Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FIGHTING WORDS WES MORGAN A Month To Forget It has been an eventful last four weeks for Notre Dame and folks once associated with Fighting Irish athletics. At one point, I almost wondered if, because of an extreme lack of sleep over the course of a long football season, I had finally collapsed and slipped into a deep paradoxical coma, perhaps dreaming all this stuff up. Nope. It’s reality. And at a time of year filled with hope and holiday cheer, I hate to be the Grinch. It’s just that I, probably like most of you, can’t quite wrap my head around what has been one of the craziest months at Notre Dame in quite some time. Like … Jonas Gray’s Career Ends Prematurely To see senior running back Jonas Gray go down against Boston College with a knee injury and not get to finish his season of absolute redemption was incredibly unfortunate. Gray was hurt on Notre Dame’s first drive of the third quarter versus the Eagles, and the severity of the injury was immediately clear as the 5-10, 230-pounder from Pontiac, Mich., was helped off the field in tears. After compiling 791 yards and 12 touchdowns on 114 carries this year, including a 26-yard rumble on the team’s first drive in the 16-14 win over BC, Gray saw his season come to an abrupt end. As Gray sat on an equipment trunk with trainers examining his right knee and teammates consoling him, I couldn’t get over the unfairness of it. Here’s a young man, highly touted coming out of high school, who averaged about only 100 more rushing yards per year over the previous three seasons than Blue & Gold Illustrated editor Lou Somogyi. Never have I witnessed the figurative light bulb switch on with a player like happened with Gray in his final season. “He has really stepped up as a leader and really put together a great senior season,” sophomore quarterback Tommy Rees said after the Boston College game. “I probably wouldn’t be in the position I am if it wasn’t for him. When I first got here a couple springs ago he really helped me out a lot. You feel for a guy anytime he gets banged up like that.” Hoops Team Loses Tim Abromaitis The Notre Dame men’s basketball team needed Tim Abromaitis this season like “The Next Karate Kid” needed Ralph Macchio back in 1994. In terms of star power, Abromaitis, a fifth-year senior co-captain, was all the Irish had left after losing Big East Conference Player of the Year Ben Hansbrough, Carleton Scott (whose decision to leave a year early and gamble on the NBA Draft busted) and fellow forward Tyron Nash. Beyond name recognition, Abromaitis had all the traits his younger teammates would be able to rely on this year — a killer instinct, deadeye shooting, toughness and leadership ability. Especially with co-captain Scott Martin’s disappearing act as of late, having Abromaitis would have been enough to at least take a shot at an NCAA Tournament bid. All Irish fans had to do was be patient through the first four regular season games — the amount of time the NCAA saw fit to suspend the Connecticut product for playing in two exhibition games before redshirting as a sophomore — and in time they’d see a young group develop into a competitive team. Instead, just two games after returning, he blew out his knee during a workout on Nov. 25. Having already completed his MBA in May, Abromaitis has a bright future in the business world. But he deserved a better sendoff. From Starter To Goner To me, the ballad of Dayne Crist goes something like: “I gave you all I had only to be kicked to the curb.” Then again, Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly must have his reasons for moving on after the first two quarters of the season opener against South Florida in favor of sophomore Tommy Rees. I’m beginning to think we’ll never get the full story. All we know is that the former five-star recruit out of California will go digging for gold elsewhere after being granted a release in early December. At the start of the 2011 season, when four quarterbacks were battling for the starting job, with Crist and Rees the clear frontrunners, I assumed one might transfer at the conclusion of the year. Who would have guessed it would be the 10-game starter? Crist only saw action in four games and finished the season with 164 passing yards, no touchdown passes and an interception after throwing for 2,033 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2010. Where In The World Is Charlie Weis Now? Charlie Weis’ tenure as the head football coach at Notre Dame ended in 2009 after five seasons and a 35-27 record. It was his first crack at being the boss after much success as a longtime NFL assistant. He then bounced right back to the pro level as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010 before taking the same position at Florida this year. Apparently always keeping a travel bag handy, Weis surprised many in the college football world, including his former boss according to some reports, by accepting the head coaching job at Kansas. Now he’s the boss of a struggling Jayhawks program. I have to admit I never thought he’d oversee another college team so soon. I wish them all good luck. ✦ Assitant Editor Wes Morgan has been with Blue & Gold Illustrated since February 2011. He can be reached at wmorgan@blueandgold.com Jonas Gray’s resurgent senior campaign — 791 yards and 12 touchdowns on 114 carries — came to an unfortunate end when he injured his knee on Notre Dame’s first drive of the second half against Boston College. photo by aaron suozzi