With finals ending this week at Notre Dame, and graduating approaching next weekend, it’s a slow time for college football news. As we march through the offseason desert with no oasis in sight, let’s dig into some of the more interesting stories I stumbled across this week.
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Michael Floyd is one of those seniors graduating next weekend, culminating a wonderful four years in South Bend that included graduating from Notre Dame in 3.5 years and getting drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft. While most of Charlie Weis’ recruits didn’t live up to the hype they arrived with, Floyd was certainly everything anyone could ask for and a great success story.
Christian McCollum of IrishSportsDaily.com did a great job catching up with someone very important in Floyd’s life, St. Paul trainer Ted Johnson. A fellow Cretin-Derham Hall graduate and a former standout running back for the Raiders (if my memory serves me correct he played alongside Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke in the 1988 Prep Bowl), Johnson now trains Twin Cities athletes, with Floyd being the standard bearer.
Johnson was invited by Floyd to be with him at Radio City Music Hall, and shared his experiences with McCollum in a great trip down memory lane.Make no mistake, Ted Johnson was honored to be invited to join Michael Floyd at last month’s NFL Draft, especially after hearing what the former Notre Dame star had to say just after being selected 13th overall by the Arizona Cardinals.
“He gave me a big hug,” says Johnson, who has trained Floyd in his hometown of St. Paul, Minn., dating back to the end of Floyd’s high school days.
“He said, ‘You were the one. You planted that seed and you let me know that was real. I just want to thank you for it and I love you.’ I didn’t even know what to say.”
Floyd has leaned heavily on his mentors from Cretin-Derham Hall, still staying in constant communication with former coaches Mal Scanlon and Andy Bischoff, who both counseled Michael through the difficult decision of coming back for his senior season, as well as bouncing back after his DUI arrest.
Johnson also spoke to ISD about class of 2013 recruit James Onwualu, who is another CDH athlete that works with Johnson. Working together since Onwualu was 13 years old, Johnson labels the future Irish wide receiver a “super freak,” focusing on his explosiveness after Onwualu jumped out of a pool 80 straight times.
“I’ve scoured YouTube, vimeo, UStream to see guys jump out of pools at greater than 3.3 or 3.6 feet,” Johnson told ISD. “We’ve actually moved him to four feet. Now that’s the new benchmark. I couldn’t find anybody in the world anywhere on the internet who’s exploding out of four feet of water and landing on the edge of the pool. I couldn’t find it. We’re trying to do something that’s never been done.”
If you’re into pool jumping football players, you’re going to love Onwualu.
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Speaking of freak athletes, Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports.com is reporting that five-star outside linebacker Jaylon Smith will be visiting South Bend this weekend, meeting with Irish coaches for the third time this spring.
There’s no more important recruit in this class than Smith, and the Irish are in a great spot with him. After dazzling recruiting websites with his work as both a pass-rushing outside linebacker and even as a lockdown cover corner, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Smith will likely walk onto campus and be one of the most dynamic athletes at whatever program he chooses.
There were rumors of Smith being ready to pledge his commitment to the Irish as far back as the Blue-Gold game. Regardless of when he does it, the Irish are in good shape will stay on Smith until Signing Day, as they’ll be in a battle with college football’s biggest programs (including Urban Meyer at Ohio State) for Smith’s signature.
If the Irish do win out here, it’ll be interesting to note that Brian Kelly will have out-dueled Meyer for two players who have brothers already on the Ohio State staff. Count that as a perception vs. reality issue that opponents of Meyer would be wise to mention to prospective recruits. It’s never a good sign when it seems like the only players who turn down Meyer are the ones who have a family member that’s actually played for him.
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Athlon Sports is rolling out their preseason Top 25 for 2012 and they’ve got Notre Dame ranked at No. 20, a number that’s raised more than a few eyebrows.
Here’s their rationale:If Kelly can get his quarterback situation settled, the Irish have enough talent to match their victory total from the last two seasons, even against a schedule that includes three 11-win opponents (Michigan, Stanford and Michigan State) and a pair of 10-win squads (USC and Oklahoma).
Although this isn’t necessarily a crossroads season for Kelly since Notre Dame seems committed to his renovation project, the 2012 campaign will go a long way toward determining how good the Irish can be in 2013-14. There are too many holes/question marks to look at this season as anything but a transitional year under Kelly. Find a consistent quarterback and show improvement, and regardless of the record, Kelly should approach a combined 20 victories in 2013-14. Fall flat and continue to struggle protecting the football and the regime could be in jeopardy.
That first paragraph is filled with minefields that could destroy any encouraging predictions. You certainly can’t gloss over the unsettled quarterbacking situation. Even more difficult to ignore is a schedule that has a whopping five teams that won ten games or more. (And that doesn’t account for opponents like Miami or Pitt, programs that should give the Irish all they can handle.)
You can quickly dismiss Athlon’s ranking by assuming they just included Notre Dame to sell some magazines. But they point out some of the nice assets this football team has, and a final ranking in the Top 20 would be something most Irish fans would sign up for sight unseen I’m guessing.
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Lastly, Notre Dame graduate (and friend of the blog) Jamie Reidy has a new book out that’s worth a look. Reidy’s first book, Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, inspired Ed Zwick’s movie “Love and Other Drugs” with Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal (no big deal, Jake played Jamie). His most recent effort is A Walk’s As Good As a Hit: Advice/Threats from My Old Man.
It’s a series of essays that tackle father/son relationships, and I’ve enjoyed reading through it this week. If you’re technically savvy, you can buy the eBook here. If you want a hard copy for Father’s Day, buy a paperback copy here.