When Brian Kelly plucked offensive lineman John Montelus from his hometown of Everett, Massachusetts, the Irish looked to be adding another mauler to the interior of Harry Hiestand’s offensive line. And after two seasons of reshaping his body and learning the ropes, Montelus is in a competitive two-deep, still looking for a role in this offense.
Yet another highly-touted recruit in the junior class fighting for playing time up front, Montelus ran with the second-string this spring behind right guard Steve Elmer while Quenton Nelson and Alex Bars shared time on the left side. That’s a long way from where he started, badly out of shape after a shoulder injury disrupted the beginning of his career.
Let’s take a closer look at Montelus and the still uphill climb he has in front of him.
JOHN MONTELUS
6’4″, 310 lbs.
Junior, No. 60, OL
RECRUITING PROFILE
A Top 100 prospect who picked Notre Dame over places like Florida, LSU, Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio State and more.
Kelly went into his hometown and plucked one of Massachusetts’ best football players, a US Army All-American. But Montelus hurt his shoulder in San Antonio, ultimately setting him back at the beginning of his career.
PLAYING CAREER
Freshman Season (2013): Did not see action.
Sophomore Season (2014): Played in one game, seeing time against Michigan. Served as a guard on Notre Dame’s offensive scout team.
WHAT WE SAID LAST YEAR
The shoulder injury seemed to slip by me last year. But I do like the comparison to Chris Stewart, one of my favorite student-athletes to come through Notre Dame in quite some time.
For as promising as Montelus is as a prospect, it might be a while until he works his way into the lineup. This season is a perfect year for him to get some experience on special teams, a massive interior blocker that should keep punters and place kickers safe. From there, he’ll need to continue working, as he’ll battle some promising prospects for playing time, especially as Hiestand’s recruiting efforts don’t seem to be slowing down.
In many ways, Montelus reminds me of a better-developed Chris Stewart. It took the former offensive lineman a few seasons to get his body under control and to find the best way to tap into his potential before becoming a nice starter for the Irish.
We’re going to have to recalibrate what we expect from offensive linemen in South Bend, especially as the two-deep becomes packed with players capable of contributing. That means that Montelus might not be on the field all that soon, but his future is still as bright as ever.
FUTURE POTENTIAL
The embarrassment of riches (at least on paper) that Notre Dame has along the offensive line makes projecting Montelus’ future very difficult. This spring, new offensive coordinator Mike Sanford mentioned that the offensive line depth—nearly ten deep with players capable of starting—gave him flexibility like he’s never had. Montelus will need some of that flexibility to be put into play if he wants to be a viable option to replace (or surpass) Steve Elmer or Quenton Nelson.
Realistically, Montelus needs to keep working for his opportunity. Nelson doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Elmer has two seasons left of competition. And there’s not much positional flexibility for Montelus, one of Notre Dame’s more true guards.
Again, there’s a reason why Montelus was highly recruited. But entering his third year, and in competition with players like Colin McGovern, Sam Mustipher, Hunter Bivin, Mark Harrell and Jimmy Byrne (with elite talent on its way in), the depth chart is only going to reload.
CRYSTAL BALL
The number I find most impressive with Montelus is 310. (Pounds.) That’s down 30 from when Montelus was an out-of-shape freshman, showing his commitment to fitness and reshaping his body after recovering from shoulder surgery.
Going from what we’ve heard is always dangerous, but Montelus has a reputation of being one of the team’s more physical interior offensive linemen. That should serve him well, especially as the Irish try to eliminate the finesse from their game plan. And he’s gotten the attention of his head coach, who talked about the additional reps he was taking this spring and how it’s only helped him improve and show the coaches what he’s capable of doing.
Ultimately, I think Montelus makes his move—but only onto the offensive line on special teams. Unless an injury hits on the interior, I expect regular action for him on the kick units, all while making sure he holds onto his place in the two-deep at guard.
THE 2015 IRISH A-to-Z
Josh Adams, RB
Josh Barajas, OLB
Nicky Baratti, S
Alex Bars, OL
Asmar Bilal, OLB
Hunter Bivin, OL
Grant Blankenship, DE
Jonathan Bonner, DE
Miles Boykin, WR
Justin Brent, WR
Greg Bryant, RB
Devin Butler, CB
Jimmy Byrne, OL
Daniel Cage, DL
Amir Carlisle, RB
Nick Coleman, DB
Te’von Coney, LB
Shaun Crawford, DB
Scott Daly, LS
Sheldon Day, DL
Michael Deeb, LB
Micah Dew-Treadway, DL
Steve Elmer, RG
Matthias Farley, DB
Nicco Fertitta, DB
Tarean Folston, RB
Will Fuller, WR
Jarrett Grace, LB
Jalen Guyton, WR
Mark Harrell, OL
Jay Hayes, DL
Mike Heuerman, TE
Kolin Hill, DE
Tristen Hoge, C
Corey Holmes, WR
Chase Hounshell, TE
Torii Hunter, Jr. WR
Alizé Jones, TE
Jarron Jones, DL
DeShone Kizer, QB
Tyler Luatua, TE
Cole Luke, CB
Nick Martin, C
Greer Martini, LB
Jacob Matuska, DL
Mike McGlinchey, OT
Colin McGovern, OL
Peter Mokwuah, DL
