They say they pay about as much attention to attention as they pay in tuition at Notre Dame.
Which is to say, DeShone Kizer and Mike McGlinchey don't.
Kizer, the Irish's quarterback, and McGlinchey, his 6-foot-8, 310-pound bodyguard at left tackle, project as potential first-round picks in the 2017 NFL draft, Kizer as high as No. 1.
Neither, though, is looking at a possible professional football career as priority No. 1, at least for now.
"What attention?" Kizer asked Wednesday. "We have so much going on ... that my focus has been (on) nothing but our offense. No thoughts have even come across with the national attention you say I have."
McGlinchey would admit only to crossing the thought off his list as quickly as it crossed his mind. He heaped kudos on his offensive line coach, Harry Hiestand, and said it would benefit him to stay in South Bend, Ind., for a fifth year, which was his plan all along.
"I have 19 games left here, and that's what I fully intend to take on," he said. "I have a lot left to learn. I'm not ready to go anywhere. ... I have no intention of wanting to change that."
Notre Dame student-athletes like to say their decision to attend the school is a 40-year plan, not a four-year plan. McGlinchey is in Year 4 of the college portion of that plan, Kizer in Year 3.
While Notre Dame's defensive struggles have been well documented, its offensive prowess, as a result, has gone underappreciated.
A lot of that prowess has to do with Kizer and McGlinchey. The two have helped the Irish score 39.8 points per game, better than even last season, when the Irish had first-round picks in McGlinchey's predecessor at left tackle, Ronnie Stanley (picked sixth by the Ravens), and receiver Will Fuller (21st by the Texans). Not to mention center Nick Martin, selected in the second round, and running back C.J. Prosise, taken in the third.
Like McGlinchey, Fuller declared last year that he would wear an Irish uniform in 2016. He let his heart get the best of his head before changing his mind.
Money and a dream can do that. And should.
Stanley deferred his dream to spend an extra season at Notre Dame, and it paid off. The same could be true for McGlinchey. Time will tell.
But it doesn't seem likely that Kizer, who hasn't said one way or the other what his plans are, will return. Coach Brian Kelly has ridden his quarterbacks hard. And though Kizer has proved he can take it, he also has proved he doesn't need to anymore after this season.
He has had a hand in 20 of Notre Dame's 25 offensive touchdowns, including 14 passing. He has thrown for 1,567 yards and completed 62.9 percent of his attempts. He can run.
He earned the starting spot last year when Malik Zaire went down in the second game. And for whatever reason, he had to earn it again when Kelly insisted on playing musical quarterbacks to start the season.
"If you know me, you know that's the last thing I want to talk about," Kizer said when asked if anyone close to him points out his potential draft standing. "The circle that I keep close to me knows those conversations aren't going to happen until they need to."
Which might not be long for either player.
