Senior lineman Colin McGovern provides the type of experience that’ll come in handy on an offensive line that some believe is the finest in college football, but still has some depth concerns. McGovern’s versatility—he’s in the conversation at right guard while likely providing depth behind Alex Bars at right tackle—is something we’ve seen in flashes since the Illinois native first came to campus. But finding a path to the field has been difficult, especially as poorly timed injuries struck.
Injuries or not, McGovern’s personnel battles made winning any job a herculean task. With Zack Martin, Ronnie Stanley and now Mike McGlinchey all profiling to be first round tackles, a shift inside was probably the most prudent to seeing playing time. Now as a fourth-year veteran preparing for his third season of eligibility, McGovern will enter fall camp hoping to win a starting guard job, but ready to fill in where needed.
COLIN MCGOVERN
6'4.5", 315 lbs.
Senior, No. 62, OL
RECRUITING PROFILE
McGovern picked Notre Dame over offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, and a ton of other elite programs, a national recruit from the Chicago suburbs. He was better liked by some recruiting services than others, and his position was somewhat a question mark, too. Listed as a tackle, Notre Dame saw him as a guard prospect.
PLAYING CAREER
Freshman Season (2013): Did not see action.
Sophomore Season (2014): Played in two games as a reserve guard, seeing action against both Rice and Michigan.
Junior Season (2015): Made eight appearances, playing mostly on special teams. Played 16 snaps at right guard against UMass.
WHAT WE SAID LAST YEAR
Notre Dame’s tackles stayed upright last season and when Quenton Nelson went down it was Alex Bars who filled in.Right now, the weak spot on Notre Dame’s offensive line is the depth at tackle and center. I’m not convinced that Hunter Bivin is the best option if someone goes down on the outside, and that’s a place where McGovern might be able to thrive.
Brian Kelly went out of his way to discuss McGovern this spring, praising both his size and ability, and talking about his opportunity to cross-train across the guard and tackle depth chart.
It’ll likely take someone going down for McGovern to get his chance, but if he has a strong camp, I get the feeling that he and Alex Bars will ascend to the key backups at tackle, while McGovern could also make a case for being a candidate to be sixth-or-seventh man.
FUTURE POTENTIAL
The road to the field seems very limited for McGovern if he can’t win the right guard job. That’ll likely come into focus in August, especially after the staff gets a look at Tommy Kraemer and the progress made by fellow candidates Hunter Bivin and Tristen Hoge.
McGovern has the feet and athleticism to survive at tackle, something that’ll keep him in the mix behind Alex Bars. A fifth year is likely if he’s able to provide some stability on the edge, knowing that McGlinchey isn’t likely coming back for a fifth year if he’s as good as we all think he is.
That’s not flashy upside. But serving as an understudy on one of the best offensive lines in the country is no small feat.
CRYSTAL BALL
I’ve always thought McGovern was a solid football player, but he just hasn’t been able to break through. Last spring’s concussion really seemed to set him back in a position battle that seemed up for grabs—we’ll see if that’s still the case entering fall camp.
A veteran without much experience is likely going to take over for Steve Elmer. It’s just tough to say it’ll be McGovern, when it looked like Hunter Bivin had emerged at the end of spring practice. McGovern’s experience and versatility will be where his value is established.
2016’s Irish A-to-Z
Josh Adams
Josh Barajas
Alex Bars
Asmar Bilal
Hunter Bivin
Grant Blankenship
Jonathan Bonner
Ian Book
Parker Boudreaux
Miles Boykin
Justin Brent
Devin Butler
Jimmy Byrne
Daniel Cage
Chase Claypool
Nick Coleman
Te’von Coney
Shaun Crawford
Scott Daly
Micah Dew-Treadway
Liam Eichenberg
Jalen Elliott
Nicco Feritta
Tarean Folston
Mark Harrell
Daelin Hayes
Jay Hayes
Tristen Hoge
Corey Holmes
Torii Hunter Jr.
Alizé Jones
Jamir Jones
Jarron Jones
Jonathan Jones
Tony Jones Jr.
Khalid Kareem
DeShone Kizer
Julian Love
Tyler Luatua
Cole Luke
Greer Martini
Jacob Matuska
Mike McGlinchey