'11 NM OT Matthew Hegarty (Signed Notre Dame LOI)

[dublinirish]

sounds like he was told he would not be in the 2 deep

 

[PANDFAN]

His choice or mutual/Kelly's?

"Recently my coaches informed me that they wanted me to change positions."

 

[ulukinatme]

Sorry to hear this, but it's unfortunately a numbers game at this point. There's going to be a lot of good guys that won't be able to fit for 2015.

 

[Southside Sully]

This kid is true class act when you read this, best of luck to him. Glad to see no sour grapes, and the hard work ethic. Good Luck Matt.

 

[RuntheBall]

Bummer. Was one of my favorite players at ND. A great kid and great lineman. Best of luck to him wherever he ends up next season.

 

[IrishLion]

Refreshing to see a guy who understands the "business" side of things when you get into that 5th year territory, and could handle it with such maturity and class.

 

[NDdomer2]

Does he head back to PAC? Zona?

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Best of luck Matt. You are a true hero to many people.

 

[ND-North]

I had the privilege to know him while I was at ND. Great kid, hard working in the classroom, perfect ambassador for what ND stands for. Whoever gets him is receiving a great player and an even better person

 

[Wild Bill]

Seems like a great kid. Hopefully he finds a good landing spot.

 

[BGIF]

Matt Hegarty to transfer from Notre Dame Fighting Irish - ESPN

By Matt Fortuna
March 4, 2015



Hegarty will graduate in May and then transfer to play his 5th year elsewhere to pursue his NFL dream.

"I am extremely grateful for the opportunity that the Notre Dame Football program has afforded me," Hegarty said. "I want to thank Notre Dame, my coaches, my teammates and friends at school for the four great years I had at Notre Dame. I also want to thank the Notre Dame Nation for all of their support over the years. My focus has been to pour myself into everything that I have done at ND. I have worked hard and have always done everything that was asked of me. Recently my coaches informed me that they wanted me to change positions. They also explained that with many younger players in the wings, they wanted to develop them more heavily in the rotation-- a need that I understand and appreciate.

"Unfortunately, I have already had to miss a precious amount of football battling back from my stroke, and I value every rep and opportunity going into my final year of college ball that much more. My goal is to contribute this season, continue to develop my skills and pursue my dream of playing in the NFL. Because of this goal, I have asked for a transfer to play at another school where I can contribute more on the field. Notre Dame has amassed formidable depth on the O-line and have many very talented players to fill all positions.

"So I wish everyone at ND the best this year and especially to my 15 brothers on the offensive line as they prepare for the 2015 season."

 

[JD Irish]

This is very unfortunate. As good as Nelson looks to be, Hegarty started all year and Nelson didn't play -- if Nelson wasn't better than Hegarty at the start of the season, how could he be now?

 

[Whiskeyjack]

This is very unfortunate. As good as Nelson looks to be, Hegarty started all year and Nelson didn't play -- if Nelson wasn't better than Hegarty at the start of the season, how could he be now?

Nelson's not a Center. And Hegarty was, by far, the weakest link on our 2014 OL.

It's always bitter-sweet when one of our guys has to play out his 5th year elsewhere, but it's the sign of a healthy program.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Sorry to see him go. I wish him well.

 

[PANDFAN]

This is very unfortunate. As good as Nelson looks to be, Hegarty started all year and Nelson didn't play -- if Nelson wasn't better than Hegarty at the start of the season, how could he be now?

incorrect and also Nelson was a true freshman coming in..not the place you want a freshman for just strength reasons let alone technique...he has a year now under his belt...he still practiced w/ the team and was singled out by BK over the bowl practices basically saying he was going to be huge factor on the line for this year

 

[kmoose]

This is very unfortunate. As good as Nelson looks to be, Hegarty started all year and Nelson didn't play -- if Nelson wasn't better than Hegarty at the start of the season, how could he be now?

I don't know. Maybe Nelson's physical conditioning has improved to where he can give the coaches the volume of work that they require? Maybe the new OC is going to change up the blocking scheme, and the new scheme favors Nelson, not Hegarty? Regardless of our understanding of it; Hegarty made it clear that he was not going to get enough snaps, in his mind, to make him a viable candidate for the NFL. So he wants to go somewhere where he can play enough snaps for that. I don't blame him. I don't blame the coaches for starting the best player. Hegarty will have his degree. I hope he goes somewhere where he tears it up, but it doesn't affect ND.

 

[BoredIrish]

He could go back to New Mexico and play under Davie...

or not.

 

[woolybug25]

This is very unfortunate. As good as Nelson looks to be, Hegarty started all year and Nelson didn't play -- if Nelson wasn't better than Hegarty at the start of the season, how could he be now?

How could Nelson be a better player almost a year later???

If our players aren't getting better each year, our coaches aren't doing their job.

 

[Crazy Balki]

This is very unfortunate. As good as Nelson looks to be, Hegarty started all year and Nelson didn't play -- if Nelson wasn't better than Hegarty at the start of the season, how could he be now?

Yes, because McGlinchey looked MUCH worse than Lombard when he took over right?

 

[BGIF]

This is very unfortunate. As good as Nelson looks to be, Hegarty started all year and Nelson didn't play -- if Nelson wasn't better than Hegarty at the start of the season, how could he be now?

If Zaire wasn't better than Golson at the start of the season, how could he be now?

 

[Irish Insanity]

So if we were 7-5 last year how can we be better this year.

 

[Wild Bill]

So if we were 7-5 last year how can we be better this year.

FIRE KELLY!

 

[ThePiombino]

This is very unfortunate. As good as Nelson looks to be, Hegarty started all year and Nelson didn't play -- if Nelson wasn't better than Hegarty at the start of the season, how could he be now?

Not sure I follow this logic. Please elaborate.

 

[IrishLax]

Stand up move by the coaches being upfront with him about his PT instead of bringing him back with false promises in order to have a great/experienced depth piece.

 

[condoms SUCk]

Yup, agreed.
I'm expecting a few more discussions such as this here in the coming weeks.

 

[Irish#1]

This is very unfortunate. As good as Nelson looks to be, Hegarty started all year and Nelson didn't play -- if Nelson wasn't better than Hegarty at the start of the season, how could he be now?

 

[irishog77]

Nelson's not a Center. And Hegarty was, by far, the weakest link on our 2014 OL.

It's always bitter-sweet when one of our guys has to play out his 5th year elsewhere, but it's the sign of a healthy program.

Really? By far, to boot? I thought for a stretch there that Hegarty was easily ND's 2nd best lineman. Elmer, Lombard, and Martin all reallllllly struggled at times. As OL go, I'd prefer Hegarty to Martin being back. As a Center specifically, yeah, I'd probably take Martin over Hegarty though.

I think part of the problem with Hegarty is that he's essentially a Guard-only player. Yeah, he could be a decent back-up C, but better than players without expired eligibility? I don't know. And he can't really play Tackle. So, if Elmer is the staff's guy at one G spot for the next 2 years, and Nelson and the other young ones are hungry for that other spot (with multiple years of eligibility in their back pocket), I guess I can see why the staff decided to go in another direction.

Sucks though. I feel bad for him. Glad he has the chance to continue his career though.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I believe that Matt's "stroke" problem really set his physical development back, and he was just not strong enough to handle the better DTs that Notre Dame faces every year. As the season wore on you could see Matt get bowed backwards and fight like crazy not to be driven back into Everett. This situation got so "regular" that when we put Cam in to block he was obviously under instructions to take a longer-than-optimal look at the center of the line before trying to help the edge.

I really liked Matt as a person and an OLine ND Warrior, so it's uncomfortable for me to say this, but it's true: Matt had a harder time holding up throughout the game than our other four linemen. But now he has another year to gain strength and show how far he has been able to come. I hope he's an All-Star somewhere [he certainly has the head, heart, and feet for it] and gets an NFL tryout. Bless you, Warrior, for all you did for us [which was a lot].

 

[irishandy]

Best of luck to Matt moving forward.

 

[GATTACA!]

Good luck Matt