SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s efforts to replace the 106 starts left behind by the departures of Ronnie Stanley, Nick Martin and Steve Elmer are beginning to take shape this spring.
Through one week of spring practice, coach Brian Kelly said there really are only two spots open for competition on a group that has just 27 combined starts of experience. Redshirt junior tackle Mike McGlinchey and redshirt sophomore guard Quenton Nelson are solidified on the left side of the offensive line, while redshirt junior Sam Mustipher looks locked in at center. That leaves only right guard and right tackle up for grabs, with two players primarily battling at each spot.
At right guard, it’s redshirt junior Colin McGovern and redshirt freshman Tristen Hoge, while at right tackle, redshirt junior Hunter Bivin and redshirt sophomore Alex Bars are competing. And while it’s still early into spring practice, those battles seem to be contained to this group of four players.
“The left side’s pretty much set over there, as you could imagine, with Quenton Nelson and McGlinchey,” Kelly said. “And Sam’s solid at center. So really it’s those four guys and trying to figure out what the best grouping is. And they’re all competing, they’re all doing things, but that’s pretty much what we got going right now.”
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Bars is still working his way back to full strength from the fractured ankle he suffered last October against USC. The Nashville native who Kelly once said is “one of the best I’ve seen in 25 years” backed up Nelson at guard last year, but is a natural tackle and will likely stick there in 2016.
Hoge has the flexibility to play center, too — he was rated by Rivals.com as the nation’s No. 1 center recruit in 2015 — but for now is locked into competing for a starting spot at guard.
McGovern, a former three-star recruit from Lincoln-Way West High School in New Lenox, Ill., deals with some injuries his first few years on campus and only now is strong enough to compete for a spot on the Irish offensive line, Kelly said. While he missed Wednesday’s practice as he works through the program’s concussion protocol, he’s expected back when practice resumes next week.
“He’s been staying away other than this small setback that we’re having right now,” Kelly said. “He’s a good athlete. If we can keep him on the field, he’s got a fighting chance.”