Impact 2000: #7 Mike Gandy
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
December 24, 2000

(UHND.com) Last season Notre Dame's offensive line was a major weakness.  There weren't many holes for the backs to run through, and Jarious Jackson was forced out of the pocket regularly.  This season however the line became a strength for the 9-2 Irish and this line was anchored by fifth year senior Mike Gandy.

Mike was one of the few bright spots on last year's line yielding compliments from opposing coaches such as Phillip Fulmer of Tennessee who said he was the best offensive linemen they had faced up to that point.  (This was before Tennessee took on Alabama and faced the mammoth Chris Sammuels)

Gandy was the leader of the line this year that allowed Notre Dame to average 213.5 yards rushing a game, an increase of 32.0 yards a game from last year.  Opponents also only registered 20 sacks on Notre Dame quarterbacks this year, down 13 from 1999.  On a side note, the production out of the running backs went up from 120.3 to 161.5 yards a game.

Early draft projections have Mike as a late round selection even though he is a top notch offensive linemen.  He might not get a lot of respect from the draft analysts, but he does have the respect of his teammates and opponents.

With a freshman quarterback starting seven games and with three quarterbacks who had a combined one career start, the offensive line had to step up this year.  A repeat performance from 1999 would have spelled disaster for Notre Dame in 2000.  That did not happen however.  The line stepped up it's performance and as a result Notre  Dame's rushing yards increased as did their points per game.   Had the Irish been forced to rely on the passing game this year, their record very well could have been much worse than the 9-2 record they currently have.

Mike's presence will be missed next year, along with fellow fifth year senior Jim Jones, but with Jeff Faine, Kurt Vollers, and Jordan Black returning along with an impressive junior class of lineman (all of whom have 3 years of eligibility left) things are looking good for Notre Dame's offensive line.