Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 NOV. 20, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME LIFE OF A STUDENT-ATHLETE When Notre Dame and Navy meet for the 91st consecutive year this sea- son, much is celebrated — and rightly so — about the enormous demands placed on the Midshipmen as student-athletes. In the midst of College Football Playoff discussion, sometimes the de- mands of a student-athlete at Notre Dame can be overshadowed as well. For example, Heisman Trophy candidate and junior running back Josh Adams was removed the final three quarters of the 48-37 win versus Wake Forest Nov. 4 because, per head coach Brian Kelly, his prized back "just wasn't right." It was brought on while racing after a fumble by quarterback Brandon Wimbush (recovered by the Irish) in which his head made contact with a Wake Forest defender. "I was getting headaches before the game the day be- fore and … just hitting the other guy kind of disrupted me a little bit," Adams said three days later. He maintained that by halftime the ailment had subsided, but with Notre Dame comfortably ahead at the intermission, 31-10, and leading 41-16 with 17 minutes remaining, he was held out as a precautionary measure. However, Kelly later stated that a number of Irish players had been bogged down that particu- lar week with exams, pa- pers and other academic projects. "It was a rough week for me as far as papers and get- ting enough sleep and re- ally taking care of my body," admitted Adams, who also is involved in an academic program with a foster family and as a mentor. "It's pretty much normal when you have that much work in terms of school. "I was able to complete all the work, so that's a positive, but I've just got to do a better job managing my schedule." As for senior mechanical engineering major and 2016 Academic All- America and current rover Drue Tranquill — who graduates in December and is uncertain yet about returning for a fifth season in 2018 — he too grudgingly acknowledged that some sleep deprivation affected him while working on that specific week in three capstone group projects. "My group is counting on me to get my deliverables done," Tranquill said. "I had a lot of deliverables due last week [prior to the Wake Forest game]." They were hardly mail-it-in projects, either. "One of them we're doing is basically a thermal management system for 3-D printers," Tranquill explained. "In another one, we're acting as like a venture capitalist and designing something for people who travel. "And another one is a research project I'm doing for kids by developing a solar-powered system to help power computers and stuff in schools in developing countries … All neat and interesting, but it took a lot of time." It might even make one reconsider ripping into a student-athlete when snafus occur, although Tranquill has never been one for alibis. He also dem- onstrated why the leadership this year has been so powerful. "At the end of the day, we've got to go down and execute," he said. "I'm not up here to make an excuse for myself or the defense. We all play and we're all student-athletes, so we need to handle the nuances." Sid Catlett: 1948-2017 Sid Catlett, a 6-8 forward who signed in 1967 in one of Notre Dame's most celebrated basketball recruiting classes, died Nov. 3 at age 69 from complications after a brain hemorrhage. From renowned DeMatha Catholic, Catlett joined classmates and fel- low Washington, D.C., natives Austin Carr (Mackin High) and Collis Jones (St. John's) to elevate Notre Dame to top-10 status in basketball. In the 10 seasons from 1959-68, the Irish finished at or under .500 six times and never won an NCAA Tournament game. From 1969-71 the trio helped Notre Dame to three straight bids (when only 25 teams were selected) and twice reached the round of 16 . In the 1971 NBA Draft, Carr was the No. 1 overall pick, Jones No. 17 and Catlett No. 55. In his last two seasons with the Irish, Catlett averaged 8.6 points and 7.6 rebounds as a junior and 9.8 points and 10.3 rebounds as a senior. He first earned fame as a 16-year-old high school sophomore on Jan. 30, 1965, when his DeMatha squad ended New York Power Memorial's 71-game winning streak that was led by Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul- Jabbar). Although the youngest player on the court, Catlett's 13 points led his team, while he played every minute in the contest. As a college senior, Catlett also started on the 1971 team that upset reigning four-time national champion UCLA 89-82 — and the Bruins wouldn't lose until 88 games later, again at Notre Dame. Injuries prematurely ended his professional basketball career, but his eclectic career would include working as a marketing executive for the Converse athletic shoe company, an executive and lobbyist for Motorola, working in Kenya for the Peace Corps and in the 1980s serving as a top aide on Capitol Hill to Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.). Catlett later held an executive position with the D.C. Lottery, had a radio talk show on WOL-AM and led workshops across the country as a com- munity organizer. In 2005 he moved to Atlanta, where he opened a basketball clinic and coached in the developmental department of the Atlanta Hawks. He also had an Internet talk show, produced by his wife, Tahira. Catlett averaged 8.6 points and 7.6 rebounds as a junior in 1969-70 and 9.8 points and 10.3 rebounds as a senior in 1970-71 while helping the Irish to the NCAA Tournament each season. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS The demands of being a student-athlete at Notre Dame took a toll on junior running back Josh Adams the week leading up the Wake Forest game Nov. 4. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL