This afternoon Notre Dame released 4 pieces of information and three of them are definitely on the bright side.
However, one of them immediately makes your stomach turn.
Freshman early enrollee cornerback and quite possibly the top recruit from the 2012 class has left Notre Dame and returned to California.
Are there any words?
Both Fresno recruits from 2012---elite players desperately needed at their positions---are gone.
It'll take a while to process something like this, but it's pretty clear that this is a devastating blow to the Irish. Now the team heads into spring practice with just four scholarship corners and that will likely mean someone is going to have move positions either now or when more freshman come in.
Does Davonte Neal go to corner?
Does this mean Matthias Farley is a lock to move back into the secondary?
Would it surprise anyone to see two of the incoming freshman immediately moved to corner?
I know there's a lot of anger out there, but you do wonder what has been going through Tee Shepard's head for the past few weeks and how he's been dealing with life in South Bend. However, it's hard to escape the fact that this seems like some sick and cruel joke.
The coaches, players, and fans will have nothing to do but move on as painful as it may be.
In other news...
- USC transfer and running back Amir Carlisle had his waiver request approved and will be eligible to play this year.
This takes a little bit of the sting out of Shepard's announcement. With a major log-jam at running back there is some speculation that maybe incoming freshman KeiVarae Russell could be a candidate to move to corner.
- Notre Dame also announced that the Michigan game this year will be a night kickoff at 7:30 PM ET.
This had been rumored for quite some time now, so it's not too shocking. The pressure just continues to grow and grow for a win over Michigan---let's hope the team comes out to play a lot better than they did during last year's night home game.
Also, all other home games are scheduled for 3:30 PM ET while the neutral site game against Miami at Solider Field will be another night game with a 7:30 PM ET start.
- The school also announced that the annual Blue-Gold game will once again be televised on NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus). The kickoff for the game is set for 1:30 PM ET and remember most of our One Foot Down crew will be there, live and in person.
Be gentle with your comments fair readers, but make this your vehicle to vent in a mature manner.