The Leadership Question
[Pete Sampson]
Pete Sampson
Yesterday at 3:04 PM
After facing an uphill climb in leadership this season, at least a couple new captains and a different supporting cast will be asked to step forward to help turn around Notre Dame. The Irish already have names in mind.
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Mike McGlinchey will be back as a captain.
But beyond the left tackle the Irish will require some leadership reinvention to get the program off the mat following a 4-8 season that applied pressure virtually everywhere. Torii Hunter Jr.’s future may be trending away from Notre Dame following graduation despite a fifth-year option, while James Onwualu and Isaac Rochell wrapped up their eligibility last weekend.
That’s one captain back and three likely gone, plus cornerback Cole Luke, who helped bring along four freshman defensive backs who played prominent roles this season. It all makes identifying leadership this offseason critical for Brian Kelly, even amidst a host of other issues to sort.
“I think we’ve got some guys that are already showing leadership capabilities,” said Kelly earlier this month. “Not to give any guys the Captain’s “C” but Greer Martini, Drue Tranquill, Nyles Morgan, those are three guys that stand out to me and have done a really good job of leading immediately. I think we’re going to be in pretty good shape.”
It’s hard to imagine Morgan not being voted a captain after leading Notre Dame with 94 tackles and four sacks in his fist real fulltime role. Morgan evolved into a future captain during the season by understanding how different players respond to different messages at different volumes.
That figures to play well considering neither Onwualu nor Rochell were outsized personalities within the defense this season in the molds of Joe Schmidt, Manti Te’o or Kapron Lewis-Moore before them.
“Nyles is a leader now,” Rochell said. “But I’ll be curious to see how they handle it in the spring because I think it will be weird looking around and not seeing us.
“It’s not like Nyles is gonna have to do it all. Someone will step up on the D-line for sure, a DB will step up for sure. Nick (Watkins) is coming back, maybe it’s him, I don’t know.”
Morgan advocated for Tranquill as his running mate next season based on the personality mix, which could also give the Irish a couple senior captains. Tranquill finished behind only Morgan in tackles this season with 79 despite and up-and-down year in that department.
“Drue has a voice,” Morgan said. “I can see him stepping up into that role. He kind of likes the limelight. He likes that stuff. Me, I’m just kind of like make sure everything is working. If it works, you won’t hear my voice too much. Make sure guys are motivated, make sure guys are doing their thing.
“Drue’s the one that wants to get up there, in front of the lights, do his thing. That’s fine. You need that too. There’s all typed of leadership, different ways to get to guys. I really see him coming on as a leader.”
Kelly wants to enhance the roster’s leadership below the captains too, which was a struggle last season for a team that went so young at receiver and defensive back.
That could mean Equanimeous St. Brown, Julian Love and Daelin Hayes do more next season than just get a year older.
“What we’ll do is let younger players lead,” Kelly said. “If they’re ready to lead, we won’t hold them back from leading. What I’ve tried to do after this year is encourage younger players with natural leadership ability – I’ve spent more time allowing them to go ahead and lead.
“I don’t want to close the door for younger players to lead if they’re capable of leading.”
Notre Dame won’t name its next crew of captains until August, but it’s clear whatever leadership track the Irish take next season will start much sooner. Notre Dame needs a new direction and needs a new batch of leaders to provide it, starting now.
