Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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YEAR IN REVIEW CBSSports.com as a grades issue. He sat out the spring semester and missed valuable practice time with Golson. The hockey program became the third to lose a star player to academ‑ ics on Jan. 23, when it was announced that top defenseman Robbie Russo would miss the remainder of the sea‑ son for scholastic reasons. "He thought there was a mistake in one of his grades over Christmas break, that the [professor] made a mis‑ take," head coach Jeff Jackson said. "That's why he was going back to try to see if that grade could be changed." The grade was not changed, and Notre Dame played without Russo the final months of the season. All three players have since been reinstated to the university for their respective 2014‑15 seasons. IRISH PRODUCE THREE EARLY ENTRANTS TO NFL DRAFT Each of the three juniors that re‑ quested NFL Draft evaluations opted to turn pro following their third sea‑ son in South Bend. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt was the first to announce his intentions, and his declaration was also the least surprising. After recording 12 sacks on a dominant defense as a sophomore in 2012, Tuitt was plagued by offseason hernia surgery and a weight increase in 2013. His sack total dropped to 7.5. Running back George Atkinson III's departure was foreshadowed as his playing time diminished during the fall. He entered the season as Notre Dame's most experienced back, but he never emerged from the five‑player group that included freshmen Tarean Folston and Greg Bryant, and juniors McDaniel and Amir Carlisle. Kelly suspended Atkinson for the Dec. 28 Pinstripe Bowl for a violation of team rules, a decision Atkinson disagreed with publicly on Twitter. With the maturation of Folston and Bryant and McDaniel's consistency, Atkinson viewed the draft as his best option for future success. Tight end Troy Niklas' Jan. 9 an‑ nouncement was easily the most Tight end Troy Niklas stunned many, including Irish head coach Brian Kelly, with the decision to enter the NFL Draft after his junior year. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA