Some pretty good quotes here.

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http://www.blueandgold.com/content/?aid=7059

Nobody really knew exactly what to expect this spring from fifth-year senior Paul Duncan. By his own admission, Duncan felt like he underachieved during his first four years with the Irish, so what was a fifth season going to do?

Well, for Duncan, a fifth year meant a clean slate, a fresh outlook, and chance to make good on any of his shortcomings through an adequate, but far from stellar, college career.

Duncan managed to fend off all challengers this spring to emerge as the No. 1 left tackle.

"There is just so much more that I need to do," Duncan said during spring ball. "So much that I left there, so much potential I think that I didn't do what I needed to do all the time."

Duncan entered the spring as the veteran candidate for the all-important left tackle position. But most thought he would lose the position battle to a younger player, such as Matt Romine, Taylor Dever or Trevor Robinson.

Instead, Duncan immediately won over Charlie Weis and first-year offensive line coach Frank Verducci, and spent the entire spring as the starter at the position, an impressive accomplishment considering Duncan sat out all of last season after undergoing hip surgery.

Duncan's upset of the young upstarts made him BlueandGold.com's No. 2 most surprising story of the spring season, a list typically reserved for younger guys making a statement, not a fifth-year senior.

"Sometimes these guys don't come back with the resolve," Weis said. "When you play with something to prove, sometimes playing with a chip on your shoulder can be a good thing. That's what we've gotten out of (Duncan) in the spring."

Duncan confessed halfway through the spring season his deep regrets for not putting out as much as he could have at times, both physically and emotionally, and it showed. According to the coaches, and from the limited time we saw him in practice, Duncan played with a rage nobody knew he had in him.

"Mentally not there totally, physically just kind of lacked," Duncan said of the difference between this season and last. "Just the effort here and there. I guess I didn't take it as seriously as I needed to. I did, but not like I really needed to, and I really figured that out."

If the plan holds together and Duncan lives up to the expectations he built during spring ball, this fifth year could even land him in some NFL Draft conversation. Michael Turkovich came out of nowhere last year as a senior and had a solid year at left tackle, so perhaps it's Duncan's turn.

"He's not unlike Sam Young in that the talent is there but we just haven't really seen it," said NFL Draft analyst Scott Wright, of NFLDraftcountdown.com. "He'll have a chance to prove himself this season. He's not a first day guy, but he could put himself on the radar."

Experience is not an issue for Duncan. He played in five games as a true freshman, and through his first three seasons at Notre Dame, he has made 29 appearances with 12 starts. He was one of only four Irish offensive players to start all 12 games in 2007, playing left tackle the first two games and right tackle the last 10. But the effort, and therefore the production lacked at times. That shouldn't be a problem this season.

"If I were to walk away right now, I'd be regretting a lot," Duncan said. "All those things that I was going to regret, change those and get them right."?

What's A Good Season?

Carrying all of this positive momentum through training camp and into the regular season is a good place to start.

It could be argued that Duncan is the most important figure on the Irish offensive line this season, given that he is responsible or Jimmy Clausen's blind side and the uncertainty that has followed Duncan through his career.

A good season will be to keep Clausen upright, and therefore strengthen his own case as a legitimate NFL offensive line prospect. Last year, Weis told Duncan there wasn't an NFL team "that would touch him with a 10-foot pole." That could change after this season.

Duncan is one of five Irish players who were granted a fifth season, but he is clearly the most gracious for the chance to show the kind of player he can be.

"I'm so excited. It's just a great opportunity," Duncan said. "I can try to fix (habits) and get it right. I'm excited to come back and play with these guys again. We should be a heck of a team."?