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Notre Dame Football: Hopes for Book and Jurkovec in the Blue and Gold Game

By Paul Walsh

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleaders take the field before the game against the Clemson Tigers during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleaders take the field before the game against the Clemson Tigers during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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EVANSTON, IL – NOVEMBER 03: Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks to pass during the second half of a game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on November 3, 2018 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Ian Book: Being a Vocal Leader

Brian Kelly talked a bit about Book as a team leader in his recent press conference, saying that, “he is not a vocal player in any way but carries himself very well and is respected by the players.” He went on to say that Book is not the type of player who will jump up in front of the team and speak out vocally but that he also does not have to do that in order to effectively lead the team.

Book mentioned wanting to improve in the area of vocal leadership in his own press conference saying that he was “really testing himself” to be a more vocal leader on the team. He said that he realized he wanted to become more vocal right after the Cotton Bowl and wanted to start doing so come the first workout.

Brian Kelly is right. A player does not need to be vocal in order to be an effective leader. But it seems that Book is interested in adding this dynamic to his leadership role. This is admirable seeing as being vocal looks to be out of his comfort zone. Yet he realizes that at Notre Dame and on the biggest of stages, having the ability to take control through the use of a strong voice could prove to be the edge his team needs to win. It will be interesting to see if this voice will be more evident on Saturday.

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