Now that Lynch is gone, time for some reflection

[jimmymac]

Well he's still on campus. Just wished him luck on the behalf of IE and he said thanks. Doesnt seem to upset at all... On to the next

 

[BMT]

A lot of mob mentality now that Aaron has left or quit or so on.
I just hope he was not clinically depressed and making choices while depressed over cold weather/missing girlfriend/high school friends. I hope the coaches and medical staff checked this out. This is only a 19 yo we are talking about. We all made stupid choices at 19 or thereabouts sometimes that we wished we did not make for the rest of our lives.
Also, I hope some seniors like Manti and Tyler and Kapron were there for him and tried to talk some sense into Aaron. While there is a lot of bravado on the internet, the reality is this was probably a bad move for Aaron Lynch and Notre Dame. I hope he reconsiders while still in school.

 

[CanadalovesND]

I dont care about Lynch anymore. First he commits, decommits, re-commits, returns home, comes back, and then leaves again. We dont need Drama. We need players that want to be here.

Nuff said

 

[BMT]

I care, somehow I hope he realizes his mistake while at school around his teammates the next 6-8 weeks, and comes back!!!!!!!!!

 

[Irish To The Core]

First off kudos to Aaron Lynch for electrifying this forum for the past 2 years. He has single-handedly brought us to higher highs and lower lows by the crateload. It has been a dizzying crazy ride.

It is stunning, really stunning that he is doing this largely to chase a skirt. Of course he hates the weather and even though he has risen up and achieved academic levels he could never have dreamed of, I get the feeling that he would rather focus his energy on other things as he is certain he is destined for the show and the good life.

If I were inside his circle of trust I would have posed this question to him long ago: If this is THE girl, how come you have to give up the opportunity of getting an ND education and being a headline performer on the big stage of college football to go to her? How come she (without the ties) hasn't offered to follow you? Maybe she can't get into ND, but what about St. Mary's or Holy Cross? It seems to me you are going to give up an awful lot to be with her, but she...not so much. If she were THE girl wouldn't she recognize that she has much more latitude than you and join you? I would hate to see you make this sacrifice for a girl who wouldn't sacrifice far less for you.

Anyway, Notre Dame will be just fine without Aaron. I think the intercepted tweets from players sum it up...enough with the drama. You are welcome to stay, you are free to go. Just do one or the other please.

 

[mgriff]

First off kudos to Aaron Lynch for electrifying this forum for the past 2 years. He has single-handedly brought us to higher highs and lower lows by the crateload. It has been a dizzying crazy ride.

It is stunning, really stunning that he is doing this largely to chase a skirt. Of course he hates the weather and even though he has risen up and achieved academic levels he could never have dreamed of, I get the feeling that he would rather focus his energy on other things as he is certain he is destined for the show and the good life.

If I were inside his circle of trust I would have posed this question to him long ago: If this is THE girl, how come you have to give up the opportunity of getting an ND education and being a headline performer on the big stage of college football to go to her? How come she (without the ties) hasn't offered to follow you? Maybe she can't get into ND, but what about St. Mary's or Holy Cross? It seems to me you are going to give up an awful lot to be with her, but she...not so much. If she were THE girl wouldn't she recognize that she has much more latitude than you and join you? I would hate to see you make this sacrifice for a girl who wouldn't sacrifice far less for you.

Anyway, Notre Dame will be just fine without Aaron. I think the intercepted tweets from players sum it up...enough with the drama. You are welcome to stay, you are free to go. Just do one or the other please.

I would have to think that Mama Lynch has brought up those points to him ad nauseam. That woman desperately wanted him to get an incredible education, and tried her darndest to get him to stay and commit to ND.

 

[Irish To The Core]

I would have to think that Mama Lynch has brought up those points to him ad nauseam. That woman desperately wanted him to get an incredible education, and tried her darndest to get him to stay and commit to ND.

You are probably correct. She probably did more campaigning for ND than I would have done in her place.

 

[irishtrain]

I agree except for the last part. If anything BK is renowned for getting things done on the field, even without top talent. There's still a lot of talent on the field.

The bigger problem here is college athletics. There's absolutely zero incentive for any of the top, elite prospects to go to a school like ND when the entire SEC doesn't care about academics. 5 Star prospects can load up at a school like South Carolina because really, they don't have to work at all. They can concentrate on football.

It takes special kids to come to a school like ND.

For me though, the biggest problem is that luring prospects like Tee, Darby, Greenberry, and now LYNCH made it cool again for top prospects to come to ND. Now every coach in America recruiting against ND is going to be reminding kids of all that has happened.

Makes me sick.

Nice words and I agree. I was hoping that college football would change-it will not and the only way for Notre Dame to succeed is to get down in the dirt with the SEC etc. Somehow they must make it trendy stylish or just plain common sense to play and get educated at Notre Dame. But there are so many people out there now running college football that are not interested in anything but minor league pro football. I think alot of all this still falls back on the character and lifeplan of our young people-it doesnt look good. nevertheless-Go Irish.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

There's no reason to be enthusiastic about the program right now which is a big change. At least I could have false hope in years past. Now we have a 16 man recruiting class and transfers.

 

[ulukinatme]

At this point I say lower the bar, cheat, whatever it takes to win. We've already imposed sanctions on ourselves with the last recruiting class and the transfers

 

[NDOM]

Okay so here's my 2 cents:

Lynch is not going to be playing as a member of OUR football team............CLOSE THREAD!

 

[Grahambo]

The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

 

[Patulski]

This isn't a sky is falling post, but the reality of the situation is that ND is no closer to being elite than what they were when Weis left.

I don't think there's any way to know this. The key to 2012, and all seasons, is to win the battle on both lines of scrimmages. I think progress has been made by Kelly on that front. We have no idea how its shaping up this spring. How is the strength program progressing? How much developing is occurring? Hard to tell. We'll see soon enough.

 

[MJ12666]

Thank God most of you aren't the ND AD. We would have a new coach every year!

 

[tadman95]

I hope everything works out for Aaron, I really do. I'm glad he's finishing the semester but that's going to be a little tough I think. Walking around campus being "that guy" could get a little uncomfortable.

Hope he hangs in there until the semester finishes up.

 

[tommyIRISH23]

I don't think there's any way to know this. The key to 2012, and all seasons, is to win the battle on both lines of scrimmages. I think progress has been made by Kelly on that front. We have no idea how its shaping up this spring. How is the strength program progressing? How much developing is occurring? Hard to tell. We'll see soon enough.

I agree. How on earth can you say that ND is no closer to being elite then when Weis left? ND was swimming in the **** below rock bottom when Weis left. Our defensive line is still crazily deep, and all the changes made from an administrative stand point put the program notches above where Weis left it.

ND still has a nasty Dline. Anytime you have that, you are in a great position to win games. Hes got skilled players all over the field. The offense will eventually explode, may not be this season, but at the very latest is two years when Gunner has some expierence under his belt. If our offense is average we will win atleast 8 games.

Stop freaking out for no reason people. Are we ready to compete for a NC? No. It took Harbaugh how long at Stanford to become elite? 5 years? Relax and let BK build his program for Christs sake.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

Manti's take on it.
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[Irish52]

Makes me sick

Makes me sick

I agree except for the last part. If anything BK is renowned for getting things done on the field, even without top talent. There's still a lot of talent on the field.

The bigger problem here is college athletics. There's absolutely zero incentive for any of the top, elite prospects to go to a school like ND when the entire SEC doesn't care about academics. 5 Star prospects can load up at a school like South Carolina because really, they don't have to work at all. They can concentrate on football.

It takes special kids to come to a school like ND.

For me though, the biggest problem is that luring prospects like Tee, Darby, Greenberry, and now LYNCH made it cool again for top prospects to come to ND. Now every coach in America recruiting against ND is going to be reminding kids of all that has happened.

Makes me sick.

We are never told the real reason why the four mentioned in the post left ND. I suspect academics had a lot to do with it. I'm afraid that we compromised our academic standards for athletic abilitly. Our success lies in findiing smart kids with good athletic ability and there are plently out there. Stick to that principal and we will again be nr. 1.

 

[phgreek]

intentionally did not comment on this...'til now.

...How many times is a kid going to leave Alabama for ND.... The issue is when you start out with high all around standards/requirements/expectations, the intestinal fortitude is a big deal. Sometimes folks need less to make their life work...but people who've already recognized that and gone to Alabama...well, they aren't going to wake up one day, develop an iron will, and go to ND.

We live on a transfer street that is 99% one way...thats our world.

All this "state of the program" business is just veiled Kelly "warm" seat discussion....Look my belief is Jack picked a guy who will win with what ya give him...recruiting will have its ups and downs...but what I see is a guy killing the notion that ND is the goal among the players ...that entitlement mentalityonce they get there. He is instilling a work ethic, and demeanor in these guys that is the basis for a "program"...how else are you going to do this if you aren't 3 deep in 4 and 5 stars everywhere? He's the guy, our players are solid...they need to execute and they will win.

besides, WTFE would take the job that isn't a total gamble. I'll take my 8 wins next year, and hope we win a bowl game. Then we'll see. I'm thinking 8 wins a season is not good enough, but better...

 

[Patulski]

If we had 85 players with the heart of Manti Te'o, we would never lose.

 

[Patulski]

The issue is when you start out with high all around standards/requirements/expectations, the intestinal fortitude is a big deal. Sometimes folks need less to make their life work...but people who've already recognized that and gone to Alabama...well, they aren't going to wake up one day, develop an iron will, and go to ND..

As someone who grew up in South Bend, graduated from Notre Dame in the 80's and had a family member that played at Notre Dame, it is obvious that playing at ND is much harder on the football players than it was before. There is this constant mantra of how hard it is to be a football player at ND. It wasn't always so, and this is a major hurdle in both recruiting and winning. I don't think Alabama changed. We did.

 

[phgreek]

As someone who grew up in South Bend, graduated from Notre Dame in the 80's and had a family member that played at Notre Dame, it is obvious that playing at ND is much harder on the football players than it was before. There is this constant mantra of how hard it is to be a football player at ND. It wasn't always so, and this is a major hurdle in both recruiting and winning. I don't think Alabama changed. We did.

...I'll cede the point ND may have changed to be tougher...but I believe the other schools changed. The old duffers that were holdouts for academic integrity at the other schools have long since perished...they are very alive and very engaged at ND. Seems more like a case of two ships heading in different directions.

I'm guessing only action from congress can force the NCAA to get all the other boats turned around...

 

[DomeLover3]

I hate to kind of bring this thread back, but isn't Lynch the one who spread his grandfather's ashes around campus? He's leaving his grandfather for his girlfriend... and it seems like its a no-brainer to him. Wish he would've given it more of a shot at ND

 

[johnnykillz]

I hate to kind of bring this thread back, but isn't Lynch the one who spread his grandfather's ashes around campus? He's leaving his grandfather for his girlfriend... and it seems like its a no-brainer to him. Wish he would've given it more of a shot at ND

He has to live his dream. Not his grandfather's... He has honored him. I can assure you that.

In fact, he has honored us. We don't want half-***. He never seemed to give that type of effort on the field.

It's his dream to chase.

If that means being burried between the thighs of a young gal back home, so be it.

The echoes will haunt his future.

He knows that.

 

[AdmiralBackhand]

I hate to kind of bring this thread back, but isn't Lynch the one who spread his grandfather's ashes around campus? He's leaving his grandfather for his girlfriend... and it seems like its a no-brainer to him. Wish he would've given it more of a shot at ND

That is the word. How about Alford? He seemed like a great role model to Lynch.

 

[DomeLover3]

He has to live his dream. Not his grandfather's... He has honored him. I can assure you that.

In fact, he has honored us. We don't want half-***. He never seemed to give that type of effort on the field.

It's his dream to chase.

If that means being burried between the thighs of a young gal back home, so be it.

The echoes will haunt his future.

He knows that.

I can appreciate that we don't want a half-*** effort or someone whose head isn't totally in it. And I can appreciate that he wants to be with his girlfriend. But I wish the coaches would be in his ear, recruiting him again like when he was in high school and seeing if theres anything they can do to rejuvenate a love for ND. Its easier for his girlfriend to move up to South Bend than for him to put everything on hold and go down there. I wish he'd make more of a long term decision than short term. His mom wants him to be at ND, his grandfather is at ND, his whole family wants him there. He's going nuts for his girlfriend and thats respectable. She said she had plans to move to South Bend but they fell through. Well, I'm sure some alumni would find a place for her to move if she really wanted to be there. I don't think theres really any chance of him coming back, as some speculate because if he was still going through the process of deciding to transfer or not, they wouldn't have made the announcement. I wish him luck. Just wish things worked out differently

 

[johnnykillz]

I can appreciate that we don't want a half-*** effort or someone whose head isn't totally in it. And I can appreciate that he wants to be with his girlfriend. But I wish the coaches would be in his ear, recruiting him again like when he was in high school and seeing if theres anything they can do to rejuvenate a love for ND. Its easier for his girlfriend to move up to South Bend than for him to put everything on hold and go down there. I wish he'd make more of a long term decision than short term. His mom wants him to be at ND, his grandfather is at ND, his whole family wants him there. He's going nuts for his girlfriend and thats respectable. She said she had plans to move to South Bend but they fell through. Well, I'm sure some alumni would find a place for her to move if she really wanted to be there. I don't think theres really any chance of him coming back, as some speculate because if he was still going through the process of deciding to transfer or not, they wouldn't have made the announcement. I wish him luck. Just wish things worked out differently

We all wish AL was staying.

It's a shot to the gonads.

But we cannot continue to encourage the "me" attitude.

It has to be about "team."

Do you really think he's the only player, besides Lou, that misses home?

At the end of the day, only Aaron can take care of Aaron's business.

This will be a learning experience. He hasn't the foresight yet to know how this decision will affect his life...

 

[TheSunIsRising]

I can appreciate that we don't want a half-*** effort or someone whose head isn't totally in it. And I can appreciate that he wants to be with his girlfriend. But I wish the coaches would be in his ear, recruiting him again like when he was in high school and seeing if theres anything they can do to rejuvenate a love for ND. Its easier for his girlfriend to move up to South Bend than for him to put everything on hold and go down there. I wish he'd make more of a long term decision than short term. His mom wants him to be at ND, his grandfather is at ND, his whole family wants him there. He's going nuts for his girlfriend and thats respectable. She said she had plans to move to South Bend but they fell through. Well, I'm sure some alumni would find a place for her to move if she really wanted to be there. I don't think theres really any chance of him coming back, as some speculate because if he was still going through the process of deciding to transfer or not, they wouldn't have made the announcement. I wish him luck. Just wish things worked out differently

I don't think the NCAA would look fondly upon an alum helping her with her accommodations. Unless Matt Leinart's dad is a Notre Dame alum

 

[DomeLover3]

I don't think its any of the NCAA's business if one individual wants to sell/rent to another individual... It'd be a hard case for the NCAA to make

 

[TheSunIsRising]

I don't think its any of the NCAA's business if one individual wants to sell/rent to another individual... It'd be a hard case for the NCAA to make

If everything is at fair market value, you are correct. From your earlier point I thought you were implying help with the financial aspects of her moving to South Bend, which wouldn't be a hard case to make, and ND's compliance department would be leading the charge to make sure that everything was done properly.