When Brian Kelly plucked offensive lineman John Montelus from his hometown of Everett, Massachusetts, the Irish looked to be adding another mauler to the interior of Harry Hiestand’s offensive line. And after two seasons of reshaping his body and learning the ropes, Montelus is in a competitive two-deep, still looking for a role in this offense.
Yet another highly-touted recruit in the junior class fighting for playing time up front, Montelus ran with the second-string this spring behind right guard Steve Elmer while Quenton Nelson and Alex Bars shared time on the left side. That’s a long way from where he started, badly out of shape after a shoulder injury disrupted the beginning of his career.