Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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"Every single person in this world has something going on in their lives," he said. "This just happens to be mine at this juncture. My mom and dad raised me a certain way, and I know my brother would say, 'Hey, get your tail to work.' "It doesn't mean I don't think about him all the time. I miss him. I've picked the phone up three times to reach out to him, and I'll catch myself. He's a guy I talked to nearly every day." Junior running back George Atkinson III had a unique perspective of the Alford brothers' relationship. They recruited Atkinson and his brother Josh as the pair prepared to make a college decision. For a player who knows a thing or two about the special bond between brothers, Atkinson noticed the integrity of the two men and their care for each other, even while pursuing two prized recruits. "They were very close," Atkinson said. "He was a great guy and cared about others ahead of himself and will be missed definitely." Even while doing their best to convince the Atkinson brothers to sign with their respective schools, the brothers brought some lightheartedness to the situation. "During the recruiting process … it was fun hearing them go back and forth about why one school was better than the other," Atkinson said. "He was just a great guy and a great man." Atkinson committed to Notre Dame in September 2010, but the impact Aaron made in his life continues to strengthen him. "It hit me pretty hard," he said about when he learned of Aaron's death. The brothers coached against each other in two games — a 28‑3 Notre Dame win over Utah in 2010 and a 44‑35 Utah victory over Louisville when Tony coached there in 2007. Around 25 members of the Alford family traveled to South Bend for the 2010 contest. "My brother seemed like he was able to touch people,'" Alford said. "I think he did an outstanding job of delivering positive messages and messages of hope to people. "For all those people that did know him, whatever he did for them, I'd like them to feel a positive thing that can go out and continue his legacy. His brand was to help people." Football — somewhat of a return to normalcy — has helped Alford, and so has the outpouring of support from players like Atkinson, friends via phone messages and strangers whom he has never met over social media. "The support I received not only from the staff and support team, but the guys in the locker room … they're great guys," he said. If you peruse Alford's Twitter page, you will scroll through hundreds of messages from the Irish coach to people he didn't know, but who had sent their condolences to the coach during the difficult time — when he was preparing a football team for action following a perfect regular season a year ago. "When I finally turned my phone on I had a ridiculous amount of text messages and Twitter messages, and I did my best to answer them individually. They took the time to reach out to me,