SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly unveiled five team captains last week, an unusual number of program history. And it wasn’t easy to settle on which five players would have a “C” stitched on their jersey this fall.
“I probably could have named 10, seriously,” Kelly said.
Kelly’s initial list started at 10 players, which he then whittled down to seven. Sensing that’d be too many, he finally cut the list down to five, which still is high — Notre Dame had only named five captains in two previous seasons, according to Irish Illustrated’s Tim Prister.
That Kelly was able to cast a wide net on captaincy speaks to the kind of leadership he and his players believe they have heading into the 2015 season.
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“I believe there are other guys who probably could have been elected, but I don’t think you can have half the team walk out,” defensive back and fifth-year senior captain Matthias Farley laughed. “It’s leadership across the board, just not the guys wearing the ‘C.’
“… (It’s) been incredible to see throughout camp from the first day to where we’re at now, so many people have stepped up and become more vocal. I think when you have that leadership from the top down, the bottom up, young guys call out older guys and vice versa, it really leads to an awesome environment and a great team.”
So even though guys like Malik Zaire, Ronnie Stanley, Chris Brown, Will Fuller, KeiVarae Russell, Jarrett Grace and Max Redfield weren’t named captains, they’re still viewed as leaders who hold teammates accountable. That’s a trait Notre Dame’s 2012 team had, with a host of others serving as team leaders outside of the team’s four captains.
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"I think that’s what led to some of the success we had that year," fifth-year senior linebacker and captain Joe Schmidt said. "I learned a lot from those guys, a guy like Dan Fox who never had a 'C' on his chest but he led a lot of guys and did so many things. There were so many other guys on that team, you had Zeke Motta and people that were really pushing. … It was a special group and I learned a lot from them."
Notre Dame learned how valuable having non-captain leaders can be last year, when the team didn’t necessarily have those players outside of Schmidt. And when Schmidt was injured Nov. 1, the team crumbled both on and off the field.
“A leader can go down at any time, for example Joe Schmidt last year,” defensive tackle and two-time captain Sheldon Day said. “We kind of saw how much we needed him and how much he played in the leadership role, and just seeing how people can pick up the slack where it kind of left off.”
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Leadership is one of those nebulous concepts that won’t guarantee a playoff push, though having it does help. On a Notre Dame team loaded with skilled players across the board, the feeling that leaders exist in every position group is another reason why optimism isn’t difficult to come by in South Bend.
“This could be the year if we do things the right way,” Russell said. “Talent’s not going to beat TCU. Talent’s not going to beat Ohio State. We’re just as talented as those guys. But at the end of the day we gotta come together as a team and really trust each other.”