This loss really hurts lacrosse - the team was being touted as a darkhorse candidate for the final four and that was mostly due to Yeatman's presence.

Without him, the task gets much tougher.
Scott | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 2:07 pm | #

It is too bad this happened. However, the circumstances could have been much worse. My cousin once killed a man while he was driving drunk.
GB | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 2:09 pm | #

Pat. What about Kevin Brooks? I think he is inked-in as JJ's replacement as long snapper and is known as one of the resident comedians, but the roster still has him listed as a tight end.
Don E. Brook | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 2:10 pm | #

Pat; In CW's transcripts, he says he "hopes" both Yeatman and Kuntz are back in the fall of '08.
What's up with the UND.com videos. It won't access the signing day video.
jim masterson | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 2:13 pm | #

wow, driving the car on the sidewalk? yeesh. Can't have any tolerance for drunk driving, let alone THAT, the possibility of someone getting killed was very real.
suave andrew | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 2:24 pm | #

This article says new recruit, Dan McCarthy is a medical redshirt.
http://www.southbendtribune.com/...2/1023/ SPORTS13
GB | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 2:25 pm | #

sheesh Yeatman. I've done my share of drunk driving, but never on the damn sidewalk!
shadow hawkins | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 3:13 pm | #

what about the big tight end from Ohio...Kyle Rudolph
Aaron | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 3:34 pm | #

Lifelong domer fan here, but my best friend was killed while we were walking home by a drunk driver on the sidewalk. He just missed me, hit one friend and broke his leg, and dragged my third friend for some distance, killing him.

Sixth grade and my childhood was effectively over at that moment.

Not to say I don't hope he learns his lesson and comes around, he's just lucky he didn't do something much much worse.
nddl04 | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 3:41 pm | #

GB,McCarthy injured his neck in a playoff game. He required surgery, which was successful, he will sit this year out, though he has been cleared for future participation. He is a good one, I look forward to watching him. Aaron, neither Rudolph or Fauria will be available for spring. I wonder what Konrad Rueland is thinking now. Sometimes kids only look at the here and now and don't look into the future.
Doug | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 3:56 pm | #

Doug,
Good point about Konrad Rueland - after I heard the ndews about Yeatman, he was the first person I thought about. I mean, maybe football wasnt the only reason he left ND, but I couldn't help think about what migh be going on in his head. I'm sure he wouldn't admit it publicly, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had second thoughts
Frank | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 4:10 pm | #

This unfortunate tale leads me back to last Fall when sophomore TE Konrad Reuland walked out on the team in the middle of the season. I found it befuddling and a poor strategy that he would leave when he did, rather than play it out and compete again in Spring '08. If he still wasn't happy with his role, then transferring in the Summer is the best way to go. He'd still have to sit out the '08 season, but could practice and then work on winning the starting job for UCLA (or wherever) in Spring '09 for the '09 season.
Had he not totally wussed out, he'd be in the catbird's seat right now, but instead he's heading into Spring football at a place where he won't be eligible for another 18 months.
The bottom line is this: 1) No kid should ever walk out during the season, and 2) No kid should ever transfer until Spring football is completely over.
Reuland, unless he was just miserable at Notre Dame for reasons beyond football, screwed up royally! I addressed both his incredible lack of fortitude and brainpower back then when it happened, and it proves once again just how fast a player's circumstances can change for both the better (Reuland, if he had stayed) and for the worse (Yeatman). The potential greatest tragedy was averted when God kept Yeatman from hurting or killing anyone, including himself.
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 4:19 pm | #

Doug and Frank,
You guys beat me to the punch on the Reuland angle!

Hey Doug!
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 4:27 pm | #

Just a note on the sidewalk thing--

Remember that most of the sidewalks on ND's campus are extremely wide, and are driven on regularly during move-in days, etc.

While that certainly doesn't excuse him, I feel like it'd be easy to get the impression that he was swerving off the road on to a tiny little walking path, when that might not necessarily be the case.
Tony | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 5:59 pm | #

I agree with Tony.

Don't take the sidewalk thing out of context.

ND security regularly uses the sidewalks as access routes to the dorms. Sober students do it every year when moving in.

Heck, when I was on campus there were 2-3 different sidewalk access points where you could drive on campus without going through security. You would enter the sidewalk and only drive on it for 15-20 yards and then WAMMO, you were on one of the campus roads. I can't tell you the number of times we used that to get a car on campus.

Sobriety had nothing to do with driving on the sidewalks at ND.
atepesm | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 7:15 pm | #

Atep,

I was going to say the same thing. I have a strong feeling (without knowing any of the details) that he was probably intentionally on the sidewalk. I used to sneak on campus that way all the time.
Michael | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 7:54 pm | #

Michael & Atep,

Ditto, particularly spring of my senior year in a convertible.....those were the days.
Andy | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 8:09 pm | #

It wasn't moving in day. It was 1 in the morning.

If you're going to be stupid, you better be tough.
Anon | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 10:06 pm | #

I believe the SBT also said that he didn't have his headlights on. He's an idiot and is lucky that a semester without sports is all he has to worry about.
CT | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 10:14 pm | #

At the beginning of each Semeseter, the AD,and or all of the coaches, etc., should take all athletes into the Joyce Center, and spell out what happens at Notre Dame, when the rules are broken.

For starters, they could have perhaps Kyle McAlarney, and maybe Rashon Powers Neal get up and tell their stories.

Thank God no one was hurt; the pain felt by the families of the above mentioned must have been pretty severe, though. Last year, when McAlarney's mom was being interviewed, I remember her attitude, as though the incident was blown out of proportion. Don't think so... Ask the guys he let down on the team. Ask him.

Better yet, put him in front of the podium to tell how bad it felt.

In Notre Dame,
ND_Dad | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 10:16 pm | #

VIW,

Good seeing you here again. Now if OCmj shows up it will be like old family week. As usual,VIW, your insight is so much welcomed and needed. I wish Reuland all the best at Stanford, but VIW is right. He missed out on a ton of opportunity right here. There was a reason he came to ND, he should have done some heavy soul searching before his decision. What is the old adage about the grass being greener....
Doug | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 10:26 pm | #

Hey Doug, pass the potato salad - the reunion is on!

The grass is always greener and kids live for today. But you'd think they would know better in terms of the game of football. Injuries, grades, screw-ups...any number of factors can change the opportunities for these kids.

Voice, you haven't opined about Charlie's (we're on a first-name basis now)adjustments. Some in my family think it's a bit drastic. Just curious about your thoughts.
OC mj | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 11:32 pm | #

Oh and Doug? One other thing...don't praise Voice too much or other posters will accuse you of having an affair...
OC mj | Email | Homepage | 02.10.08 - 11:48 pm | #

Yeatman was driving on the sidewalk on purpose, I know this as a fact. He wasn't drunkenly swerving onto the sidewalk. Doesn't change the fact that it was incredibly stupid though. I mean, why call attention to yourself by driving on the sidewalk if you know you've been drinking?? (then again, why drive at all? but that's obvious). It's like trying to steal a CD from a store by holding it in your hand as you walk out. Dumb, dumb dumb. It is a good thing he didn't hurt himself or anyone else.
Láeg | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 2:37 am | #

OCmj,
Although it seems a bit drastic, I think this is what Charlie needed to do to survive as a head coach. It is hard to be the HC and OC at the same time. He needs to make himself accessable to ALL the players and he needs to be involved with the whole gameplan. If Haywood has the credentials and the leadership ability to be a HC candidate then CW needs to cut the reins. Lou used to say that when you went on the road you needed to bring the defense and special teams. Well, we need that at home too. This will be a very interesting spring and the boys better be ready to strap it on there is going to be a new attitude this year. Maybe Latina will finally be able to be aggressive as an OLine coach. I just hope that we return to being a tough, physical, nasty football team.
Doug | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 7:12 am | #

OC mj,
I find Chuck's (I used to call him Charlie, but that's just too damn impersonal) adjustments laudable. Maybe they are a bit draconian, but I feel that he has truly done some soul searching and is obviously heeding the advice of someone for whom he has tremendous respect. Bill Parcells, maybe?
The trial run for "Charlie's Hands Off Coaching Style, Take Number One" is Spring football, and I hope that he wears heavy gloves so that he doesn't chew his fingernails to bloody nubs as he haltingly defers to his assistant coaches and coordinators. (Really, I can foresee him getting an ulcer the size of Texas.)
Adding Jon Tenuta to the mix on Defense is going to pay huge dividends. Our defense will be solid, and Corwin Brown will be a big beneficiary of Tenuta's day-to-day taking care of business. Corwin is a fine coordinator and an awesome recruiter, but he can learn much from a seasoned college coach like JT.
I am hopeful that Mike Heywood will be a good playcaller, but I have no idea how he will perform in that role. I hope that he is comfortable and not continuously worried about getting yanked if he suffers a few too many three and outs in Spring.
The cynic in me says that Charlie will step aside and let the coordinators take the heat for '08's probable numerous losses, but will then swoop in on a white horse to micro-manage the terrific team we should have in '09, taking many bows and Coach of the Year awards in the process.
But, all in all, I feel that Charlie has had to swallow some pride and should be respected for relinquishing much of his power. He wants to win even more than we do (believe it or not!), and so I can't help but conclude that he strongly feels his chosen course of action will facilitate that.
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 7:14 am | #

"2 Visitors Online", and of course it's Doug and me! Good morning, Doug. Look at us! Writing football sonnets to OC mj. Excellent!
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 7:30 am | #

CW's moves make sense. He got where he is today through working with coaches who delegated. Smart coaches (and managers) hire good assistants and then keep them busy. Haywood should be fine. He has good experience and many resources to draw upon. The newbies on the way will help fill the gaps in personnel. Yeatman just gave them another opportunity and challenge.
Go Irish, Beat the Aztecs!
Doc Possum | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 9:14 am | #

All this about Reuland, Yeatman and McCarthy support the case I made a few days ago about 23 signees and not all of them being starters in their Senior Year. We can only wait and see how the new class shakes out.
captain jack | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 9:25 am | #

I used to drive on the sidewalks on campus all of the time. I used to cut in over by the library and park right behind Flanner (especilly if Stepan was packed) espefcially in the winter if it was cold out. I used to turn the lights off too at night so that I wouldn't draw attention to my sheningans.

While Yeatman was wrong, his BAC was .11. The legal limit in most states used to be .10. Yeatman shouldn't have been driving, but I don't think he was falling down drunk either.

I would be a hypocrite to say that I never drove at .11 at ND, but I parked it at D2 to draw less attention.
FlannerisBigger | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 9:31 am | #

ND_Dad is correct. Those who seem to be giving Will slack for what he did must remember that driving on a sidewalk at 1 AM, and with no lights, is not the brightest thing one can do.
Will must pay the price, and we can only hope he has learned a big lesson. Let us hope he is back in August.
Ted Eberle | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 9:37 am | #

I am a bit concerned about Charlie giving up the play calling. I thought that was part of his genius, although he has learned the hard way that some gambles have a greater downside than he might have thought.
I think many of us agree that last year was the ultimate wake up call, and so it is heartening to see that so many changes are being made, and not simply as knee jerk reactions.
Can't wait!
canuck 75 | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 10:42 am | #

To a Number of Posters above:
How would you feel if Yeatman ran your ND son or daughter over on the sidewalk? He’s lucky he’s still enrolled.
The limit in almost all States is .8
What makes you think anyone will learn from Yeatman? RPN has not been gone that long and his DWI was on break in his home state. I doubt if anyone learned from JC and his “I’ll drive you buy” episode last spring.
Finally, with all the advantages with tutoring and help, apparently Kuntz still floundered at the academic level. Do you think pointing him out as an example to the in-coming freshman is going to make a difference?
As for Rueland. Life is tough and it's even tougher if you're stupid.
Go IRISH
Subway Alumni | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 11:13 am | #

So, he was on campus and somebody calls the South Bend cops? Where was Rocco when we needed him?
Joe Schaefer '59 | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 11:23 am | #

One upside of the restructuring is that it will be fairly easy to tell this past year and future years who was responsible for the good coaching at positions and who was responsible for the bad coaching. If the O line dramatically improves above 2005 and maybe 2006 levels, then I think we can attribute it to Charlie. If the O line stays the same or improves a little, then I think will will be seeing Latina go bye bye. Same goes for other positions.
GB | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 11:40 am | #

There is never an excuse for driving drunk. Call a friend, call a cab or sleep it off wherever you are. It is the height of foolishness and it gets people killed. For all the pain and misery that it has caused some people still just brush it off as not being a big deal, but it is when you wipe out a family of four. I'm not saying this to call out Yeatman but people have got to show some maturity or how about just a basic respect for human life?
Fighting Binny | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 12:07 pm | #

While I agree that Charlie needed to make sweeping changes after last year's debacle, it feels a little like throwing schemes against the wall to see what sticks. While necessary at this stage, I hope this isn't representative of Charlie's (long) tenure.

However, I am reminded that “Those who want to reap the benefits of this great [ND]nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it.”

I'm feeling inspired by the sonnets...
OC mj | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 12:39 pm | #

I am faily certain that Konrad Rueland will be eligible to play this comming year. Part of the reason he transfered when he did was to avoid the year off. He transfered to a JC and will play this year as a Red Shirt Sophmore.
aaron b | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 12:44 pm | #

The width of the sidewalks really doesn't matter. What matters is, sidewalks are there for people to walk on and nobody should be driving on them, when there could be people walking on them. Especially without headlights on.

Seriously. Don't defend the guy. I'm not saying you should be tearing him apart, but don't defend him.
Jade | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 12:52 pm | #

OCmj,

I dont believe CW is throwing schemes at the wall. Play calling is his love, he loves trying to dissect a defense. There are so many more responsibilities to being a head coach and delegation is the most important. I believe you will see Haywood in the box talking with Charlie on the headset. I dont believe you will see him on the sidelines. Tenuta will be in the box talking to Corwin, as that is where he spent his time as a defensive coordinator. I can see a scenario where Haywood tells CW what can work and CW calling in the play. I think the most important thing that will come from all of this is that Weis will make himself more approachable by the staff and players. He does a helluva job recruiting them, he needs to let them come to him when there is a problem. He must recreate himself if he is to finish out that contract.
Doug | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 12:55 pm | #

Does anyone have any comment on the academic standpoint of this year's recruiting class? An anti-ND friend of mine was saying that ND must have stretched the academic standards a little bit in order to get the #2 class. I couldn't argue back because I didn't know.

Were there a lot more academically eligible star recruits this year? Did Charlie just know where to find them? I just hope we'll retain them once the Fall Midterms roll around...
Matt Z | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 1:09 pm | #

Doug,

This begs the question: Will Charlie Jr. be wearing the headsets again?

I guess I was thinking that this will be the year where any weaknesses in the coaching staff will be apparent. I'm probably a little impatient in wishing that would have already been resolved before this year, and we wouldn't be paying for it for another season.

Just got the word - I got tickets to the opener! Woo Hoo and Go Irish!!
OC mj | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 1:34 pm | #

Matt Z

I often saw the new recruit's GPAs. It looked like most of them were well over a 3.0. It was a cursory look but they seem pretty smart to me.

One thing about Haywood calling the plays, no one especially, the first opposing teams knows what types of plays he will call. It will definitely be an element of surprise. Hopefully a positive surprise for the Irish.
GB | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 1:54 pm | #

Subway -

"the limit in most states is .8"?

Awesome, send me a list - I'm getting out of California where it's a meager .08; I'll be watching my 2008 football in a new hometown were I can drink 11 times as much as 2007 and still drive home.
Burbank Steve | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 2:39 pm | #

B. Steve -
You are correct. .08 which is less than .10 or .11.
Thanks.
Subway Alumni | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 3:18 pm | #

The sidewalks ARE wide enough to drive on, but just barely. When NDSP or those stupid "snow-removal" brushes are going, pedestrians have to step to the side. This was an incredibly stupid decision, and he's lucky no one died. And I'm one of the so-called "kids" saying this.

I have to say though, I'll always remember fondly driving right across God Quad last summer here. I waved to "I'll Catch You, Mom!" Jesus on the way by. I didn't even have my headlights on...of course, it was in the day...and I hadn't had anything to drink in 3 days...
Matt '09 | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 5:00 pm | #

To echo a few sentiments...granted its been a few years since I was a student, but the price for a cab ride in South Bend was two bucks. I'm sure its gone up, but we're not talking about breaking the bank here, folks. And he get a buddy to drive him back to his car in the morning. Stupid, stupid move on his part.
ND Alum | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 5:26 pm | #

I wonder if Bob Morton is still around South Bend, offering to be the designated driver for the entire campus, per his quote in the Observer either his frosh or soph year.

I'm placing my bet on Yeatman hopping the curb on the West side of main circle, between Alumni and the Morris Inn. Any other guesses? It would help to know where he lives, or where his passengers lived.

I don't mean to make light of the situation with my jokes. This is a bad deal all the way around. Bad for Will. Bad for the lax and football teams (especially lax). Bad for ND in general. Hopefully he and at least a few more folks around campus can learn from his mistake.
Reno | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 6:42 pm | #

OCmj,
I believe that young Charlie will have a headset, he wore one last year. I still dont see anything wrong with that, and Charlie Jr surely wasnt the problem last year. I can understand Weis not making wholesale changes to the staff. I believe the players like Latina and solidifying the defensive staff with JT is a real positive. I believe you will really find out who is coaching and who isnt this year. I believe that the assistants may have been hamstrung last year with Charlie dominating the offense. Weis knows that this is the defining season for his future, he is making the right moves, let's give him a chance. I believe we think he can do nothing right now, believe me he isnt a stupid man and he has a ton invested in this season. I am looking forward to the spring game for one, last years wasnt very entertaining and it had deeper consequences than realized at the time.
Doug | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 7:06 pm | #

Hey Doug,

I was really just poking fun about Junior's headset. As I posted some time ago, I doubt anyone would even care or point them out were it not for our putrid display on the field.

I agree with your comments, and I was truly thrilled, and a little surprised, to find that Weis could indeed look beyond his own desires and make needed, yet personally painful, changes. I never doubted Weis's desire to win, but this proves to me it runs deep.

It's going to be an interesting year (hopefully, of growth!) for a lot of people, and I can't wait for it to begin.
OC mj | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 8:00 pm | #

I have resisted telling about the time that I went to a late movie one night during Summer School at ND. In the parking lot of the theater (in Mishawaka), I parked beside an island that had a medium size tree growing in it. Upon exiting the theater at 2:00 a.m. my ginormous Oldsmobile Delta 88 was absolutely buried in birdshit! BURIED!!! I mean it was an inch thick and coated the entire car from end to end. All the windows were totally caked with the nasty whitish gray droppings.
I located an ice scraper and cleared a peep hole on each window all the way around the car. I eased into the car and drove (okay, I sped) back to campus, unsure what to do, but totally humiliated. When I arrived I saw the most glorious sight. Lawn sprinklers, with commercial-grade water pressure, were spraying in unison over the entire the library lawn, on the east side, along Juniper Road. I noticed a place where the knee high steel cable that encircles du Lac was missing, and I slowly pulled my car (sans headlights) onto the lawn of the world famous library. It was a balmy night, and I picked up the sprinkler and restrained the little thing that keeps bouncing back into the stream of water, and I washed a ton of birdshit off my car and onto the grass. No cops saw me, and when I was done I pulled back onto Juniper and parked my grateful beast over at the Stepan Center. The two lugs that were with me didn't lift a finger and just laughed with side splitting ecstasy for the duration of my agony. To this day I never park under a tree.
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 8:51 pm | #

Voice,

I can't wait to find out who will win your esteemed and highly coveted "Crabcakes in the Lap" award this year. As my kids say "you da man."
Jan | Email | Homepage | 02.11.08 - 9:40 pm | #

Voice,

Why do I have the horrifying image of you doing a move straight out of "Flashdance" while restraining that sprinkler. UGH! That one is going to haunt me for a while until I drown it with alcohol!

Glad to see you after a while Voice. I don't know about you, but I am already getting so fired up for the season!

Let's pray Will Yeatman learns from this experience and grows and matures and moves past this with flying colors. However, lets also hope that Joseph Fauria and Kyle Rudolph see that door has just cracked open a bit for both of them and they do everything within their power to come in this summer ready to throw down and grab their share of playing time. Don't assume your freshman year is for development. As this past year proved, Coach Weis will play freshman and those two young men were just given a green light to come in and compete right away next year.

Gosh I can't wait for the season to be here!!!

GO IRISH!!!!
GO IRISH!!! | Email | Homepage | 02.12.08 - 12:55 am | #

GO IRISH!!!!, I'm a Maniac, Maniac... You are so right. Amazing how the depth chart can literally evaporate before our eyes. Ragone, even more than the two pups, really got a HUGE break from Yeatman's poor judgement.
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 02.12.08 - 7:08 am | #

Go Irish....Voice doing the Flashdance thing? OMG, I think I just dropped my own crabcake visualizing that image!!!
Knoxville Irish | Email | Homepage | 02.12.08 - 9:02 am | #