Notre Dame’s Quenton Nelson is a Seemingly Unstoppable Force

Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Quenton Nelson was considered a low first round NFL Draft pick before the 2017 season started. But his outstanding senior campaign — and offensive line coach Harry Hiestand’s track record — have intensified interest in the Homdel, N.J. product.

CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso ranked Nelson his fourth-best prospect in the NFL Class of 2018, writing on Tuesday:

Nelson has plenty of Zack Martin traits. There's a chance the former Notre Dame guard was a bit more polished in pass protection than the current Golden Domer, but overall, they seem like similar prospects: stupidly strong technicians with impeccable footwork and ability to stymie counter moves.

(Nelson’s mate on the left side of the line, tackle Mike McGlinchey, is 10th on that same list.)

The NFL Draft is six months away, prompting a few fans/media members to wonder aloud if Nelson isn’t more suitable for a recognition this December: The Heisman Trophy.

Chris Wilson, writing for the Rakes Report, suggested Monday the university should begin a promotional push for their interior lineman:

Hear me out: Notre Dame should immediately make a Quenton Nelson For Heisman site.

There are so many rushing stats to point to that demonstrate his dominance, but more importantly there’s the potential for a cavalcade of GIFable highlights to spread across social media, along with the screen grabs of giant holes courtesy of the Irish captain.

Get impossibly earnest testimonials from all the running backs on the team about how much they love running behind him, plus quotes from his fellow offensive linemen and NFL draft types. (I miss you, Mike Mayock.)

Play up the legacy of the trophy — John Heisman played offensive line, you know! — and make this less of a competition with [Saquon] Barkley and more of a referendum on the award itself. Why can’t linemen win it? Or wide receivers or linebackers? Why shouldn’t Nelson, the best part of one of the best offenses in football and a likely high pick in the NFL draft, be able to take this thing home?

We’re just asking questions, after all! He will not win, but it would be so fun to elevate him over the month of November, guarantee his unanimous All-American status and screwing with the system a bit.

Wish granted, Chris.

Here’s a dozen tweets that demonstrate how much of a problem Quenton Nelson is for opposing defenses:

Still here?

OK, let’s look at some mock drafts for fun: