Slap the Sign
Fansided

Notre Dame Athletics: The Inaugural Slappy Awards!

By J.P. Scott

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Head coach Muffet McGraw of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish cuts down the net after her team defeated the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs 61-58. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Head coach Muffet McGraw of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish cuts down the net after her team defeated the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs 61-58. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 7
Next
Notre Dame football
Notre Dame football /

Best Male Athlete

Carlee North: I’m going to go with hockey goaltender Cale Morris. He had an outstanding sophomore season, which led the Irish to both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. He also lead the team to the national title game for the second time in school history with a .944 save percentage and had 27 wins — most in the country.

Nathan Erbach: Cale Morris. He was the best player on the best NCAA hockey team during the 2017-2018 season. The Notre Dame team wasn’t an offensive powerhouse, but instead relied on it’s defense and in-particular leaned on Morris for most of the season.

During his Sophomore Campaign, Morris played in 37 games and posted a robust 1.95 goals against average and .944 save percentage. He was also named Big Ten POY, Goaltender of the Year, Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player, First-Team All-American, and won the Mark Richter Award given to the NCAA Goaltender of the Year.

Yeah, Morris is definitely deserving of Notre Dame Male Athlete of the Year as well.

Jack Leniart: Quenton Nelson. Offensive lineman rarely receive the praise that Nelson received this past season. When they do, it’s typically someone who plays left tackle and not an interior lineman. That’s how good Nelson was. He was even described by an NFL scout as a virtual lock to become a Hall-of-Fame lineman in the NFL. This was not all hype – it was well deserved. Nelson was a vital part of an excellent Notre Dame offensive line that went on to win the Joe Moore award last season.

Sonny Martinez: Quinton Nelson: In my opinion, Nelson is the second most valuable person in the entire athletic program, behind only my female athlete of the year, which we’ll get to. Nelson was dominant on the offensive line, leading the Irish run game to success. He was rewarded for his efforts by being drafted sixth overall by the Colts in the NFL Draft.

Connor McJunkin: Quenton Nelson. It’s hard to argue with this pick, in my opinion. After anchoring an offensive line that was awarded the Joe Moore Award recognizing the Best Offensive Line in College Football, Nelson became the 34th unanimous All-American in ND history. He topped the year off by being selected 6th overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2018 NFL Draft. Not a bad year in my book.

J.P. Scott: Quenton Nelson. You simply don’t see interior offensive lineman get the sort of respect and attention that Nelson got this year. Thankfully, as analytics evolve, I think we’ll see more of it. For now, those numbers were able to compliment what we saw with our own eyes and truly demonstrated his dominance.

And the Slappy goes to:

Quenton Nelson

Home/Notre Dame Fighting Irish