Introducing the Notre Dame football team captains for 2020, including quarterback Ian Book.
Notre Dame football announced on Wednesday who the Irish’s five captains will be this year.
From the team’s official site, the five captains for the 2020 Fighting Irish football team are graduate student quarterback Ian Book, sixth-year graduate student cornerback Shaun Crawford, senior offensive lineman Robert Hainsey, graduate student defensive lineman Daelin Hayes and graduate student defensive lineman Ade Ogundeji. Congratulations to this Notre Dame quintet.
Notre Dame football goes with veteran leadership to serve as captains.
Given that Book is the team’s most notable player because of the position he plays and how well he plays it, his captaincy comes as a surprise to absolutely no one. As for the other four captains for 2020, it’s abundantly clear Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly wants as many veteran leaders as possible to help the Irish navigate what will be the most trying season in school history.
All but Hainsey are graduate students. These are guys Kelly can count on to keep his College Football Playoff-contending team in line. Even though they are the only Power 5 team in the Midwest footprint playing this season, Notre Dame is projected to finish as runner-up in ACC play this season, as the Irish will be full-time members in the ACC on account of the global pandemic.
On paper, Notre Dame is one of 10 teams who have a realistic shot of making the playoff, 11 if we want to include the Oklahoma State Cowboys out of the Big 12. The Irish and the Clemson Tigers are the only two teams in the ACC capable of winning it all, joining a list of about half-a-dozen other teams who can win the College Football Playoff. No wonder Notre Dame wants to play.
If the Irish get to the playoff as ACC Champions or as an at-large team, this would be their second time making the four-team field in three seasons. The last time they got in, Book emerged as a sophomore sensation for them at starting quarterback, going 12-0 during the regular season before getting trounced in the national semifinals by none other than Clemson, their new rival.
How Notre Dame plays Clemson will decide if the 2020 Irish team is capable of winning it all.
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