July 13, 2017
NOTRE DAME, Indiana – Graduate offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey and senior offensive guard Quenton Nelson of the University of Notre Dame were both selected to the 2017 Outland Trophy Watch List. Senior linebacker Nyles Morgan was chosen to the 2017 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. All three also serve as Irish team captains.
The Outland Trophy is presented to the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).
McGlinchey, the 22nd different two-time captain in Irish football history, started all 12 games in 2016 and enters 2017 with a string of 26 consecutive starts. He earned Associated Press second-team All-America honors last season.
Nelson, Notre Dame’s 2016 Offensive Lineman of the Year, started all 12 games at left guard last season and has started 23 times in his 24-game, two-year playing career. In 2016 Pro Football Focus ranked him eighth in the Football Bowl Subdivision among offensive guards with a grade of 20.5. Nelson did not allow a sack and allowed just one QB hit in ’16 (on 456 pass attempts).
McGlinchey and Nelson are one of 12 offensive line teammates on the Outland Trophy Watch list.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is presented to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player by the FWAA.
Morgan started all 12 games at linebacker last season. He led the team with 94 tackles and four sacks. Morgan registered at least 10 tackles in five different games. He also recorded a career-high 13 tackles, including nine solo stops, in last year’s season opener vs. Texas.
Here’s a quick rundown for the rest of the week and when specific awards will release watch lists:
Mon., July 10: Bednarik Award (Morgan)/Maxwell Award (Josh Adams, McGlinchey)
Tue., July 11: John Mackey Award (Alizé Mack/Durham Smythe)/Rimington Trophy (Sam Mustipher)
Wed., July 12: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
Thur., July 13: Bronco Nagurski Trophy (Morgan)/Outland Trophy (McGlinchey, Quenton Nelson)
Fri., July 14: Jim Thorpe Award
Mon., July 17: Butkus Award/Paul Hornung Award
Tue., July 18: Biletnikoff Award/ Wuerffel Trophy
Wed., July 19: Davey O’Brien Award
Thur., July 20: Doak Walker Award
Fri., July 21: Walter Camp Award
Michael Bertsch, director of football media relations at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2006. An Akron, Ohio, native, he graduated from Walsh University (Ohio) in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in communications and also received his master’s degree in health and physical education with an emphasis in sports administration from Marshall University in 2001.
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