Seeberg not mentioned

by Jay , San Diego, Thursday, August 25, 2016, 09:33 (2793 days ago) @ Domer99

Here's the text:

Two weekends before its season opener against Texas, Notre Dame encountered the toughest challenge on any college football schedule: An idle Saturday.

The Irish simply couldn't handle it, with six players arrested in two separate incidents within hours of receiving the temporary freedom that comes with the end of training camp.

Coach Brian Kelly responded to the irresponsibility Sunday the best way possible, by holding the young men accountable in a manner that demonstrated the high standards the university likes to espouse. Refreshingly, Kelly sent a strong and clear message of intolerance for the problems that too often have polluted college football programs, including his own.

Kelly dismissed starting safety Max Redfield and indefinitely suspended injured cornerback Devin Butler for their roles in the weekend altercations. The four younger reserves arrested face internal discipline that could include university penalties. A source said Redfield, who was suspended from last year's Fiesta Bowl, already was on Kelly's radar for another alleged behavioral issue when the arrest sealed his fate.

"Their conduct fell far short of what we expect from those who represent our football team and this great university,'' Kelly said in a statement that revealed he met with each arrested player.

For a coach who has warranted criticism for a laissez-faire approach to similar disciplinary issues in the past, Kelly deserves credit for reacting swiftly and strongly without waiting for Notre Dame's bureaucracy. Kelly's firm but fair response recognizes how contrary such shenanigans are to the culture he has spent seven years trying to create. In a profession fraught with too many end-justifies-the-means Art Briles types, Kelly's flex of coaching muscle was a welcome change of pace.

Football ramifications never influenced the decision, not even for the team ranked 10th in the country in Sunday's Associated Press preseason poll. In order to take any of Notre Dame's lofty, NBC-worthy rhetoric seriously, the football program's value system always must trump its depth chart — and, in this case, Kelly made sure of that.

Nobody is naive enough to think that Kelly can survive the realities of coaching Notre Dame football without taking the occasional character risk in recruiting. Concessions are made, deals are struck and sometimes coaches guess wrong about kids they believe will behave. Notre Dame has made enough character misjudgments under Kelly in recent years to have skeptics scoff after these arrests that the Irish resemble a Southeastern Conference team without the national championships. Look no further than 2014 when Notre Dame lost five players because of academic misconduct or other sagas on Kelly's watch that damaged his reputation and caused critics — present company included — to question his integrity.

But that would be a mistake this time. Kelly's action wasn't a football decision and it was the right one. These were not incidents chalked up to boys being boys.

In the first one, an Indiana state trooper in Fulton County pulled over a Ford Focus traveling 73 mph about 10 p.m. Friday because of an improper taillight, according to the police report. During a search of the vehicle carrying five players — Redfield, linebacker Te'von Coney, wide receiver Kevin Stepherson, cornerback Ashton White and running back Dexter Williams — police found marijuana and a loaded handgun. Police booked all five on a misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana and Redfield, Stepherson and Williams face an additional charge for possession of a handgun without a permit. The program that gave us the Four Horsemen now has produced the Fulton County Five, who were released from jail Saturday afternoon.

As troubling as that traffic stop was, a more disturbing episode unfolded early Saturday morning back in South Bend, just after midnight, at the Linebacker — a popular campus bar. According to a probable cause affidavit, South Bend police Lt. Joseph Galea said Butler walked toward a woman and shoved her. After police instructed Butler to step away from the woman, he allegedly attacked an officer and began throwing punches. One account described Butler tackling an officer like a defensive back taking down a wide receiver. Police required a Taser to subdue and handcuff Butler, who faces at least two potential felonies. The narrative makes it easy to envision Butler's indefinite suspension leading to something more permanent.

This was no way for Notre Dame to shift focus away from their quarterback controversy. Kelly created a stir last week announcing he planned to play both quarterbacks, DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire, against Texas because they represented two of his top five playmakers. That raised some eyebrows because of the dated college football adage about the team that plays two quarterbacks doesn't have one it can trust. Maybe that's still true in the NFL. But college football continues to evolve and today's game hinges on innovation and explosiveness. Finding creative ways to use both elite athletes illustrates Kelly's ability to adapt more than underscores any uncertainty.

Deciding to include both quarterbacks against Texas gives Notre Dame the best chance to win. Deciding to kick a starting safety off the team and suspend another potential contributor gives Kelly a more captive audience in the locker room — and more respect outside it.