A bit more on the latest news
A brief article that appeared online this afternoon in the South Bend Tribune confirmed a rumor that had spent most of the day spreading like wildfire around the ND internet universe:
Notre Dame’s 6-foot 5-inch, 339-pound offensive guard Chris Stewart has left the school with the intent to transfer. … Stewart practiced at both nose tackle and offensive guard, but did not see game action at Notre Dame.
But an hour or so later, another article appeared that suggested that Stewart’s departure might not be for good:
Stewart’s father, George, confirmed that the 6-foot-5, 339-pound offensive guard was flying home to Spring, Texas, Thursday with the intent to transfer, but George Stewart also said Chris left the door ajar back in South Bend.Or at least his family is hoping so.
“I know he’s been a little homesick and he revealed to me he would like to come home and see his family, just visit with us,” George Stewart said via telephone. “Transferring is something he’s thinking about, but, really and truly, my family and I are hoping we can all sit down and talk and possibly iron out a few things and try to get him headed back to South Bend if possible.”
(snip)
Stewart was a second-team USA Today prep All-American coming out of Klein High School and enrolled early with running back James Aldridge and wide receiver George West in January of 2006 to get a head start academically and athletically.
He didn’t play as a true freshman, and then was moved to nose tackle in the offseason. He was moved back to offensive guard this fall and was laboring to move up the depth chart ever since.
Stewart will not accompany the team to Purdue.
“We’re going to visit over the weekend and see what we can do to help him,” George Stewart said. “We don’t want to see him miss out on a golden opportunity, maybe, because of a miscommunication or whatever. Usually there’s a miscommunication involved in incidents like this.
“I don’t quite know everything right now. One thing I do know is my feelings haven’t changed about Notre Dame. That’s why I wanted him to go there all along and I want him to, hopefully, be back up there next week.”
Similarly, Michael Rothstein cites an article from Irish Illustrated in which Stewart’s father is quoted as saying that he’s “not allowing him [Chris] to give up on it just yet.”
On one level, this development is promising, since Stewart was a highly-regarded prospect coming out of high school and has a good chance to perform well for the Irish at some point in the future. On the other hand, if he really doesn’t want to be at ND and he just comes back because his father pushes him, then that isn’t the best thing for anyone. If it’s just a case of homesickness, though, then perhaps a weekend back in Texas really will straighten it out. The fact that Ben Ford describes Stewart as having been “excused for personal reasons,” which is probably the official line that the team is taking at this point, suggests that the Irish may be leaving the door open as well.
According to ND’s official web site, Stewart hasn’t seen the field yet this year, though he moved up to second string at the right guard position on the team’s depth chart when Dan Wenger went down with an injury. Andrew Nuss, who reportedly switched from the defensive line to the offensive line earlier this week, is not listed on the depth chart as of yet.
Ford and Rothstein also report two other bits of injury news worth pasisng along. The first also pertains to the offensive line:
Freshman left tackle Matt Romine has a very large brace/cast on his left arm, going from well below the elbow to way up his bicep/tricep area. He was requested for freshman media chatting tonight, but was rejected.
Secondly, Ford notes that defensive lineman Justin Brown, who sat out against Michigan State, still looks a bit hobbled:
Justin Brown did not run latterally when the rest of the team did, and still ran pretty gingerly when moving straight ahead. I’m not sure what this means in relation to his availability for Saturday’s game, but if he plays, it won’t be at 100 percent.
There probably won’t be anything revealed about this until game time Saturday, but we’ll keep our ear to the ground.
Finally, one last bit of news along the transfer front, this time pertaining to Konrad Reuland:
Former Irish tight end Konrad Reuland told the Tribune Thursday he’ll take his time shopping for his new school and instead attend Saddleback Community College in his hometown of Mission Viejo, Calif., for the balance of the academic year.He will not play football for Saddleback, a junior college power in California.
“This will make me eligible at my new school in 2008, although, I’ll have to sit out the first three or four games, as I understand the NCAA rules,” he said. “I just don’t want to rush into anything. Everything is looking up.
With Reuland’s departure, freshman tight end Mike Ragone has officially moved into the third spot on ND’s depth chart. I’ll have a bit more analysis of the depth chart at some point tomorrow.
Tags: , Andrew Nuss, Chris Stewart, Dan Wenger, Justin Brown, Konrad Reuland, Matt Romine, Mike Ragone