Michael Floyd to the Arizona Cardinals Round 1 Pick 13

Michael Floyd was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the 13th overall pick of the NFL draft tonight. I couldn't be happier for him. Having the opportunity to fall under the mentorship of Larry Fitzgerald as a rookie will do nothing but further increase the odds that Floyd will go on to a long and productive career at the next level. Hopefully before too long the Cardinals will get him a quarterback!

Floyd is the highest drafted Notre Dame player since Bryant Young was selected with the 7th overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 1994.

Floyd is the highest drafted Notre Dame offensive player since Rick Mirer and Jerome Bettis were selected in the first round in 1993. Mirer was selected with the 2nd overall pick by the Seattle Seahawks and Bettis was selected the 10th overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams.

Floyd is also the highest drafted Notre Dame receiver taken in first round since Tim Brown was selected by the Los Angeles Raiders with the 6th overall pick in 1988

Floyd's commitment to Notre Dame was probably the highlight of the 2007 season. It gave us hope for a better future. While that better future is still a work in progress I don't think any of us will ever feel like Floyd didn't give us everything that he had while he was wearing a gold helmet.

His career statistics at Notre Dame have been well documented. 271 receptions for 3,686 yards and 37 touchdowns are all school records. He also owns the records for most 100 yard games with 16 and receptions in a season with 100. Those records will likely stand for a very long time.

In the four years that Michael was on campus we spent the vast majority of our time celebrating what he did on the field. But what he accomplished off the field is really more important.

Floyd's road to Notre Dame was not easy, nor was his journey once on campus. His personal trials have been well documented and in some cases highly criticized by many. Despite this Floyd always dug deep and found the requisite character to do what he had to in order to make it right. We watched Michael grow up in South Bend and he will always be one of us.

Best of luck 3. You were well deserving of that jersey and represented both it and Notre Dame very well. We will remain your biggest fans throughout your NFL career and the rest of your life. Go do great things.