Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT "Bowl games, a lot of times you get distracted or you get in trouble. We've got to do our best not to do that — at least wait until after the game." — Notre Dame team captain Harrison Smith "This was a tough decision and I found my- self praying about it often. Ultimately, I really want to experience my senior year at Notre Dame. The happiest moments so far in my life have come when I am spending time with people I love. I wanted to spend another year with my teammates and the coaches on our team. I don't think any sum of money can re- place the memories I can create in my senior year." — Notre Dame linebacker Mqnti Te'o "Being able to play a storied tradition like Notre Dame for my senior year, my last game, is something I'll always remember. … Just the story behind Notre Dame — Rudy and everything that has to do with — it's almost going to be kind of star struck for me. I'm a punter, so I can chill out for a little while before I go out there on the field." — Florida State punter Shawn Powell PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND A Second Chance For Charlie Weis For the first time, two former Notre Dame head coaches will be head coaches at another university at the same time. Bob Davie (1997-2001) accepted the position at New Mexico in November after a 10-year hiatus from coaching, and then Charlie Weis (2005-09) surprised many when he was announced Dec. 10 as the new boss of the Kansas Jayhawks. Weis was fired by Notre Dame at the end of the 2009 regular season with a 35-27 record, which was nearly identical to Davie's 35-25 led- ger. In 2010, he served as the offensive coor- dinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, and in 2011 first-year Florida head coach Will Muschamp hired Weis in the same capacity. After Kansas head coach Turner Gill was ousted with a two-year record of 5-19, the 55-year-old Weis tossed his hat into the ring and will be in his fourth job in four years. "It was too good of an opportunity being able "They're like us. A play here, a play there. They're talented, they're well coached, they're sound — it's a matter of they didn't make the right play at the right time in certain situations, very much like us." — Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher comparing his team to Notre Dame "[They are] extremely athletic on defense, very fast on the edge — great scheme, very solid funda- mentals. It's going to be a great challenge for us. On the other hand I think we present some prob- lems as well. I think it will be a great matchup. It's going to be a fun game." — Kelly on Florida State's strengths "I'm not in the business of trying to prove things. I just want to be the best quarterback I can be for the team and just play better than I did against Stanford. That's the bottom line. I need to go out there and do a better job of leading this team and preparing us to win." — Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Tommy Rees "I really did my best not to look at it all. My family would say, 'They're saying really good things here, or SportsCenter said this,' or whatever, and I really don't pay attention to that because when you start worrying about what everyone else thinks, that's not where your focus needs to be. It needs to be your classmates, your fellow athletes and your teammates, just what they think of you. I really try my best to stay away from websites and things like that — no offense, guys." — Sophomore quarterback Andrew Hendrix on positive reviews from fans and media for his play at Stanford "UMass has a vision to be greater than what it is today. I wanted to be involved in the program from the ground up. Some people like to be caretakers of college football programs. I've always envisioned myself to be a builder." — Notre Dame offensive coordinator Charley Molnar in The Springfield Repub- lican on his new job as head coach at UMass "This is what desperation looks like. Watch for yourself as Kansas introduces Charlie Weis as its new football coach today. KU athletic director Sheahon Zenger will try to sell this as national relevance, but if Twitter is any indication, most people nationally are doing little other than laughing. Weis will try to sell this as his second chance to run a college football program, while most people with even short-term memory can see him as a failed head coach with a list of health problems now taking a fourth job in four years. Desperation can distort reality." — Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star on Kansas hiring former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis "I think entitlement is a societal issue, but I think it's magnified here at Notre Dame. We have to, as coaches, try to weed it out of our guys." — Notre Dame hockey coach Jeff Jackson 14 JANUARY 2012 to go into a place that was down low and being able to see it through the rise back up top," Weis said. "Anyone who is goal driven in anything, whether it was a startup, taking a business and doing good — this is what I do. "The team was 2-10 and you're going to be the one that's directly involved with taking that team and moving it to the other end of the spectrum." The next day at a Kansas basketball game — with soon-to-be Notre Dame transfer quarter- back Dayne Crist in the audience — Weis had a more subdued tone than when he took the Notre Dame post in December 2004 and came across as a blustery figure while speaking about his schematic skills. "I'm not in here to wave a magic wand," said Weis, who had to walk with the aid of a cane and is scheduled for hip replacement surgery. "There are a lot better coaches than me. There are guys that are smarter, guys that have ac- complished more. "… I want to leave here knowing that we have a year after year, perennial winning program that is going to compete on the level you expect on an annual basis." Former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis was hired to lead Kansas' football program on Dec. 10. PHOTO BY AARON SUOZZI BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED