I think you may consider someone a leader and the guy next to you wouldn't consider the same person a leader, as the definition of a leader is likely going to be different between two people.
Take for instance Matthias Farley.
He had a career where he started out redshirting and no one gave a thought to whether or not he'd make an impact in 2012 in his redshirt freshman season. The kid got thrown into the starting safety role when Jamoris Slaughter went down and played well.
Then in his sophomore year, he battled through injuries and never lived up to the promise he showed as a redshirt freshman.
The fan base got down on him and he was the butt of many jokes.
Come his junior season in 2014, he made the move to nickel back, a move that some might have questioned and he blossomed. His limitations were hidden and he had a big year. He started to show more and more confidence, as he started to play better, which in turn put him into a leadership role by the end of the year.
Finally, in his fifth season, Farley was asked to move out of the nickel and back to safety where things were rough, as BVG was trying to give Max Redfield every shot to win the job, but never took hold of it. Farley was always the saving grace and bailed Notre Dame out with good play, but not the game-changing play needed from the free safety position.
However, Farley didn't pout, he didn't turn into a ghost on the sideline. He embraced the role and ran with it.
The kid helped the team grow. He helped on defense and special teams. He got on players in practice and in games. Was he Harrison Smith on the field? No, but he made sure the team was locked in and made sure the locker room was good.
Much can be said about Chris Brown during his time at Notre Dame. Here's a kid that wasn't used as well as he could have been, but the kid never uttered a bad word about the offense or being misused. He led the WR corps for two years, while not being the star of the show. If you watched A Season With, you saw that. It was Brown leading the group, not Will Fuller, not Corey Robinson or Amir Carlisle.
While Brown wasn't a captain, that's what Notre Dame missed the most in 2016. They missed the leaders in position groups that held the group accountable.
They missed Farley making sure the younger guys were up to speed and knew what was going on whether or not they were playing.
Now is that all the problems in 2016? Absolutely not, but it was a big one that contributed to losing games late. No one stepped up in 2016.
Whether it was right or wrong, I think that's why Kelly gave Zaire more of a shot than he should have. Zaire has unique leadership qualities that Kizer simply didn't have. That's not saying Kizer wasn't a leader or the team didn't follow him, but for Zaire it just comes natural. However, if you can't make plays, then you can't play and Zaire never did that in 2016.
I think in 2017, Notre Dame will have more of the Chris Brown's, Matthias Farley's on the team. It's an older team. They saw what worked and what didn't work in 2016. It's on them to change that part of the locker room.
Awesome post.
You actually brought tears to my eyes.
I agree with everything you said. In fact, I see that the question we should have been considering isn't 'who led like a captain,' but who provided the subtle leadership of being a good teammate, playing to the best of one's ability, continually, and having time and faith to put everyone else first. Because that is what you described! And certainly you are correct, team 127 had that in spades!
Let me say, I am jealous of you being able to live it first hand. And as far as MFarley, we were among his biggest fans, never down on him. Even at his lowest. We knew he would be successful at whatever he did. My son used to track him on the field, or sideline all game long. I was not surprised to see his rookie preseason grades in the NFL at all.
And with any wisdom that comes from advanced age (Of course I am totally hyperbolizing!), you can mark it down and tell anyone, in the long run I would rather be a Mathias Farley, than someone with all the skill and talent, to whom it comes easy, but none of the intelligence or heart a guy that is willing to put everything on the line has.
Sixty second superstars come and go, and most do crash and burn after a few years at a boys game, but guys like Farley and Brown, guys that have all the tools, they have something that is far more valuable than a little fame. To me, these guys are the 'Real Notre Dame Men,' whatever that is! But it is valuable as hell, because that is why they are in such demand, no matter what they do.
I do have a couple of questions :
Do you think the reason no Farley's or Brown's popped up this last season was because the team was just so young?
What about McGlinchey? On the cusp? Or cursed by Wild Bill's lineman's lament, (see post 1614)?
Who do you see as the most likely candidates to step up this coming season?
Thanks, again!
