By John Brice
Special Contributor
By the time Michael Mayer put on the Notre Dame uniform, he was well-versed with the script.
The Fighting Irish’s All-American tight end had spent the private flight to Las Vegas completely matching his reputation as a locked-in, consummate professional.
So when Mayer received Katy Lonergan’s script for Notre Dame’s secret “Hangover”-themed video spoof for the program’s all-new, all-white-with-gold-trim Shamrock Series uniforms for Saturday’s game against BYU, Mayer went to work.
“Absolutely, there was some preparation to this,” said Mayer, who in last month’s Irish win at North Carolina moved into sole possession of second place at ‘Tight End U.’ for both receptions and touchdowns. “I knew I had to wake up early to fly out and Katy hands me a script or whatever, says here’s your script, memorize these lines.
“I’m thinking like, ‘Oh, here we go. I know I’m going to mess up some of these lines.’ We’re on the plane, watching different clips of the ‘Hangover,’ making sure we’re getting the right stuff, getting the right movements. So there was a little preparation that went into it and it turned out good.”
Coaches saw a new side of Mayer, whose well-honed determination and intensity have become hallmark characteristics of the Irish captain.
“Honestly, I didn’t say anything to him before they filmed; I knew they were going to do it, but I left it alone,” said Irish tight ends coach Gerad Parker. “He’s a pretty straight-forward, straight-line guy, which makes it fun to mess with him a little bit and us have our relationship. So I just said, ‘Hey, you were pretty good, Mike. You surprised me.’
“But I was very surprised that when I mentioned that, he really enjoyed himself and had fun doing it, which I really believe is a big step for him. Because I think that there’s part of who he is as a player and human being to stretch himself to not be comfortable in just being Michael Mayer at Notre Dame. He needs to stretch himself in the right ways. I thought they did, that crew, Alan (Wasielewski) and Katy behind the scenes, I was happy for all of them. Just what a great job.”
While finding the soft spot in a zone defense has become de rigueur for Mayer, the 6-foot-4.5-inch, 265-pounder from the Cincinnati suburb of Independence, Kentucky, admitted he had to talk himself into what became an unquestioned starring role in the Fighting Irish Media Flick, which has been viewed millions of times since its mid-July release.
“So coming here, first thing was ‘You know, I’m just going to try to go to class, play football and get out of here with a degree and hopefully play in the NFL,’” Mayer said. “That was kind of my whole thought process. But as I’ve been here and talking to people and talking to others in the Gug and talking to my family: Why not do stuff like that? Get out of my comfort zone a little bit, like Coach Parker said. It was kind of a big step in saying yes to things like that, it really is, because there’s been some stuff that I’ve been asked to do and I’m like, ‘All right, I might just stay away from that one and keep my focus just on football.’
“It was a big step for me, it really was, getting out of my comfort zone, trying something new, and it was fantastic. It was really fun.”
Much as he has studied Tommy Rees’ Notre Dame playbook, Mayer prepped for this role by rewatching the film – it had been, after all, several years since Mayer had seen the Vegas-set, roaring comedy centered on a guys’ weekend bachelor trip.
Too, Mayer had been firmly in elementary school when the film originally released in 2009.
“I was fairly young, and my parents weren’t letting me watch THAT when I was that young,” Mayer emphasized. “As I got older, I obviously was around and had watched it a bunch. Probably four or five years since I had watched it, so definitely had to refresh myself with it again.”
Rees, who deadpanned he didn’t make the cut for the video but indicated he could have driven the Rolls-Royce the Irish used with Marcus Freeman and Isaiah Foskey in the front seat to Mayer’s backseat role, said Mayer showcased both his personality and his dedicated approach.
“He did better than we would have thought; he can be a little stiff, but his personality came out,” Rees said. “He’s pretty intense and serious more than stiff. He seemed to kind of let loose and have fun, and you’re reminded sometimes that these guys are kids and some of that stuff they enjoy.
“Whatever works for Mike, we’re good with.”
Ineligible for any Hollywood awards, Mayer has embraced the overall rave reviews he received from media members on the Notre Dame beat who contributed their thoughts on video during Irish training camp.
“The best compliment was probably the media video I watched, where probably half the people said I was the best (actor),” Mayer said. “That made me feel really good about myself. I was like, ‘That was definitely worth it. If the Irish media think I’m a good actor, then we’re good.’
“Probably falling out of the car was my favorite part, we had to do that a few times so I got a bit dirtied up. It was fun because when Alan does that in the real movie, it’s pretty funny.”
For Mayer, it’s all in a day’s work.