Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

Drue Tranquill earned the 2018 Wuerffel Trophy honor during his senior season at Notre Dame and graduated in May 2019 with a degree in mechanical engineering. The Fort Wayne, Indiana, native was named to the Dean's List in five of his eight semesters and was a National Football Foundation William V. Campbell Trophy finalist as a senior.
 
A two-time team captain for the Fighting Irish, Tranquill regularly volunteered his time in South Bend with Lifeworks Ministry, AWP Sports, as an ambassador for Dream Teams, with the Food Bank of Northern Indiana, the Center for the Homeless and South Bend Boys and Girls Clubs, just to name a few. He also served on three mission trips to the Dominican Republic as a team leader with Here for Kids International.
 
On the field, Tranquill played in 38 consecutive games (starting 37 of those) since the start of his junior season after suffering a pair of knee injuries as a freshman and sophomore. In 2018, he ranked third on the team with 75 tackles while adding 9.0 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, three pass break-ups and two QB hurries.
 
Also, during 2018 Tranquill persevered through a broken hand and sprained ankle. He broke the hand in the first half vs. No. 7 Stanford, but played through the game, breaking up two passes. In addition, he suffered an ankle sprain against Navy that limited his play in the win at Northwestern before he went on to have a pair of sacks versus Syracuse and nine tackles and a fumble recovery in the season finale at USC.
 
During his senior season, Tranquill totaled 85 tackles in his first season as linebacker, while his 10.5 TFLs were second on the team. As a junior, he made 79 tackles while playing as a safety.