As the tough summer months roll by with weight training and conditioning for the players on a team, there’s always the added pressure of distractions as well. While rumors about players spread like wildfire on the Internet, it’s usually the individual and their family that suffer the most.
Cornerback Darrin Walls and his family were the ones to take a blow this time around as the word of his departure from the Notre Dame team began circulating early. The hope was that things would cool down somewhat once Charlie Weis released a statement that Walls would be home this season due to “personal reasons,” but unfortunately that added fuel to the fire.
People had Walls doing everything from getting bad grades to writing bad checks, and the ones that believed the hype started to question the kid’s work ethic and integrity. With Darrin and his family having to deal with the constant calls and people coming up to ask them if the claims were true, a local radio show reporting that he was going to transfer to Pittsburgh was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Walls’ father, Darrin Sr., broke his silence and spoke with BlueandGold.com.
“We’ve been dealing with all these rumors about Darrin and how he’s lazy in class, but he has a 3.0 GPA and is on schedule to graduate on time,” Walls Sr. said on Saturday afternoon. “Now a local radio show says that we were at Pitt’s practice and that he’s transferring there…that’s all rumors. Darrin wasn’t even at the practice with me.”
The main part of the story that was missing from the radio show’s report was that Walls Sr. has actually been stopping by Pitt’s practices since his son’s freshman year at Notre Dame. He has aspirations of getting into coaching after Darrin is done playing, but apparently that was a non-issue according to the show’s host and his “sources.”
“I go to practice there like 3 or 4 times a year,” the elder Walls stated. “It wasn’t an issue before. I’m close to Pitt’s coaching staff and I live about 15 minutes from there. Since I want to get into coaching, I go there to learn. I spent a week at Notre Dame for the same thing.”
Now that the idle summer months have passed, Walls Sr. feels that it’s time to move forward and focus on the season.
“I want Notre Dame to concentrate on Notre Dame Football,” he said. “They shouldn’t have to worry about this stuff. I want Raeshon (McNeil) and all of them to do well. Darrin misses the team and it’s going to be hard when that first game comes around, but Darrin has been here before after injuring his shoulder (in high school).”
Not only has Walls Sr. been an Irish fan since the age of 5, but he particularly wants them to succeed this year for Darrin’s sake as well.
“I want Notre Dame to win because I want those coaches to be there when Darrin comes back,” he revealed.
So much for Walls transferring to Pitt…
“I wouldn’t let Darrin transfer to Pitt even if he wanted to,” the father added. “I want him to graduate from Notre Dame. He’s not going anywhere and he’ll be back in January.”
As the Irish began fall camp in preparation for the 2008 football season, Darrin Walls is ramping up his own workouts and maintaining his academic progress in hopes of running out of that Notre Dame Stadium tunnel again in 2009.
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People had Walls doing everything from getting bad grades to writing bad checks, and the ones that believed the hype started to question the kid’s work ethic and integrity. With Darrin and his family having to deal with the constant calls and people coming up to ask them if the claims were true, a local radio show reporting that he was going to transfer to Pittsburgh was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
