This Guy Plays Notre Dame Football: #4 Montgomery VanGorder

Well folks, One Foot Down is publishing profiles for the Notre Dame football team, player-by-player, as we count down the days until kickoff against Temple. And wouldn’t you know it, for reasons I cannot fathom, I have been chosen to author the in-depth profile for the one and only Montgomery VanGorder, senior quarterback and placekick holder, and fellow #4 along with LB Te’von Coney.

Montgomery VanGorder came to Notre Dame as a preferred walk-on in the class of 2014, joining the program and school the same year as his father Brian, who was hired to the position of defensive coordinator when Bob Diaco left to take the head coaching job at UConn.

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Montgomery had been a state championship-winning QB for Buford High School in Georgia, leading the team to back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 en route to a 29-1 record. He was also a senior captain and 6th man on the Buford basketball team that made the 2014 state championship. The dude’s just a winner, plain and simple.

VanGorder spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at ND as the scout team QB, and then took over as starting holder for field goals last year once DeShone Kizer moved on to being an NFL-caliber quarterback.

3 Things to Know About Montgomery VanGorder

1. His father is Uncle Rico

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2. He likes to prank his coaches

3. He follows me on Twitter and I’m going to tag him when I tweet out this article to ensure he reads this (What’s up dude?!)

BONUS: He has 4 siblings from his father’s first marriage: Molloy, Morgan, Mack, and Malone. THE NAMES IN THE VANGORDER FAMILY ARE SO SPECTACULAR.

YouTube Hot Fire

You didn’t really expect me to choose just one YouTube video to share, did you?

Here’s a fantastic conversation between Monty and teammate Josh Adams

Here’s Monty displaying his clutch gene during Trick Shot Monday

Here’s Monty absolutely tearing apart the defense with his speed and open-field moves

And here’s the ultimate “YouTube Hot Fire” related to Monty - a fantastic 8-minute “Ted Talk” he gave in class back in 2015 about sleep deprivation.

One bit of criticism: his introduction says he is a “freshmen.” C’mon Monty, gotta watch out for those kinds of typos! Otherwise, loved the presentation, very informative and well-researched. I expected nothing less.

I, Pat Rick, Dub Thee...

You guys also thought I’d only have one nickname for him?

Get a clue.

The following nicknames are now all acceptable and encouraged when discussing Montgomery VanGorder:

• Monty
• Monty G
• MVG (has to be said in chanting-form, as if it were an M-V-P! chant)
• Cousin Rico
• The Buford Bullet
• The Georgia Alforja (“alforja” means “a saddlebag, especially one made of leather”...it was one of the only words I could find that rhymes with Georgia, okay? Back off.)
• Trick Shot Mon-tay (oh no)
• Montgomery PrankGorder (this one might be terrible...tough shit)
• Gummy (what his teammates and friends actually call him, apparently)

2017 Forecast

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Monty enters his senior season as the starting holder once again, and will also continue to lead the “Red Army” of QBs on the sideline, signaling in the plays to starting QB Brandon Wimbush.

I expect him to have a fantastic season holding for field goals and extra points, a stellar season of signaling signs to the starter, and I pray to God almighty that the coaching staff sees fit to call at least one fake field goal or fake extra point, so that we get to see Gummy Unleashed (trademark pending) in a pivotal moment.