Lineman Defects from Notre Dame

Offensive lineman Matt Carufel is the latest in a string of defectors from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. Carufel informed Coach Charlie Weis that he was leaving the team on the Sunday after the Boston College game. The sophomore, a 6-5, 295-lbs right guard, has played for a while as a starter in the absence of injured Dan Wenger. However, Carufel later lost his starting job to Eric Olsen and did not play in the past few games. It has been suggested that Carufel might attempt to transfer to Iowa or Minnesota.

Matt Carufel joins a list of more famous “cut-and-runners” that includes quarterbacks Demetrious Jones and Evan Sharpley. A third-string tight end, Konrad Reuland, also quit the team this season. Would these players be defecting so quickly if the Irish were winning? Does this reflect badly on the character of the players, or on the management style of Coach Weis? With as big of a roster as what Notre Dame is dealing with, you have to consider that some players are eventually going to quit at one point or another. Many of these guys are in their late teens and early twenties, and moving from being the star at their high school, where they stood out as the guy who got a scholarship to Notre Dame, to getting beaten regularly and not even getting to play, has to leave a few wanting to opt out. However, as Evan Sharpley has proven, if you stick with it, wait for chance and keep positive, you’ll get your shot.

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Permalink - Posted in General on October 17, 2007 - Post a comment