Brandon Hoyte, a former Notre Dame football captain and 2006 graduate of the university, is unfortunately back in the San Diego County Jail. The GoFundMe organized by John Kouris '96 was successful in that it brought Brandon's ND family, his real family and his friends together and organized what the group believed was the best action plan for long-term rehabilitation. (It also paid for mental health treatment from a top San Diego-area facility, temporary housing, clothing, supplies and other items necessary to his survival.) Unfortunately, a confluence of factors -- primarily Brandon's neurological impairment -- have prevented the success we all hoped and prayed for. I've been told Hoyte appreciates the emails we collectively send to him, although he has no mechanism to respond. If you'd like to email him, follow these steps: 1. Visit 2. Type in his last name, then his first name and hit "lookup." 3. Complete the CAPTCHA. 4. Click on the hyperlink attached to his last name: "HOYTE." 5. There are four boxes: Email inmate, schedule a visit, status notification and shop commissary. Select "email inmate." 6. Enter your email, then go to your email client. 7. Click on the link provided in the email from NoReply@sdsheriff.net. 8. Fill in as much personal information as you wish, then compose your message. My recommendation would be to share with him a happy memory of a time that you interacted, or something about watching him play. General good wishes and prayers are also appreciated! 9. After you hit send, you should get a confirmation email from NoReply@sdsheriff.net with the text of your message. If you'd like to catch up on Brandon's journey since February, I've tried to keep it together in a single thread here. I also wrote a story for our website when the GoFundMe was launched, which is here.