Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME loopholes that would allow them to pay big money to future ath- letes. For example, a lo- cal business owner in South Bend wouldn't be able to pay a football star $100,000 and claim that it was compensation for a 30-second local commer- cial using the player 's picture and name. The influx of money coming from all angles in college sports pushed the NCAA against the wall, but these two major changes may allow the longtime organization to survive a complete im- plosion. "We can make the col- lege experience for our student-athletes one that is not where they're get- ting paid," Kelly said, "but one where they can get chances to go home and see their families on break, and take care of the incidentals that these kids don't get because they can't have a job." ✦ GIMME FIVE It's not often that the top four career tackle lead- ers on a college football team play in the second- ary, but that will be the case for the 2014 Irish is junior KeiVarae Russell is allowed to return to the team following an academic investigation. The only three players along the Fighting Irish front seven who have more than one career start are sophomore Will linebacker Jaylon Smith (all 13 as a 2013 freshman), junior lineman Sheldon Day (eight) and senior Mike linebacker Jarrett Grace (three), who has been undergoing major rehabili- tation for a leg injury suffered last year. Russell and fifth-year transfer Cody Riggs have the most career starts on the entire team with 26, while senior nickel/corner/safety Matthias Farley is fourth overall with 19 (fifth-year senior offensive guard Christian Lombard has 20). Notre Dame's defensive backs have a total of 89 career starts compared to 16 for the linebackers and 11 along the line. Here are Notre Dame's top five returning career tacklers in 2014. Player Tackles 1. CB KeiVarae Russell 109 2. CB Cody Riggs 107 3. DB Matthias Farley 98 4. S Austin Collinsworth 68 5. LB Jaylon Smith 67 Nickname: "Mike. … Also, the guys called me 'Nine' when I first got here." Dorm: "Siegfried Hall." Major: "Business manage- ment and consulting." Favorite Class: "I got a real good poetry class this semes- ter." Best Movie You've Seen Lately: "'The Wolf of Wall Street.'" TV Show You Always Watch: "Right now, I've been watching 'Entourage.'" Song You Listen To Most Right Now: "'My Kind of Night' by Luke Bryan." Role Model: "[Former Notre Dame tight end] Kyle Rudolph." Best Player You've Played Against: "[Former Clemson wide receiver] Sammy Watkins." Dream Job If Football Didn't Exist: "A general manager of an NFL [team]." Dream Vacation Spot: "The Caribbean because I always see a bunch of sweet pictures on Twitter while I sit here in snow." If You Had One Last Meal What Would It Be: "Steak, mashed potatoes and Caesar salad. I got that one down." Getting To Know … SOPHOMORE TIGHT END MIKE HEUERMAN