Carufel's gone for good

[johnnd05]

October 14. 2007 11:45PM

Carufel makes ND departure permanent

By ERIC HANSEN
Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND — Matt Carufel’s detour from the Notre Dame football team became a permanent one late Sunday night.

The sophomore offensive guard left the team Wednesday to contemplate his future, a day after being leapfrogged on the depth chart by classmate Eric Olsen. Irish third-year head coach Charlie Weis excused Carufel from Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practices as well as Saturday’s game against Boston College to go home to Forest Lake, Minn., and consult with his family and high school coaches.

“I spoke via telephone with Matt Carufel Sunday evening,” Weis said in a statement. “And he informed me he was going to leave the team and withdraw from the University of Notre Dame. I appreciate all Matt has done for Notre Dame and wish him nothing but the best.”

Fellow sophomore guard Chris Stewart went through a similar episode at the end of September, before deciding to rejoin the squad. Carufel reportedly has Iowa and Minnesota, two schools in his final five two years ago, high on his list of possible transfer destinations.

When reached by cell phone late Sunday, Carufel hung up.

Carufel played in Notre Dame’s first six games and started games 4, 5 and 6 after starter Dan Wenger suffered an ankle injury in game three against Michigan. Wenger has not played in a game since. However, on Tuesday Olsen was informed by Weis he would be starting in Carufel’s spot against Boston College.

Carufel becomes the fourth member of the vaunted sophomore class to depart in the past four months. Overall, 17 players have left the program for various reasons, including injury and early entry into the NFL Draft, since Weis became head football coach at ND in December of 2004.

Carufel was the No. 56 prospect nationally coming out of national prep power Cretin-Derham Hall of St. Paul, Minn. He was a three-year starter and was the 2005 Gatorade Player of the Year in Minnesota.

He saw just over two minutes of playing time as a freshman.

I hadn't heard that Olsen had moved ahead of him on the depth chart. That certainly wasn't indicated on the chart posted on-line. Good for Eric, I guess.

Oh, well. That sucks. Time to move on.

 

[WaveDomer]

When reached by cell phone late Sunday, Carufel hung up.

"Can you hear me now?"

 

[Epitome]

Thanks for the input John. Best of luck to him.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

Best of luck to Matt. I am sorry it did not work out for him. I hope he finds a good home in Minnesota or Iowa. Ferentz is a great coach and Carufel might really enjoy it there.

 

[NDgrandson]

Glad Stewart stayed and hopefully he now sees where he can fit in with MCs departure.

 

[GoshenGipper]

I hadn't heard that Olsen had moved ahead of him on the depth chart. That certainly wasn't indicated on the chart posted on-line. Good for Eric, I guess.

Oh, well. That sucks. Time to move on.

I had heard that late Friday, but I still think it sucks. Matt's very talented and I could have easily seen him beating out Turk for the LG spot if not this year, then next. This one's actually a pretty good blow to the team. It also hurts OL depth, and it makes Robinson, and Page all that more important. Maybe ND will take both now if possible. This also might mean that Emeka will move back to the OL.

 

[JeremyND07]

I agree I think this is a huge blow to the team! Who is going to leave next? Jimmy after he gets benched this weekend???

 

[SouthieND04]

Yeah, this sucks. But oh well. I just hope it doesn't continue.

 

[King Rhabuf]

Sucks that he left, just have to move on though. We better get Page or Robinson now.

 

[irish4ever]

If these ones leaving the program is because they are truly getting beat out by others and can't accept that fact, then so be it. Best of luck elsewhere. The coaches can't pacify all these individuals just because they are not number one on the depth chart!

 

[Newc]

I am usually very optimistic and try to spin things that way, but is anyone else getting a little nervous? Is it just home sickness or playing time here or is there something deeper going on?

Please reassure me.

 

[Sureal]

But wasn't this guy starting? This one to me is very confusing...

 

[rockne19]

does anyone have a theory why so many players are leaving?esp. during the season!

 

[rockne19]

any influence on m. flyod?

 

[johnnd05]

But wasn't this guy starting? This one to me is very confusing...

No, he wasn't. Olsen beat him out for the starting job this week, and that's why he left. Plus the only reason he'd been starting in the first place was because of Wenger's injury, so he might have felt like he was actually third-string. He's a sophomore now; if he looked at the depth chart at both guard positions and felt like he was solidly behind those two as well as Turkovich (who's only a junior, and presumably has two more years of eligibility), he might have felt like he wasn't ever going to have a shot to start. Does this justify his leaving? No. Does it mean that there's no reason to be worried about what the staff might be doing to cause a midseason departure like this, even from a kid who'd just fallen down the depth chart? No. But there's definitely a solid explanation for it.

 

[johnnd05]

any influence on m. flyod?

Possibly, though of course I don't know how close the two of them actually are. If he left because he didn't like the coaches or players, then you could imagine that him saying that to Floyd and its having an impact on his decision. But if it was just out of frustration over getting passed over yet again and feeling like he'd maybe never have a chance to be anything but a backup (see the above), then Floyd's situation seems relevantly different that it shouldn't bear on him. Basically the question is, how much class does Carufel have?

 

[goldandblue]

Hopefully a bunch!

 

[Sureal]

No, he wasn't. Olsen beat him out for the starting job this week, and that's why he left. Plus the only reason he'd been starting in the first place was because of Wenger's injury, so he might have felt like he was actually third-string. He's a sophomore now; if he looked at the depth chart at both guard positions and felt like he was solidly behind those two as well as Turkovich (who's only a junior, and presumably has two more years of eligibility), he might have felt like he wasn't ever going to have a shot to start. Does this justify his leaving? No. Does it mean that there's no reason to be worried about what the staff might be doing to cause a midseason departure like this, even from a kid who'd just fallen down the depth chart? No. But there's definitely a solid explanation for it.

That's too bad. If he feels he can do better elsewhere then more power to him.

Oh well moving on, do we get his scholarship?

 

[johnnd05]

Oh well moving on, do we get his scholarship?

Nope, too late, Weis has already offered it to my kid.

 

[goldandblue]

Ha ha, Mines on the scholarship list also for the 2025 class

 

[kmoose]

Possibly, though of course I don't know how close the two of them actually are. If he left because he didn't like the coaches or players, then you could imagine that him saying that to Floyd and its having an impact on his decision. But if it was just out of frustration over getting passed over yet again and feeling like he'd maybe never have a chance to be anything but a backup (see the above), then Floyd's situation seems relevantly different that it shouldn't bear on him. Basically the question is, how much class does Carufel have?

The real question is, "Do we want a kid that is so easily swayed by the experience of ONE guy that he happens to know? " That shows, in my opinion, a weak mind. And ND is certainly not for the weak minded.

 

[WaveDomer]

We may have a problem, I don't know. However, I'm tempted to say that transfers are a normal part of college ball and ND's transfers are just magnified right now because of the win/loss record and the exposure of the program. Picking up transfers is starting to look like free agency in the pros.

 

[Doomsday Device]

The real question is, "Do we want a kid that is so easily swayed by the experience of ONE guy that he happens to know? " That shows, in my opinion, a weak mind. And ND is certainly not for the weak minded.

How does that show a weak mind? If you hold someone's opinion highly, it's going to have a major impact on what you decide to do. It speaks to the relationship between the two of them, not to the "strength" of one's mind. If you were close with someone, I doubt you'd gloss over their opinions lightly.

 

[kmoose]

How does that show a weak mind? If you hold someone's opinion highly, it's going to have a major impact on what you decide to do. It speaks to the relationship between the two of them, not to the "strength" of one's mind. If you were close with someone, I doubt you'd gloss over their opinions lightly.

You're right. I wouldn't. I also would not allow them to talk me out of going someplace I really wanted to be, just based on their ONE experience. I may be wrong, but I believe you have to make your own decisions. You can listen to the counsel of others, but the actual decision is up to you. And, once you commit to something, you should see it through. At least experience it for yourself before deciding it is not for you.