Congratulations goes out to the University of Notre Dame for finally giving us an update on Tuesday about the five suspended players.
Head football coach Brian Kelly said he was told, if all goes according to plan, that the honesty committee hearings for KeiVarae Russell, DaVaris Daniels, Ishaq Williams, Kendall Moore and Eilar Hardy will wrap up next week.
The way this time line is moving, it appears that a decision will be made the week before the big game against Stanford. Coincidence or not, it does make you have to wonder why a decision is finally coming down the very same week that a very good Cardinal team comes into South Bend.
It’s been so long since the initial news broke that if you’re not a diehard Irish fan that bleeds everything green and gold, you might have forgotten what actually happened. And I’m starting to get the feeling that by the time all the information comes out, Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick will wish everyone had forgotten about this latest Fighting Irish scandal.
Under Coach Kelly’s five year watch, there’s been enough scandal that I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the major TV networks started a new daytime soap opera entitled: ‘As the Notre Dame World Turns.”
You have to go all the way back to July 29th, when Notre Dame said the Office of General Counsel had immediately launched an investigation after being presented evidence of academic misconduct from five football players.
I don’t have any inside information to share here now, but don’t you get the feeling that if there wasn’t more to this story, that these five players would already be on the playing field by now?
What made the Irish Nation go into a full blown panic attack in the first place was that the five suspended players weren’t just a bunch of scrubs that barely made the team. They were either key starters or important rotation players that would be needed if they were to have any hope of getting back to a big time bowl game. Another year of the Yankee Pinstripe Bowl just won’t do for the loyal Catholics that plop down their hard earned money every Saturday afternoon for tickets. Let alone the boosters and alumni that donate huge amounts of cash to the green and gold cause.
For an example of how good Russell is, long time ESPN NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper told me that come next April, the junior cover corner might be the best defensive back in the whole entire draft. That’s high praise coming from a guy with the credentials of Kiper. (full disclosure Kiper is an admitted Notre Dame fan)
What has really made the waiting even harder on everyone involved is the way Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly has either acted like he has no clue what’s going on or been smug with his answers. An example of his consistent smugness came on Tuesday when Kelly said:
“I don’t have an opinion, and I really wouldn’t want to share it publicly.”
While delivering that quote, he did it with a smile that screamed big time arrogance.
But where the Notre Dame football coach put his proverbial foot in his mouth was when he said Notre Dame is wading through uncharted territory and that he’s talked with Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick about improving a process like this one.
Um, note to Coach Kelly:
Whatever decision Notre Dame comes down with on these five players; they better have the right plan because Coach Kelly’s resume won’t look very good with yet another scandal on it.