Tag: South Bend

Notre Dame Walk-On TE Xavier Lezynski Looking to Make Impact

An NJ.com story about Notre Dame walk-on tight end Xavier Lezynski wastes no time with the “Rudy” reference.

An NJ.com story about Notre Dame walk-on tight end Xavier Lezynski wastes no time with the “Rudy” reference. To be fair, it also acknowledges that there’s little in common with Lezynski and Rudy Ruettiger. For one, Lezynski is 7 inches taller and nearly 70 pounds heavier than Ruettiger was when he made his famous appearance. However, he’s also played as many snaps as Ruettiger did:  two, both against Bowling Green in 2019.

The story goes on to talk about Lezynski’s family, which resides in Newtown, Pennsylvania. His parents met at Notre Dame, and all four of their kids graduated from there. One of them, Nick, is on Brian Kelly’s staff as a defensive senior analyst. If there ever was a family defined by one school, this is it.

There’s no telling how much of the field Lezynski will see this year given his small size in comparison to Notre Dame’s other tight ends. Hopefully, it will be more than two plays against a team that comes to South Bend to take its lumps and go home. But no matter what happens, just to wear the gold and blue during Saturdays in the fall is honorable enough for him.

 

Former Notre Dame Star Recounts Racist Encounters at School

Ian Williams played at Notre Dame from ’07-’10. He is making his voice heard now about his encounters and what he hopes protests accomplish.

Ian Williams played defensive tackle at Notre Dame from 2007-2010, recording 13 tackles for loss for the Fighting Irish before being signed by the San Francisco 49ers in 2011.

Williams signed as an undrafted free agent, yet worked his way up to a defensive captain on the squad in 2015.  An ankle injury led to his release by the 49ers in 2016 that resulted in an injury settlement.

Williams bad ankle might not have let him continue playing professional football, but it didn’t stop him from marching and making his voice heard over the weekend.

From Eric Hansen’s piece in the South Bend Tribune:

“I saw an interesting meme on Instagram the other day,” Williams said. “So we all studied the Civil Rights movement. We all studied slavery. We’ve all sat there and thought about what we would do if we lived in that time. 

“Well, we’re doing that right now. Whatever you’d be doing then, we’re doing now. So I want to be able to tell my kids, ‘I wasn’t sitting at home watching TV, scared to go out, scared for my life. Didn’t want to risk anything for other people.” – Ian Williams

On his racist encounters while attending Notre Dame:

“Certain instances happened on campus when you were called the N-word,” he said. “‘What is this N-word doing at my party? Get this N-word out of here. No drinks for the N-words.’ It’s been multiple instances, and you just let stuff slide.

“I can’t fight you and get thrown out. I can’t mess you up, because your parent probably donates and probably paid for one of these buildings over here. So I can’t split your lip and I’m just going to let you be.” – Ian Williams

Williams went on to applaud the current Notre Dame students and players for speaking up on the issues in our society today.  If you’ve got the time it’s worth your time to see what Williams went through at a place we probably like to think such things don’t happen at.

Notre Dame Athletics Stand Together

To say the least, this has been a tumultuous couple of weeks for our country.

To say the least, this has been a tumultuous couple of weeks for our country. We already were dealing with 2 1/2 months of COVID-19 running rampant. Then, George Floyd died, and there has been unrest and nonstop conversation about race relations ever since.

On Friday, Notre Dame Athletics joined the many organizations that have vowed to do better in the wake of all this. In unveiling Stand Together, the department has announced a renewed commitment to empower its student-athletes and listen to any issues they raise. It has the full support of Notre Dame’s President, the Rev. John Jenkins, and Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick.

Additionally, the department website has compiled relevant tweets made by past and present Notre Dame student-athletes. There are too many names to list here, but they all have an equal amount of thought put into them. To have both the leadership and competitive sides of the program represented for this initiative on this website is important, if not necessary.

Anyone with an open mind should realize by now that we’re at the beginning of a new society:  One that seeks to abolish system racism once and for all. Notre Dame just took a step in that direction. When and if we’ll see actual results might take some time. Regardless, the seeds for change have been sown in South Bend.

 

Notre Dame’s Warren Golf Course Ready to Reopen

Another sign of normalcy returning to South Bend will come Tuesday when the Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame reopens.

Another sign of normalcy returning to South Bend will come Tuesday when the Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame reopens to both the university community and the general public. The course, which hosted the 2019 U.S. Senior Open, has been closed since in-person classes were suspended because of the COVID-19 outbreak in mid-March. This action was taken despite golf courses being allowed to remain open in Indiana during the shutdown.

As with golf courses in other areas, steps will be taken to promote cleanliness and social distancing. Groups will tee off every 12 minutes instead of the usual 10 so they can be spaced out more. Clubs and pull carts cannot be rented, and ball washers and bunker rakes will be removed. Golf carts will be sanitized after each usage, flagsticks must stay in place, and cup inserts will allow holed balls to descend only 1 inch.

Additional protocols for the parking lot, starter’s cottage, driving range and other areas are listed when you click on the linked story. It may not be completely what regulars are used to, but it’s better than no golf at all. Stay safe, and have fun.

Could LeBron James Have Played Football at Notre Dame?

Those who have followed LeBron James closely know he was as equally talented at football in high school as he was at basketball.

Those who have followed LeBron James closely know he was as equally talented at football in high school as he was at basketball. People often ask what would have happened had he gone further on the gridiron than St. Vincent-St. Mary’s receiver. Alas, he chose the hardwood, and the sports world is better for it. The closest we ever got to see him play football on a national stage came in a State Farm commercial:

Way before fully committing to basketball, James was recruited as a football player. Patrick Schmidt of FanSided resurrected a 2016 ESPN story of how Urban Meyer pursued James while he was Notre Dame’s receivers coach. What Meyer didn’t realize while making his pitch was that his recruit was turning far more heads in his other sport. That James was in attendance the night Meyers and Ohio State won the 2014 national championship had to be a small consolation.

Many believe James would have been a prolific NFL tight end had things gone differently. In an alternate universe, imagine him suiting up for the Irish along his journey. Could he have helped save Tyrone Willingham’s job or prolong Charlie Weis’ time in South Bend? We’ll never know, but that’s how it should be.

Watch: Notre Dame Signee Surfs to Celebrate High School Graduation

Aidan Keannaina will begin a nice career with Notre Dame in the fall. At least it should be.

Aidan Keannaina will begin a nice career with Notre Dame in the fall. At least it should be. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive tackle is one the highest ranked recruits in Colorado. In January, he played in the Polynesian Bowl with fellow Irish commits Tosh Baker, Kevin Bauman, Michael Carmody and Chris Tyree.

Before hitting the gridiron in South Bend, however, Keanaaina had to graduate from high school. Like every other student taking the next step in life this year, he needed to mark the occasion in his own fashion. Though Colorado is known for its mountains, Keannaina has Hawaiian blood, so there only was one way he could celebrate. That was by wakeboarding in full cap and gown and taking his graduation garb off while doing it.

If anyone had doubts about Keanaaina’s athleticism, this should dispel it all. The kid is quite coordinated, and that will make life easier for Mike Elston and the defensive line he coaches. It’s doubtful the Irish will be staging a team surfing competition anytime soon, but they’ve got a clear favorite if it happens after all.

Top Swimming Recruit Chris Guiliano Commits to Notre Dame

Notre Dame suffered a blow in April when Zach Yeadon, an All-American distance swimmer, entered the NCAA transfer portal after three years.

Notre Dame suffered a blow in April when Zach Yeadon, an All-American distance swimmer, entered the NCAA transfer portal after three years. A month later, there’s some good news to be had. It won’t help the program right away, but there’s more hope for the future now.

Chris Guiliano, the top sprint swimmer from the Class of 2021 who had yet to commit anymore, has verbally committed to Notre Dame. During his junior season at Daniel Boone High School in Douglassville, Pennsylvania, he won a state championship in the 200-yard freestyle. He might have won more events were it not for the cancelation of the rest of the meet.

There’s a good reason Guiliano is regarded as Notre Dame’s top recruit from the Class of 2021. He’s already putting up times that would blow past most of the team. His personal best of 20.27 seconds in the 50 freestyle would have been the second-best on the Irish, his 1:351.81 would have been third, and his 44.29 in the 100 freestyle would have been fourth. For an Irish team that struggled in sprint events last season, Guiliano can’t arrive in South Bend soon enough.

Is Lost Graduation Weekend Precursor to Football Season for Locals?

Typically at this time of year, thousands of families flock to South Bend to watch their loved ones graduate from Notre Dame.

Typically at this time of year, thousands of families flock to South Bend to watch their loved ones graduate from Notre Dame. But like at every academic institution, 2020 commencement was a virtual affair. And it wasn’t only the graduates who were robbed of something. Hotels, restaurants and other businesses in and around South Bend didn’t see the money they usually would.

The South Bend Tribune published a story that mentions the local revenue taken in during graduation weekend is the equivalent to what comes in during a home football weekend. With Notre Dame officials expecting games to be played this fall but with limited attendance and tailgating, a further, more sustained blow to the community is expected. The estimated 7,700 local hospitality workers already are facing significant losses thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak. Nothing close to the normal sellout crowds that fill Notre Dame Stadium will make it all the more devastating.

If you live in the South Bend area, please do whatever you possibly can to support the local businesses that have been severely hampered the past two months and surely will be for the foreseeable future. With unemployment higher than during the Great Depression, this is the time to help people keep their jobs. We don’t want this to community to be a shell of what it’s been when this pandemic is over.

What Revamped 2020 Season Could Mean for Notre Dame’s Independence

With all the talk about college football teams only playing conference games for a shortened 2020, Notre Dame is back at the forefront.

With all the talk about college football teams only playing conference games for a shortened 2020, Notre Dame is back at the forefront. The Irish and their fans take a lot of pride in the program’s independence, and if you asked most people who align themselves with the program, they wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, why would they ever admit that Michigan was right to deny them admission into the Big Ten?

But as Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated points out, the COVID-19 pandemic will create new issues and reignite old ones, namely whether the Irish should bite the bullet and join a conference. Although Notre Dame is not the only independent Football Bowl Subdivision program, it’s the only one regularly discussed as a College Football Playoff contender. To other fans, it’s not fair that their team has to devote most of its schedule to the same opponents every year while the Irish can play whoever they want and still get a seat at the head table if the committee deems them worthy.

The best solution for the Irish would be for the FBS to adopt the “conference-only, plus-one” model that athletic director Jack Swarbrick has talked about. That would almost certainly ensure that Notre Dame plays the same number of games as everyone else. Besides, everyone and their grandmother knows any game involving the Irish means greater exposure for their opponents.

Forde breaks down the Irish’s current 2020 schedule and what every game’s fate could be. Navy and the six ACC opponents should be safe, as should the Shamrock Series game with Wisconsin and the one involving Western Michigan of the Mid-American Conference. Arkansas also is scheduled to play in South Bend, but would an SEC team want to play its only nonconference game on the road? Meanwhile, the Pac-12 has discussed its teams only playing within the conference, which could spell trouble for the annual games against Stanford and USC.

Whatever happens, Notre Dame’s football independence might be more contentious than ever. But even the most ardent Irish haters have to admit that without them, the overall college football brand would suffer greatly. Plus, it’s unlikely the university will have wanted to give away scholarships for nothing, even if it decided to honor them without the reason these particular students came to South Bend. The only thing to do is set up an abbreviated schedule in way that gives independent programs the same number of games as everyone else.

It’s really simple:  If there’s no Notre Dame, there’s no college football. Period.

Muffet McGraw Settles Into Post-Coaching Life

South Bend Tribune columnist Bill Moor wrote about Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame’s legendary and recently retired women’s basketball coach.

Appropriate enough for Mother’s Day, South Bend Tribune columnist Bill Moor wrote about Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame’s legendary and recently retired women’s basketball coach. The column includes quotes from Muffet’s husband, Matt, about their dating days and how she continues to have a competitive drive. Granted, she’s not long removed from her position, but that doesn’t make her any less of a perfectionist.

Muffet isn’t completely done with Notre Dame. She’s now a special assistant to athletic director Jack Swarbrick. She’s also spending time helping the community. As of Thursday, she’s hit five neighborhoods to gather donations for a Food Bank of Northern Indiana food drive she’s spearheading.

It’s safe to say Muffet already has settled into her new life just fine. Sure, it’s an adjustment, and the COVID-19 outbreak has made things more challenging than they otherwise would be. But she’s definitely made peace with her decision to step away from coaching, and she’s looking forward to the future. Hopefully for her, that future includes grandchildren, which would come from her son, Murphy, who has been married for almost two years.

“As far as I’m concerned, they can start popping out kids any time,” Muffet said.