Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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MATURATION Michael Floyd has come a long way since March BY WES MORGAN before the start of spring practices, for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol — his third alcohol-related arrest in two years. Floyd was suspended for the dura- N tion of spring and summer workouts and stripped of his co-captainship, but was allowed to rejoin the team at the start of fall camp. Kelly chose not to sit Floyd, whom the coach called a "six-star recruit" after the prolific pass catcher surprisingly put the NFL on hold and returned to Notre Dame for his senior season, for a single game. Critics and the most faithful Fighting Irish fans alike trained their eyes and ears on all things Floyd, waiting for either a redemptive final season from the Minnesota native or another off- field mistake. The critics have been disappointed. "I know everyone looks at me and some look at me to fail again," Floyd said. "I know what my future is and I know what I have on my plate. I can't jeopardize that doing foolish things." "Mike had every excuse to want to blame someone else," Notre Dame wide receivers coach Tony Alford said. "He took complete ownership of every single thing, and has grown as a man. That's the biggest thing; he has really matured as a young man. "That shows in his everyday walk in life, too — academically, socially, athletically. He has just really grown up and handled things like you would expect a man to handle things. We're all proud of that fact." Including Kelly, who drew fire for reinstating Floyd. "This is why I coach," he said. "I get hired and fired on wins, but what mo- tivates me to coach and put all the time and effort that I've put into this, espe- Through 11 games this season, Floyd had 87 receptions for 1,014 yards (11.7 yards per catch) and seven touchdowns. PHOTO BY AARON SUOZZI www.BLUEANDGOLD.com otre Dame head coach Brian Kelly talked tough when star receiver Michael Floyd was ar- rested on March 20, just days cially away from my family, is to see a young man change the course of his life, and see that on a day-to-day basis. "It's probably as rewarding as any singular victory. And that's what Mi- chael Floyd has done. That feels good as a coach that you can see a young man who is in a good place. Wasn't in such a good place, but now he is, and that's important." Alford provided two examples of why he knows Floyd didn't take this season for granted. The first was a routine film session in August, when Alford noticed Floyd tutoring the younger receivers on specific routes and how defenses would play in cer- tain situations. "He hadn't done that before," Alford admitted. The second was the Wednesday before the Irish took on Maryland in Landover, when Floyd was in the infir- mary, but refused to take a play off the next day when he returned to practice. "We would have let him," Alford said. Through 11 games, Floyd had caught 87 passes for 1,014 yards (11.7 yards per reception) and seven touch- downs, but most importantly he'd made no mistakes off the field. Yet his final season will still end rather unceremoniously. Leading up to the regular-season finale at Stanford, Kelly reminded everyone that there are still consequences for Floyd's poor judg- ment nine months ago, and that the 6-3, 220-pounder would not be named a game-day captain for the first time this year. Still, Floyd, under two head coaches, two different offensive schemes un- der two offensive coordinators and with three starting quarterbacks, will go down as the most productive wide receiver in Irish history, despite miss- ing five games as a sophomore in 2009 with a broken collarbone. Before tak- ing on the Cardinal, Floyd's career ré- sumé boasted these all-time program records, among others: • 258 receptions • 3,553 receiving yards • 35 touchdown catches • 86.7 yards per game • 6.3 receptions per game Floyd said one reason for returning for his senior season was to become the best wide receiver in the nation. Statistically, he falls short of that goal. Through 11 games, he ranked ninth in receptions per game (7.9) and 22nd in yards per game (92.18), and he was outside the top 25 in touchdown catches, with seven. Some aspects of being a well-rounded player don't show up in box scores, however. "Where he's better as a wide receiver is in the complete game of blocking and the complete game of he's a much better route runner," Kelly said. "He understands the little nuances that are involved in being a great wide receiver. I think maybe that development prob- ably stands out to the NFL scouts more this year because they see that com- plete game. "We have heard that obviously he's in that first-round consideration right now, but I think we all know that that is subject to so many things. We feel like he's the best receiver in the coun- try. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder if it gets to that. But that's his devel- opment. It's in the complete game; it's the way he practices. All those things are going to help him moving forward." Floyd has been driven by the few failures dotting his career — his fo- cus has been evident, his physicality more noticeable and his leadership measurable. "There are some plays, when I look back, that I left out there," Floyd said. "I'm just trying to make sure that every play when I'm on the field that I don't let a play get past me. I feel like I let plays go last year. I just try to be my- self. That's how I am day in and day out. I'm the kind of guy, if someone's having a bad day, you can always pick them up by being positive." Alford struggled to find the adjec- tives to describe Floyd. "Wow. What a great leader," he said. "He's competitive; he competes at such a high level every single day at practice, and that's what you've seen in games as well. He likes to play the game. He has that switch that goes on when he puts a helmet on. "He's a joy to coach. I'm going to miss him. I believe our room feeds off of him. We go as Mike goes. [All the other guys] have had an opportunity to see how it's done. That will be the legacy he's left." ✦ DECEMBER 2011 17