Notre Dame has not begun spring practice yet, unlike Labor Day opponent Louisville. (Yes, really, the Cardinals held their first practice under new head coach Scott Satterfield on Monday.) At some point near the beginning of spring practice, though, Irish head coach Brian Kelly will likely name a few 2019 team captains.
Notre Dame narrowed the candidates for the parlor game of guessing those captains by announcing the eight “SWAT” leaders earlier this month, a subset identified as the motivating and organizing forces of offseason activities. Those eight …
— Senior quarterback Ian Book— Senior left tackle Liam Eichenberg— Senior safety Jalen Elliott— Fifth-year receiver Chris Finke— Senior safety Alohi Gilman (pictured at top)— Junior right tackle Robert Hainsey— Senior defensive end Khalid Kareem— Senior defensive end Julian Okwara
The journey to a stronger, faster, and more focused team begins with our SWAT team captains.
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) February 1, 2019
Meet the 8 men entrusted with leading our team:
@ian_book23 @Jae_Uno_
@Iggyike17 @khalid_kareem53 @alohigilman @SlipperyFox10
@shwaggyj @rhainsey72 #GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/J9fJiB8Qqw
Half of the eight could have eligibility in 2020 — Book, Eichenberg, Gilman and Hainsey — but the better indicators of captainship do not inherently tie to that. For example, it is expected Gilman will head to the NFL following the 2019 season if he plays well enough to warrant that pondering at all. His transfer following the 2017 season was entirely due to professional aspirations. That, along with his competitive attitude very clearly demonstrated during last season’s unbeaten run, makes Gilman a frontrunner in this speculation.
Book, meanwhile, is unlikely to be one of the captains simply because the starting quarterback already serves in that role to some de facto extent. The coaching staff generally prefers to elevate a few others while not taking away from the inherent nature of the quarterback position.
On the other hand, the Irish have had at least one captain on the offensive line each of the last seven seasons. Either Eichenberg or Hainsey seems positioned to continue that, the former with an additional year in the program but the latter with one more season of playing time under his belt.
Presuming one of those offensive linemen joins Gilman, it remains likely Notre Dame names at least one more captain. His rise from walk-on to offensive contributor and multiple-year starter makes Finke uniquely relatable to the entire roster.
Guessing here is, of course, inconsequential, but with spring practice about three weeks away on the horizon, pondering now helps pass that time.
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