maybe.
Published: 01.09.2006
Soul searching in South Bend
Ex-Salpointe tackle tries to put life in line after return to Notre Dame
By Patrick Finley
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
John Kadous walked into Notre Dame Stadium without the armor of a golden helmet and shoulder pads.
He took his seat alongside friends from his dorm. They sang the school songs, danced the jig the band plays.
His friends wanted to hoist him — five or six guys lifting the 6-foot-6-inch, 270-pound sophomore — when the team scored, so he let them.
His friends got tired. In their first home game of the 2005 season, the Irish scored 41 points against Michigan State.
"Once they got to about 30 points, they bench pressed somebody else," Kadous, 20, said.
The Irish would leave the field with an overtime loss to the Spartans. Kadous would leave the stadium conflicted.
A year ago, the Salpointe Catholic High School graduate was a promising offensive tackle on full scholarship at Notre Dame.
Then he walked away.
Shoulder surgery combined with academic stress and the adjustment to college life created pressure and caused Kadous to question his circumstances.
"I always find myself critiquing or watching where I'd be playing, especially when I watch Notre Dame," he said. "I can't sit there without thinking of what they're doing now or how they could be better.
"But taking the year off is probably the best thing I could have done for myself."
'Body goes berserk'
The pressure started in the fall of 2004, Kadous' freshman year. He was trying to balanceacademics with the rigors of being a football player at Notre Dame.
"The faculty there doesn't pay attention to you as an athlete — you're a student," said his mother, Joanne. "There are no different rules. That, as we all know, is a lot different than a lot of places. That's good."
Kadous' left shoulder was killing him. During the school's fall break, Kadous had surgery on the clavicular joint, cleaning up cartilage and signs of arthritis.
Kadous, who led Salpointe to the Class 5A semifinals his senior season, was the most touted recruit in Southern Arizona during the 2003 season. He was accustomed to success.
Because of the injury, Kadous felt his football career was stalling.
At least it felt that way.
"The best situation I can be in is if I'm always going forward," he said. "The injury took me back a couple of big steps.
"That was my realization, right there, that I'm not always going to be moving forward. That was the worst combination for me. I wasn't prepared for it."
The stress was making him sick. Kadous said he lost 30 pounds in six weeks, bringing him down to 260.
"All I did was go to school, do football, then go to sleep," he said. "I was overly drained. I ate all I could. But it gets to the point where your body could only do so much, when your body goes berserk."
Salpointe coach Dennis Bene has seen it before.
"Almost all my (former) players go through that," he said. "They all get homesick. They all get stressed. But the kid wasn't happy."
Last spring, new Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis — who had replaced Tyrone Willingham, who recruited Kadous — asked the tackle to move to guard.
Kadous made the move during spring practice. He could have contended for a starting spot, he said.
But instead of staying over the summer to work out, Kadous came home. Weis, who had not been there long enough to know Kadous well, gave his blessing.
"I realized that, right now, I just needed to get out of there and get away from football, give my body a year to find out what's going on," he said.
"Maybe my body's just not in the mood for football anymore."
'A normal kid'
Once he returned to Tucson, Kadous went back to doing what he had done every other summer — working out, running and trying to relax.
"Just being a normal kid," he said.
Kadous tried to fix the things he thought were causing stress. He worked on not procrastinating. He gained five pounds.
"I don't think stress is what made me leave," he said, "but stress is what triggered everything."
Kadous walked around the UA campus and tried to picture himself attending school there.
But it wasn't Notre Dame.
"We thought he'd end up staying here," Joanne said. "But one day, he was so definite. He said, 'I really need to go back to Notre Dame.' "
Kadous returned to South Bend, Ind. — without an athletic scholarship — for the fall semester. He'll continue to pursue an accounting degree when school begins next week.
Kadous said he's tired of the questions, both in Tucson and South Bend.
"There are some people out there who wonder, 'What the hell is this guy doing? I'd give anything to be in his spot,' " Kadous said. "But people who know me and went through everything with me … they understand."
'Promise to myself'
On Jan. 2, Kadous watched on television as Notre Dame lost to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Two days later, he watched the national championship game.
It fired him up, though he won't decide whether to play again until this summer.
"I told myself that I'm going to take a year off, totally, and really focus on school," he said.
"I'm going to keep that promise to myself."
Salpointe's Bene is hoping to see Kadous back in the game and said at least three Division I schools have inquired about him in recent months.
Still, Bene wants Kadous — whom he calls "as fine a young man as I've ever coached" — to be happy.
"You've got to respect a kid who's able to make that kind of decision," he said. "It's his call."
Kadous is tempted to stick around for summer training at Notre Dame to see what it feels like to play again.
"I don't see why I wouldn't be welcomed back," he said. "If all goes well and everything is working out good — and my body is good — then I'll go to fall camp.
"If not, then it's time for the fall semester to start."
Published: 01.09.2006
Soul searching in South Bend
Ex-Salpointe tackle tries to put life in line after return to Notre Dame
By Patrick Finley
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
John Kadous walked into Notre Dame Stadium without the armor of a golden helmet and shoulder pads.
He took his seat alongside friends from his dorm. They sang the school songs, danced the jig the band plays.
His friends wanted to hoist him — five or six guys lifting the 6-foot-6-inch, 270-pound sophomore — when the team scored, so he let them.
His friends got tired. In their first home game of the 2005 season, the Irish scored 41 points against Michigan State.
"Once they got to about 30 points, they bench pressed somebody else," Kadous, 20, said.
The Irish would leave the field with an overtime loss to the Spartans. Kadous would leave the stadium conflicted.
A year ago, the Salpointe Catholic High School graduate was a promising offensive tackle on full scholarship at Notre Dame.
Then he walked away.
Shoulder surgery combined with academic stress and the adjustment to college life created pressure and caused Kadous to question his circumstances.
"I always find myself critiquing or watching where I'd be playing, especially when I watch Notre Dame," he said. "I can't sit there without thinking of what they're doing now or how they could be better.
"But taking the year off is probably the best thing I could have done for myself."
'Body goes berserk'
The pressure started in the fall of 2004, Kadous' freshman year. He was trying to balanceacademics with the rigors of being a football player at Notre Dame.
"The faculty there doesn't pay attention to you as an athlete — you're a student," said his mother, Joanne. "There are no different rules. That, as we all know, is a lot different than a lot of places. That's good."
Kadous' left shoulder was killing him. During the school's fall break, Kadous had surgery on the clavicular joint, cleaning up cartilage and signs of arthritis.
Kadous, who led Salpointe to the Class 5A semifinals his senior season, was the most touted recruit in Southern Arizona during the 2003 season. He was accustomed to success.
Because of the injury, Kadous felt his football career was stalling.
At least it felt that way.
"The best situation I can be in is if I'm always going forward," he said. "The injury took me back a couple of big steps.
"That was my realization, right there, that I'm not always going to be moving forward. That was the worst combination for me. I wasn't prepared for it."
The stress was making him sick. Kadous said he lost 30 pounds in six weeks, bringing him down to 260.
"All I did was go to school, do football, then go to sleep," he said. "I was overly drained. I ate all I could. But it gets to the point where your body could only do so much, when your body goes berserk."
Salpointe coach Dennis Bene has seen it before.
"Almost all my (former) players go through that," he said. "They all get homesick. They all get stressed. But the kid wasn't happy."
Last spring, new Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis — who had replaced Tyrone Willingham, who recruited Kadous — asked the tackle to move to guard.
Kadous made the move during spring practice. He could have contended for a starting spot, he said.
But instead of staying over the summer to work out, Kadous came home. Weis, who had not been there long enough to know Kadous well, gave his blessing.
"I realized that, right now, I just needed to get out of there and get away from football, give my body a year to find out what's going on," he said.
"Maybe my body's just not in the mood for football anymore."
'A normal kid'
Once he returned to Tucson, Kadous went back to doing what he had done every other summer — working out, running and trying to relax.
"Just being a normal kid," he said.
Kadous tried to fix the things he thought were causing stress. He worked on not procrastinating. He gained five pounds.
"I don't think stress is what made me leave," he said, "but stress is what triggered everything."
Kadous walked around the UA campus and tried to picture himself attending school there.
But it wasn't Notre Dame.
"We thought he'd end up staying here," Joanne said. "But one day, he was so definite. He said, 'I really need to go back to Notre Dame.' "
Kadous returned to South Bend, Ind. — without an athletic scholarship — for the fall semester. He'll continue to pursue an accounting degree when school begins next week.
Kadous said he's tired of the questions, both in Tucson and South Bend.
"There are some people out there who wonder, 'What the hell is this guy doing? I'd give anything to be in his spot,' " Kadous said. "But people who know me and went through everything with me … they understand."
'Promise to myself'
On Jan. 2, Kadous watched on television as Notre Dame lost to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Two days later, he watched the national championship game.
It fired him up, though he won't decide whether to play again until this summer.
"I told myself that I'm going to take a year off, totally, and really focus on school," he said.
"I'm going to keep that promise to myself."
Salpointe's Bene is hoping to see Kadous back in the game and said at least three Division I schools have inquired about him in recent months.
Still, Bene wants Kadous — whom he calls "as fine a young man as I've ever coached" — to be happy.
"You've got to respect a kid who's able to make that kind of decision," he said. "It's his call."
Kadous is tempted to stick around for summer training at Notre Dame to see what it feels like to play again.
"I don't see why I wouldn't be welcomed back," he said. "If all goes well and everything is working out good — and my body is good — then I'll go to fall camp.
"If not, then it's time for the fall semester to start."
