Dame.' NCAA rules are such that if
you reach out to him he becomes a
recruited student-athlete and then if
he plays for you for some reason it's
countable. We're trying to fend this
guy off that we want. Now he's our
captain. It's a pretty cool story."
Schmidt, who earned a scholarship
in 2013, a starting spot in 2014 and
now captaincy in 2015, called this the
"most humbling, greatest honor that's
ever been bestowed upon me."
"Anyone who says they don't ever
have a sleepless night or doubt them-
selves is lying," Schmidt said. "I don't
know anyone with that much confi-
dence.
"You've got to have enough confi-
dence to overcome those doubts and
the courage to say, 'If I fail, I fail,' and
go after the dreams you have.
"I definitely had doubts, and I'm
still trying to do everything I can to
get better each and every day to help
make this university and this team
great."
After Kelly announced the captains
to his team following that day's prac-
tice, Schmidt called his father to share
the news. His mother, however, was
on an airplane at the time to College
Station, Texas, to see his sister, who
plays soccer for Texas A&M.
"Hopefully she calls me before she
sees the news," he said.
Schmidt agreed with Kelly that the
team has around 10 players worthy of
earning a 'C' on their uniform.
"We're a veteran group," he said.
"We've all been together for a while.
It just feels like we've been around
each other for a good amount of time.
We have a lot of experienced guys and
guys that are capable of doing the job.
It's great to have that kind of room.
"I don't think you have to have a ti-
tle to lead. There are guys on this team
that are going to continue to lead and
are main voices in the locker room that
might not have a 'C' on their chest. I
think that's incredibly important and
I'm looking forward to how that plays
out."
When he arrived as a freshman
In 2014, Schmidt started eight games and led the
Irish with 65 tackles (42 solo) before suffering a
season-ending ankle injury against Navy.
PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND
