Notre Dame University’s ResLife board has voted not to suspend Fighting Irish star wide receiver Michael Floyd; he recently was charged with another DUI, and he has committed multiple drinking offenses during his time in South Bend.
Coach Brian Kelly has not yet reinstated him back into the program.
However, the fact that the ResLife board may have thrown him out of school if it wanted to is an encouraging sign for Floyd. There is set precedent, as students and college football players alike have been kicked out of school in the past for repeat offenses.
Both Floyd and Kelly released statements through the University today. And Floyd’s mom believes that he’ll be reinstated to the team in the summer, and compete in the fall.
By Paul M. Banks
“Michael has shared with me the outcome of his hearing with our Office of Residence Life, and I’m happy that he has the opportunity to move forward both academically and athletically here at Notre Dame. However, this does not change the fact that Michael is still a suspended member of our football team.
As I said last month, part of the reinstatement process to our team involved conclusions to the legal and university disciplinary matters. Another part was behavior modification and improved decision-making skills. While I have been pleased with the progress Michael has made in the last few weeks, there is still work to be done to convince me he has matured and that he is willing to accept the consequences of his actions, learn from them, and become a better person. Until that happens, he will not be an active member of our team.”
Floyd was suspended by coach Kelly March 21, the same day the #2 seeded Irish college basketball team was bounced exceedingly early from the tournament, after local authorities said Floyd’s blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit. His court date is May 2. Floyd’s statement is below
“I’ve met with the Office of Residence Life and, while I don’t plan to discuss the details, I’m grateful that I still have a chance to earn my degree from Notre Dame and be a member of the football team. I know that I still need to meet requirements set by the university and Coach Kelly, and that I have a lot of work to do that and to prove that I’ve grown from this experience. I’m sorry again for the poor decisions I’ve made and for letting so many people down.”
Floyd obviously missed all of spring ball, and all the drama surrounding his career takes me back to last summer’s media day. This Kelly quote about Floyd from last August, is telling about what Floyd will have to do this August, to find his way back on the team and returning to Kelly’s good graces.
I asked Kelly about both Floyd’s potential and expectations from the junior wideout. The response was picked up and written about by pretty much every news service covering ND Media Day. In fact, the exchange led most of the stories about the 2010 Fighting Irish press event.
“I thought Michael Floyd was overhyped. I thought he was at times average. But in 20 years, I have not had a player who has worked as hard as Michael Floyd has worked. And I mean that.” Kelly responded.
“He has out worked everybody on the offensive side of the ball to the point where he has single handedly set the bar for everybody else needs to bring their play. When we’ve gone in the last couple of days, situational live, he’s been dominant. Believe me, I’m not easily impressed. Again, going back to where I thought he was, watching film last year, wasn’t all that impressed with him.
I’m very impressed with his work. He’s been outstanding. He’s set a bar for the way all of our other players need to compete on a day to day basis.
That’s the Mike Floyd story,” Kelly continued.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
He does a regular guest spot each week for Chicagoland Sports Radio.com You can follow him on Twitter @thesportsbank