NFL.com had Nelson ranked as the No. 1 overall lineman in the nation for the 2018 NFL Draft, while also listing McGlinchey at No. 5. Lindy's preseason outlook listed the nation's top 10 premier "Dynamic Duos," which is dominated by skill position athletes such as quarter- back/running back, i.e. USC's Sam Darnold and Ronald Jones Jr. at No. 3. Yet it included the Nelson/Mc- Glinchey tandem at No. 7, making them the lone offensive line represen- tatives. Both were Associated Press third-team All-Americans in 2016. One of the more reticent members of the team the past couple of years while letting his play do the talking, Nelson admits he's only human when it comes to being flattered by praise. "I don't shut it out completely," Nel- son said of the preseason hype. "I'll look at it every once in a while, and it's nice to see. But it just makes me want to work harder because I want to prove to everyone the player I am. "Me and Mike are just focused on improving every day. We have a lot to work on individually and together, because we play right next to each other. We block it out, but it's still good to hear." McGlinchey, whose cousin Matt Ryan was the NFL MVP last year as the quarterback of the Atlanta Fal- cons, has always envisioned a long pro career ahead of him, so he's taken a similar "professional" approach to any accolades he might receive in college. "You just have to look at the film and be honest with yourself and learn how to improve rather than lis- ten to what people are saying about you," McGlinchey said. "There's no pressure 'Q' and I are feeling from that. We know it doesn't mean any- thing until we play ball. "Whatever happens at the end of this year we'll be happy to deal with and move on in our separate paths, but Q and I know there's a lot of work to be done here regardless of what people on the outside are say- ing. … As soon as you lose the goal of improvement, you're not going to be a good football player anymore." McGlinchey is striving for a similar turnaround this year with a line that has 76 career starts — eight more than the 2015 group did, and nearly triple the 27 entering last year. "There was a lot of lack of trust across the board last year, and that's one of the things I definitely worked on coming into this season," Mc- Glinchey said. "It's been a constant battle trying to put that behind us." As for Nelson, he's embraced his new leadership role with a fervor. "I haven't had to force myself at all," he replied when asked if he's tried to coerce more of a vocal lead- ership from himself this season. "If I see something wrong, I'm going to call you out on it. "We need every single guy that we have. It's really about picking up your teammates if any of them are slipping and telling them we need them. I'm trying to win every single game this year, and I'm going to hold my teammates accountable and not let that goal be affected." That's the kind of noise teammates of Nelson would be well advised not to block out. TIGHT (END) FITS On paper, no school the past four years has recruited better at tight end than Notre Dame. In 2014, senior Nic Weishar was a Parade first-team All-American while becoming the all-time recep- tion leader in Illinois. In 2015, Alizé Mack was tabbed as a first-team All- Fifth-year senior Durham Smythe — who has started 15 of the 28 career games he has played in, and com- piled 13 catches for 137 yards and five touchdowns — has the most experience among the tight ends. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN