Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/296331
IRISH IN THE PROS BY ANDREW OWENS H owever these next four months play out, Robby Toma is okay with it. The former Irish wide receiver (2009-12) is entering his second year out of college and is trying to catch on with one of 32 NFL teams. He got his feet wet in the NFL last August when he participated in Arizona Cardinals training camp and caught one pass for 28 yards in preseason action before the team ultimately released him Aug. 21 in the penultimate rounds of cuts. He returned to South Bend March 20 for Notre Dame's pro day to gain expo- sure to NFL talent evaluators in hopes of earning one last chance to make it in the pros. If his dream doesn't happen, he already knows what's next. "I have a coaching position open for me back home in Hawaii at my high school, Punahou," he said. "They want me to be a receivers coach. Depending on how the NFL goes … I'll be back home coaching. "I don't want to coach at the colle- giate level. There's so much pressure and I've been in it. I'm not far away from it yet. I don't want to be missing it too much while I'm trying to coach. It will be good to give kids some of the knowledge I learned out here back home and do what a lot of older guys did for me." Punahou is the home of Toma and former Irish linebacker Manti Te'o. One Last Chance For Wide Receiver Robby Toma? Last year, Toma spent part of training camp with the Arizona Cardinals and caught one pass for 28 yards in preseason action before the organization released him Aug. 21. PHOTO COURTESY ARIZONA CARDINALS