Irish Illustrated Insider subscribers.

This is Drew Medtok, and I'm here to bring you the 12th episode from a biweekly podcast series in the feed, Irish Illustrated interviews.

Today, we're sharing my conversation with Trevor Ruland, a former Nordame offensive guard who served as the sixth man on some of the greatest lines in program history.

He played for the Fighting Irish from 2015 to 2019.

We discussed what was like to be sandwiched between several All-Americans in the offensive line

and the wear and tear he endured that ultimately led to eight surgeries.

Trevor also offers some unique stories in the Joe Moore Award

and playing for former offensive line coach Harry Heastand. Our conversation goes into some of the

struggles he faced and has worked overcome in his life after football. That includes an eating disorder

that he developed while he grasped for control during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of course, his story doesn't end there. After years of hardship, he's come out of the dark place

and has been sharing his story in recent months so that others can benefit and know the importance

of asking for help. Here's my interview with Trevor. What's up, everyone? I'm here with

former Nardombe offensive lin lineman Trevor Ruland,

who played with the Fighting Irish from 2015 to 2019. You're part of some of the best

offensive lines in program history and helped the Irish make its first ever college football

playoff appearance back when it was still a four-team field in 2018. Upon graduation, you entered the workforce and transitioned into life after football, which I think no matter how long you've played the game can be difficult and you had your own unique struggles that you've overcome. And we'll definitely get to that later in the podcast. Trevor, thank you so much for being here with me today. Hey, happy to be here. I love that piece I'm making into the playoffs as a

four team back when it was challenging. Yeah, I joke. But yeah, loved every step of the way. So

glad to be here. Thanks for having me. And so you're from Carrie, Illinois, which is about a three

hour drive from Notre Dame. Curious, what's your first recollection of the university and the

football team?

I hope this doesn't make your listeners mad, but my father played for the University of Iowa.

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