Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Kyle McCarthy And Mike Hiestand Join As Grad Assistants Notre Dame's defensive football staff has added two familiar names this win- ter as graduate assistants. Former Irish safety Kyle McCarthy (2005-09) will be on board after finishing 2013 on the Oakland Raiders practice squad, where he underwent his fourth knee surgery. The leading tackler for the Fighting Irish in 2008 (110) and 2009 (101, while also intercepting a team- high five passes), McCarthy was not drafted, but also had stints with the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs. He told The Vindicator in his home- town of Youngstown, Ohio, "It's been a tough decision to make, but I feel physi- cally it is time to move on from play- ing. I still have a strong passion for the game." Joining McCarthy as a graduate assis- tant on defense will be Mike Hiestand, the son of Notre Dame offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, who is entering his third season with the program. The younger Hiestand is a 2011 graduate of Illinois State, where he was a linebacker and a Missouri Valley Conference Honor Roll student all four seasons and captain of the Redbird Academic Team. He most recently had been a graduate assistant at Miami (Ohio) in 2012 and Florida International last year. Notre Dame is also looking to add one more graduate assistant on offense to join Tyler McDermott, who was with the 2013 team. Former Fighting Irish standout safety Kyle McCarthy has returned to Notre Dame as a gradu- ate assistant on defense. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA Want to stay up-to-date with all the Irish news? Like Us On Facebook: www.facebook.com/blueandgoldillustrated Follow Us On Twitter: www.twitter.com/BGInews