Good question. I recall some players who were excellent students. There was an O lineman named McKinley in my dorm that was a really good student. I lived next to Hanratty my Soph. year and my roommate who did typing for other students did the Rat's papers. He made some minor corrections like adding a verb or 2. The Rat wasn't a very good student. I think that the big turning point occurred in the 70's and 80's as the population in the Catholic High Schools declined sharply. They were the fertile recruiting ground for ND. I think that the average player coming out of the Catholic Schools was a better student than the average player out of the public schools. As the pool shrank, ND had to "fish" elsewhere and allowances had to be made for players such as Tony Rice and Chris Zorich. I was really surprised that Zorich got into and graduated from Law School. i wasn't surprised that he couldn't pass the bar.
Well, this admission by Kelly is a big deal when one of the pillars of your recruiting pitch is the storied " 40 year decision ". If you can't count to 40 then how important is that carrot? These things always take me back to the statements Paul Hornung made years back that got him pilloried by the zealots then and keep him basically persona non grata to this day. Of course, he was probably 100% correct.
George, I think you might be misinterpreting what Kelly is saying. A number of years ago, when Fr. Hesburgh was still President, he made a statement in reply to a publicized complaint that football players were getting special treatment and taking away places that should go to deserving students coming out of high school. He made it clear that football players were not competing for places with the general group of applicants; that there were "x" number of spots in the freshman class allotted to athletes, and they were judged under a different set of criteria, EXCEPT that they must achieve HS grade levels, pass the same entrance exams, and predict as succesful students under the criteria established by the Office of Admissions. I believe that Kelly is saying essentially what Fr. Hesburgh said years ago but adding the fact that with their rigorous daily schedules throughout the academic year, they need help to keep up with their studies and meet ND's academic requirements to stay eligible and take advantage of the next 40 years following graduation. I don't have a problem with that. As they say, it is what it is.
I'm sort of glad BK said what he did. I get the impression that some kids like to list ND in their "top 5" knowing that there's no way they'd ever seriously consider going there. It's sort of their way of saying "Hey, I'm smart enough to get into ND." Kelly's saying "that's not that big a deal."
So here is my question. Since the 24/7 sports news outlets just live for a headline like this... Kelly admits his football players are at risk academically...or some variation of that. Then they go on to lead with ND being "rocked" by recent academic scandals..etc. So as ND alums and fans already know it's tough at ND, and there have always been players who didn't make it academically. Even players that were booted for cheating or other academic transgressions. It's just that back in Sids day of chalk boards and loose leaf notebooks, nobody really knew and the media wasn't too interested. So what I do wonder is why some reporter hasn't chirped up during an interview with Kelly this question. Coach you say that your players are all at risk, yet Notre Dame annually has one of the highest graduation rates in the NCAA, and in the area of minority graduation also annually one of the best in the country...so how have you done that in such a demanding academic situation. It's remarkable isn't it coach?
Lol.. He said his mom was going through some things and he wants to be closer to home. He's from Benton Harbor MI. But he was gracious to ND, said he loved it, loved the staff, teammates, etc. Good luck to him, but something else is at work here.
The article I read said that after Williams' transfer, ND would be at 87 scholarships, 2 over the limit.
Danielle Green, former ND basketball player who lost her arm in Iraq will be honored by the Pat Tillman Foundation at the ESPY's. Quite a story, she's doing well and returned to South Bend and Notre Dame to get her Masters degree and work with Vets. http://pattillmanfoundation.org/danielle-green-to-receive-pat-tillman-award-for-service-at-the-2015-espys/
Very nice article. She'll be receiving the Tillman award at the ESPYs on the same program with the Arthur Ashe Courage award winner Bruce Jenner.
Lost a great OL to Michigan today, in Brederson the Wisconsin kid. Everything I read indicated that we had a real shot, but not to be. Parker Boudreaux a Fla OL had a recent visit and reportedly had a great time and we are in it for him. He's not as highly thought of as Brederson but he's well thought of and would be a good catch.
ND <t>Terry,<br/> <br/> Yeah, Just saw the new WR commit too.<br/> <br/> Jacksonville (Fla.) First Coast three-star wide receiver Kevin Stepherson, a class of 2016 target.<br/> <br/> The 6-2, 180-pounder chose to pledge to the Irish over offers from LSU, Florida, Colorado, Indiana, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina and many others. <br/> <br/> Nice</t>
Kevin Stepherson <iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1wvris6o-ws?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0"></iframe> I like Jalen Elliott too. He'll play DB at Notre Dame, but he's a QB in HS. He also runs track (hurdles) and plays basketball... http://www.onefootdown.com/2015/6/19/8817299/2016-wr-jalen-elliott-commits-to-notre-dame
Good article on Pat Connaughton in the Globe. He's totally focused on the NBA draft and apparently the Orioles said fine, do it. He says that if he doesn't get drafted he'll head to the Orioles for a baseball career....at least that's the plan now. https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/06/21/pat-connaughton-making-strong-pitch-for-nba-draft/yVPYuFiKAtwsNfAqfqRvrI/story.html
Spencer Perry the S from Fla has decommitted from the Gators. This happened after his visit to ND for the Irish Invasion. Speculation is running high that he will soon give his verbal to the Irish. His buddy from IMG Academy Tony Jones Jr is already an Irish verbal. A verbal continues to be pretty worthless these days. Fueling up the fire for a early signing day. If we pick up Perry, I'm sure somewhere down the line we'll also lose somebody who we thought was coming to ND. It's common these days.