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Notre Dame Football: Five X-Factor Players for 2016

By Greg Hadley

Apr 16, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Kevin Stepherson (29) attempt to catch a pass as safety Ashton White (26) defends in the first quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. The Blue team defeated the Gold team 17-7. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 16, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Kevin Stepherson (29) attempt to catch a pass as safety Ashton White (26) defends in the first quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. The Blue team defeated the Gold team 17-7. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Drue Tranquill (23) lines up against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Drue Tranquill (23) lines up against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Drue Tranquill, Jr. S

It’s hard to think of a guy with worse luck that Drue Tranquill.

Through two collegiate seasons, Tranquill has torn his ACL in both knees and missed significant chunks of time, despite displaying an aggressive, hard-hitting style that made him the team’s Newcomer of the Year on defense in 2014.

But he’s back for more, and just as he did last preseason, Tranquill seems primed to be a terror in the secondary for Notre Dame.

This time, though, the pressure is at a whole new level. Whereas before Tranquill deferred to veteran Elijah Shumate, he’s now the upperclassman holding onto his spot against a young guy: true freshman Devin Studstill, who impressed the coaching staff during spring practice.

Notre Dame’s secondary as a whole is getting a lot younger this season, and Tranquill is in the tricky position of being both relatively inexperienced (13 career games, four career starts) and one of the oldest defensive backs.

Next: Notre Dame Football: Who will win starting QB job?

First and foremost, Tranquill has to stay healthy for an entire season. If he can’t do that, Brian Kelly will be left with a leaky secondary yet again. But beyond that, he needs to show he can still be the hard-charging player he was before his injuries. Any hesitation and the Irish could be burned on a pivotal play.

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