Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/621849
UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT "I knew if I came back, this would be the last year." Senior left tackle Ronnie Stanley on his decision to declare for the 2016 NFL Draft; Stanley was fully expected to turn pro following the 2015 season after head coach Brian Kelly and director of athletics Jack Swarbrick persuaded him to come back for his senior season "Just to take the field, and the memories I made this year, you can't place a value on that. What else would I have been doing? Would I have been working? Would I have been twiddling my thumbs and missing Notre Dame? "No, I am totally glad I made the decision to return and just be a part of this amazing team, and we have one last time to take the field together." — Fifth-year senior linebacker Jarrett Grace on his decision to return this season; Grace learned in December that he would not be eligible to return as a sixth-year senior in 2016 because his 2013 injury did not happen early enough in the season "With respect to Team 127 and what we stand for, we're just trying to honor the brotherhood, the camaraderie and how much we care for each other in every game. It's not a one-game decision." — Fifth-year senior linebacker Joe Schmidt on the seniors' request to Kelly for the Irish to not wear individual names on the back of their uniforms versus Ohio State, an old Notre Dame tradition that has been in practice again since the 2008 Hawaii Bowl "It's probably the one thing that keeps you in college football. I have three teenagers and they all play sports. I think I've seen my son play high school football twice this year. So there's got to be more than just the grind every day, and you have to live vicariously through the players you develop and the relation- ships you have with your kids and that's what college football gives you. "You're not going to get that in the NFL. You're going to drive home every day at the end of the day. So that's a huge piece of college football is the relationships." — Kelly on the relationships being what keeps him from leaving for the NFL; he also added that he would need full control over personnel decisions in order to leave for an NFL job TWEET OF THE MONTH @JaeeSmiff9ENT: "Great practice today with my family!" Junior linebacker Jaylon Smith after one of the final practices on campus of the 2015 season prior to traveling to Phoenix PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA