Drue Tranquill

Classroom

Drue Tranquill has excelled in the classroom and in the community. A mechanical engineering major and 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-American, Tranquill has a 3.73 grade-point average and has been named to the university’s Dean’s List three of his six semesters at Notre Dame. He was named a CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree in 2015. Tranquil is the first Notre Dame player to receive such an honor since wide receiver Corey Robinson earned first-team accolades in 2014. He’s the 60th Notre Dame player to earn Academic All-America honors.

Character

Tranquill worked to return to the starting lineup in 2016 after season-ending ACL injuries in both 2014 and 2015.

Community

Tranquill is involved in numerous off-the-field community service programs. He serves as a mentor for the Core Leadership Team for Lifeworks Ministry, is a member of Notre Dame Christian Athletes, Team Fellowship, AWP Sports in his native Fort Wayne, Ind., and is an athlete ambassador for Dream Teams. He is a also member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) and Rosenthal Leadership Academy.

Last season, Tranquill launched the “5th Quarter” post-game event, giving him the opportunity to share his story of perseverance with the South Bend community at the Granger Oasis Church.

Competition

Tranquill started all 12 games at safety for the Irish in 2016. He led the team with 52 solo tackles and ranked second in total tackles with 79. Tranquill added two pass breakups, two tackles for loss and one interception. His 79 stops last season fall just outside of the top-10 single-season tackle totals for an Irish defensive back. Glenn Earl (2002) and Brian Magee (1994) are tied for 10th with 81 tackles.

Last season, Tranquill registered a career-high 13 tackles in Notre Dame’s 50-33 rout of Syracuse and recorded 10 tackles and an interception against Virginia Tech.