00:00You know, I'm standing in a spot of history, the locker room of Notre Dame football.
00:05Just think of all the great players that have come through here.
00:08Just think of all the great coaches, all the great moments, all of them here in this locker room.
00:14I mean, and I'm joined by Billy Shroud, offensive guard.
00:19You know, he's one of the top offensive guards in the country.
00:22And we're going to take a little tour of Notre Dame's football field and just admire the history that we're looking at here.
00:28Just think of all the great players that have used these lockers.
00:31Let's do this thing. Come on.
00:33Frank talks while Frank walks. It's time for Frank walks.
00:41A ton.
00:45I mean, they really did a good job modernizing this locker room.
00:48Yep, and keeping that traditional touch with the, you know, the old brick walls.
00:54I like how you said some of the buildings are newer.
00:58But they have that same look as the older buildings.
01:01Exactly.
01:01With the bricks.
01:03This is over an enemy territory. This is the defensive side.
01:06We've got some good players over here.
01:08Yeah.
01:09Over the years, yeah.
01:10A ton of guys.
01:13You know, even though I'm not a, I'm a Dolphin fan, I'll tell you one of my favorite players growing up
01:18that played for the Giants was named Mark Bavaro.
01:21Oh, yeah.
01:22I mean, he went to Notre Dame.
01:24Yeah.
01:25Legend.
01:26What's funny about Mark Bavaro is, he kind of looked a little bit like Sylvester Stallone.
01:32Yeah.
01:32And so he was a very popular player.
01:36The East Coast.
01:36With the Giants.
01:37Yeah, they wrapped their arms around him.
01:39They loved him in New York.
01:41Oh, we've got Jerome Bettis Jr.
01:43Yep.
01:44Of course, Jerome Bettis.
01:45Baby bus.
01:46Yeah.
01:47I mean, just think of all the great players.
01:49It's incredible.
01:50Awesome.
01:51I mean, one of my favorite players who I think doesn't get the appreciation is Bob Kuchenberg.
01:59He was the one guy who was on all five Dolphins Super Bowl teams.
02:05He bridged the gap from the undefeated teams to the Dan Marino teams.
02:10They could use him out there today.
02:12Yeah.
02:13Yeah, the offensive line has been a weak spot for many years.
02:20I mean, look at this.
02:24And then we've got the big field.
02:26So here's the legendary sign.
02:28Everybody's got their own mannerism with this one.
02:30This is the...
02:31But you know you've got to bang the sign.
02:33I mean, look at this.
02:35Yeah, it's at the sign.
02:36Oh, just let's see.
02:38Look at that.
02:40Of course, we've got the big sign, the most famous sign.
02:44A sign that's almost as much of a symbol of Notre Dame as anything else is the player.
02:50It's really like a champion sign.
02:51I mean, look at this.
02:59I mean...
03:02Oh, yeah.
03:03Blessing every time.
03:05What's it like to walk up on this field, run out on this field every Saturday?
03:10Full House, always on NBC, like everyone's watching.
03:15It's the one thing about Notre Dame.
03:16Every game is going to be nationally televised.
03:19It is.
03:20You know, it's special.
03:23Especially doing it with your best friends.
03:26That's what I remember most, you know, running out here with my best friends and looking them in the eye.
03:31One of the great things about Notre Dame is they don't play a soft schedule.
03:35No.
03:35They play the tough teams every year.
03:37I mean, you started with a hell of a wallop the first two games.
03:41In both those games, tough losses, you know.
03:44And I think if you play Miami again, you'll beat them.
03:48Yeah.
03:48I mean, you got a freshman quarterback playing his first game on the road, and you lost by a field goal.
03:56Yeah.
03:56I thought...
03:57And we now see how good A&M is, so...
04:00You know, it showed a lot about our team.
04:02You know, we were going to fight until the end, and I think that, you know, that's kind of who our team is.
04:11You know, kind of what we're built on.
04:12I mean, we saw...
04:14And I like that the defense has really improved.
04:17Yeah, playing hard.
04:19You can see it.
04:20You know, you guys can probably feel it when you're watching through the screen.
04:24You know, they're playing fast.
04:26And it's great.
04:27It's a great thing to be a part of.
04:29And Jeremiah Love.
04:30I mean, you block for him a lot there.
04:33To me, I think he's the best player in the country.
04:36Yep.
04:36Wasn't too long ago Saturday when he spun out of about four or five tackles right there.
04:42Oh, the one where he, like, looked like he was tackled and just got up and...
04:46He's incredible.
04:48That's one of the best ones I've seen in a long time.
04:50I was there last year against Army where he just had this, like, incredible, like...
04:55He jumped over.
04:56The long run.
04:57Yeah, if you watch the game, number four is going to do something special, and that's why we love him.
05:04I mean, I think he's probably going to be the best running back in the draft.
05:08Yeah, he's...
05:09Don't know how high that would go, because I think running backs are undervalued these days, but...
05:14Yeah, we got a bunch of great ones in that room.
05:16I think he's a high draft pick.
05:18Yeah.
05:19No, he does the right stuff.
05:22You know, speaking of great players, we talked about earlier, what would be your top five starting,
05:27you know, your starting offensive linemen?
05:29Well, I'd give Zach Martin, I'm trying to think of somebody else, some of the other Notre Dame standouts.
05:35You know, there's Joel, Ronnie Stanley.
05:38Uh, Bob Kuchenberg.
05:41I think I mentioned him just a little bit before.
05:43You said, Dolphins legend.
05:44Yeah, he bridged the gap from those undefeated teams, the undefeated team of John Chula,
05:51and, uh, all the way to Dan Marino.
05:54He was still there.
05:55I think his last year might have been in 84.
05:58I don't know.
05:59I think he might have actually got hurt that year.
06:01But, uh, he was there for that all.
06:04All the, the Dolphins appeared in five Super Bowls, Bob Kuchenberg was on the team for all five.
06:10Yeah.
06:11And, uh, he just didn't, I kind of got overlooked for the Hall of Fame, as a lot of linemen do.
06:17That's the problem with the offensive line.
06:18They don't get the appreciation they deserve, but if you ask me, the Philadelphia Eagles are so good
06:24because of how good their offensive line is.
06:27Yeah.
06:28No, there's no doubt.
06:29You heard Frank Kuchenberg, Hall of Fame.
06:32Push it.
06:33I mean, then you've got great tight ends that have come out of Notre Dame.
06:36Oh, yeah.
06:37Mark Ravall, Todd Critchison.
06:40These are the guys I grew up with.
06:42No, we got Rudolph.
06:45Anthony Fasano.
06:46Yep.
06:47Who's actually from, uh, nearby where I live, Verona, New Jersey.
06:50Okay.
06:51But it's, it's incredible, and the, the history.
06:55Now, the gold helmet that you wear, what's it, what's it feel like to be a Notre Dame player?
07:01What do you go, what goes into being a Notre Dame player every week?
07:04Um, you know, like I said earlier, too, it is a blessing.
07:09It's, it's awesome, though.
07:11Wearing the gold helmet's awesome.
07:13You can tell, uh, you know, week in and week out.
07:16Um, you know, the other teams know that they're playing the Irish when the gold helmets are on,
07:21and I think that's, uh, you know, that's been going on for about a hundred years, you know?
07:26Or over a hundred years.
07:29Well, since they went to plastic helmets.
07:30Yeah, since they switched to the leather.
07:32Since they switched to the leather, which is getting close to, like, 80, 90 years now.
07:37Yeah.
07:37After World War II.
07:39And the, the, the, the gold spray paints.
07:42That's incredible.
07:43That, they, that, just how gleaming they look.
07:45How they, how they shine.
07:47I mean, you go to a Notre Dame game, if you sit in the crowd of a Notre Dame game,
07:50whether you're, at the, at the campus here, at the Meadowlands, or, uh, at, uh, Yankee Stadium last year.
07:57The, the gold helmet stands out.
07:59Yeah.
08:00It just shines.
08:02No, it is.
08:03It's, it's the best.
08:06Um, a lot of history, a lot of tradition.
08:09Um, getting to wear that gold helmet is a constant reminder.
08:12And, of course, the academic standards at Notre Dame are.
08:15So, you guys work your asses off.
08:17Yep.
08:18All the guys go to class.
08:20And, uh, and perform on the field.
08:22I mean, you, you might give, the NILs might have, like, changed things up a little bit.
08:27But, I think Notre Dame would never allow the, uh, that part of the game to ever change.
08:32Yep.
08:33There's always going to be that emphasis on education here.
08:35And it's important.
08:37Um, it's important to everybody.
08:39That's why, that's why, that's why you got to respect.
08:40That's why the, really, if you think about all the teams, that's why you have to respect Notre Dame.
08:45Is, is, is, it's, it's, it's not, okay.
08:49Yeah, they're college, they're students.
08:52Yeah, Notre Dame, you can't, that doesn't fly here.
08:55Exactly.
08:56No.
08:57So, um, what a full circle moment, though.
09:00Yes.
09:01Getting back out here three years after the start.
09:06Yeah, it's nice.
09:07So, and they, and they did a good job, as I said, blending the old with the new, so you can't, it's hard to tell what the new seats are and the old seats, but, yeah, they did a good job of blending it.
09:20Yeah.
09:20Well, Billy, thank you for making this special, you know.
09:24How many people get to run on the field at Notre Dame and, uh, do it, spike the ball in the end zone on Notre Dame on their 50th birthday?
09:32Anyway, thanks a lot, and, uh, go Irish.
09:37Of course, happy birthday.
09:38Let's get back to that, let's get back to that playoff.
09:40You didn't just run, either, you scored a touchdown.
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