I am excited to see AC in the Irish offense. How could you pass up playing for ND? I'm not sure why Irish fans are all over this but a lot of those guys on the message boards are never happy and aren't really true fans.

 

Really looking forward to seeing AC in blue and gold next year.

 

By having offers from Florida, Texas, Alabama, USC, Ohio State, etc.

By having offers from Florida, Texas, Alabama, USC, Ohio State, etc.

 

Did he have offers from those schools?

Did he have offers from those schools?

Nope. Just answering that is how one could pass on playing for ND.

Nope. Just answering that is how one could pass on playing for ND.

 

If you check his list he is extremely serious about getting a great education.. He is a very good student...:thumb:

If you check his list he is extremely serious about getting a great education.. He is a very good student...:thumb:

 

I think academics drove his decision more than football and that is what made ND so attractive for him. He is from a family of lawyers (including Chris and Holly) and I am sure academics outrank sports in that home.

If you check his list he is extremely serious about getting a great education.. He is a very good student...:thumb:

You nailed it. Exactly why he would choose Notre Dame over the likes of Ohio State. :thumb:

If you check his list he is extremely serious about getting a great education.. He is a very good student...:thumb:

 

Good for him, I think it is a great decision.

 

Just for the record, he didn't have offers from any of the schools I listed. Not knocking him at all or saying that academics didn't play a big part in it, but you never really know what would have happened if there were "bigger boys" in the mix.

I think academics drove his decision more than football and that is what made ND so attractive for him. He is from a family of lawyers (including Chris and Holly) and I am sure academics outrank sports in that home.

 

Chris never passed the bar, at least according to Sports Illustrated, they have a great article in this week's issue on him.

Chris never passed the bar, at least according to Sports Illustrated, they have a great article in this week's issue on him.

 

Which probably was the best thing to ever happen. His lucrative sports broadcasting career is a much better field.

Congrats Austin! It was a pleasure and an honor to watch you at HHS. Good luck at ND:thumb:

Which probably was the best thing to ever happen. His lucrative sports broadcasting career is a much better field.

 

I'm certainly glad as I've always enjoyed listening/watching him.

I am excited to watch him play for the Irish. I hope he can be a part of a nice rebuild for Kelly and Notre Dame. Quite an accomplishment and good luck!

Saw the kid for the first time at the State Game this year, was very impressed. Glad he will be representing KY at ole' ND!

I gotta say- ]GREAT CHOICE! but I am a little biased.

Saw the kid for the first time at the State Game this year, was very impressed. Glad he will be representing KY at ole' ND!

 

That was maybe the only game that Mueller basically "turned the offense" over to Collinsworth. As Mueller has stated in post season interviews, he was the person that really limited Collinsworth numbers this year (Mueller and Collinsworth's broken thumb I). There were several games that Collinsworth had very limited carries. Against Pulaski, Collinsworth didn't even finish the first quarter. Against St. X, it was clear that X was focusing their defense on Collinsworth, so Mueller called Bardo's number (with pretty good success). Against other teams, Collinsworth could have had 200 yards or more if Mueller had put the ball in his hands 20 plus times like he did in the state game. But Mueller didn't want to do that for several reasons: didn't want to increase the chances of him getting hurt; wanted to work on the passing game in case it was needed; and quite frankly wanted to get the ball into the hands of other capable and deserving running backs so they had some moments to shine also.

 

I don't want to get into the who is the best running back stuff in this thread, other than to point out that the state game best indicated just how good of a running back Austin was this entire year and what he could have done in a lot of other games if Mueller had called his number more often. Keep in mind that JH had a very good run defense (I think their D entered that game giving up something like only 50 yds per game rushing) and several players on their D made the AP all state teams. Collinsworth was indeed impressive in that game.