Aug. 31, 2000

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – This year, we really have a good mixture of senior captains when it comes to personality.

Anthony Denman is a competitive and tough football player. He is one of our best hitters. What I have found out of over the years is the guys who are the best hitters, are your best leaders. There is so much respect for him on this football team. He is not real vocal or outspoken, but he is a hard-nosed football player which is what a leader really is.

Grant Irons is your prototypical Notre Dame man. He works very hard at his academics. He is active in the community. And he is a tremendously hard worker. Grant is the kind of player that everyone is pulling for. He leads by example. There is leadership throughout his family. His father played professional football for 12 years. One of his brothers was a captain at Michigan and another brother played at Nebraska.

Jabari Holloway is another total package. He is an engineering major who is very serious about his academics. Jabari has grown up a lot in terms of his football. Early on in his career, he went through some hard times. Now, he is a great example for some younger guys in terms of sticking with it and persevering through the tough times. Jabari took on a lot more responsibility with his title of captain. I am extremely pleased with his overall progress.

Dan O’Leary is a motivator. Dan comes up with a lot of innovative ideas to juice up the team. He is also a solid football player.

It is really unique to have two captains who play the same position. Having both Jabari and Dan as captains shows how strong both of their personalities are.

This summer, these guys really stepped up. The football team stayed here this summer and we went through it without any setbacks. That is a credit to our captains. Heading into camp, I was pleased with the leadership, and coming out of camp, I was even more pleased. The attitude was good all the way through.

We have asked this football team to do a lot and they have without doing any complaining. It is the lack of complaints that shows me how good the leadership on this team really is.