With his bright red baseball cap on the sidelines, it’s hard to miss Montgomery VanGorder on game day. You know he must be important (that headset looks really official, right?), but you may not know what a goofy and fun-loving guy Montgomery is off the field.
Hometown: Gainesville, Georgia
Major: Management
Dorm: O’Neill
Relationship status: In a relationship
Nickname: People call me Gummy. I think my dad started it when I was little, I don’t know how but it just happened.
Favorite artist: George Strait
Favorite Gatorade color: Ahh, this is a hard one. It depends on my mood—right after practice I go with purple but if I’m drinking it with something to eat I’ll go with yellow. If I’m just drinking it for fun, I’ll drink a blue.
Favorite TV show: Scandal
Fun fact: I have four siblings!
Hobby: Playing basketball! I played in high school.
Spirit animal: A tiger because they’re cool and fierce. I’m not a fierce person all the time, but when I’m playing football and in the zone I am.
Did you always know that you wanted to play football for Notre Dame?
No, I was actually born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and I grew up a Michigan fan. As a kid, I always wanted to go to Michigan—I even had one of those framed jerseys with my name on it. It just worked out that I got in to Notre Dame and I just couldn’t turn it down!
Tell us a little about your dad being a coach…
My dad is the defensive coordinator here! He got the job my senior year of high school. I had just finished playing a basketball game and people were coming up to me and congratulating me on it—I didn’t even know what they were talking about. When I got in here, it was pretty cool that I was going to be here with him. I think it played a little bit of a role in my decision to come here, but the university itself, whether he was here or not, was an opportunity you just can’t turn down.
What’s your game day role?
I signal the plays in. The coach tells me what play to call, and I’ll signal it to the players. I like it because it gives me a lot of responsibility so I’m involved in the game. I consider myself part of every play because if I don’t signal the right call I’ll get in trouble (and get yelled at).
What is your favorite thing about Notre Dame?
My teammates. I’ve been a lot of places where there are a lot of guys on the team who don’t really care about each other, but the moment I got here there was such an environment of everyone getting along and getting to know each other. We have a brotherhood—you leave your family behind when you go to college, but when I got here my teammates became my second family.
(Montgomery on the left with his fellow teammate)
Thanks for the interview, Montgomery! XOXO, HCND
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