Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver T.J. Jones. (Photo: Brian Spurlock /US PRESSWIRE)

When your father is a Notre Dame legend, played on the ’88 championship team, and went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers; your path goes one of two ways. You follow in your father’s footsteps and join the tradition and family that is Notre Dame, or you run screaming and chart your own path. TJ Jones decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and play football at his dad’s alma mater, and four years later it is going to be very difficult for the Irish faithful to say goodbye to this staple of the ND offense.

With the resume that TJ Jones built in high school, he could have played Division I football anywhere he wanted but he chose to become a Notre Dame legacy and play football for the Fighting Irish. Some of his high school accolades included being selected as SuperPrep All-American and 13th-best wide receiver nationally, named MaxPreps.com second-team All-American as senior in 2009 and finishing  with 76 receptions for 1,399 yards and 18 touchdowns as senior at Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Ga.

TJ’s time at Notre Dame has been equally as impressive. As a freshman (2010) he saw action in 12 games, missing the Utah game due to an injury, and making his Irish debut against the Purdue Boilermakers. He was a starter in seven games including Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Western Michigan, Navy, Tulsa and Miami (Fla.). He completed 23 receptions for 306 yards and three touchdowns. He was the first freshman wideout in Notre Dame history to register a touchdown in the Irish season opener and totaled 530 snaps on offense, the second most of any Irish wide receiver.

During his sophomore season (2011) Jones played in every game, starting 12 games (the only game he did not start was vs. Air Force) and set personal season highs in receptions (38) and yards (366). He caught a pass in every game and eight times during the season had three or more catches in a game. A few notable moments for TJ included a 15-yard TD pass at the Big House to give the Irish a 24-7 lead over Michigan in the third quarter, a 26-yard reception in the third quarter vs. Michigan State which helped extend the Notre Dame lead to 28-10 over Sparty and a touchdown scored on an 11-yard pass from Tommy Rees on the road at Purdue in the third quarter, giving Notre Dame a 28-3 lead over the Boilermakers.

In 2012 Jones appeared in all 13 games, starting in 11. He caught 50 passes for 649 yards, scoring four touchdowns and  tied for team-high honors in receptions and receiving touchdowns (both with Tyler Eifert). With double the yards he had the previous season, Jones had some pretty impressive games in 2012. He had six games in which he had receptions for 50-plus yards which included four catches and 59 yards against Michigan State, four receptions against Stanford for 52 yards, five catches for 55 yards at Oklahoma, five receptions for 53 yards against Pittsburgh, six catches for a career-high 97 yards and scored a touchdown against Wake Forest, and rounded out his junior season with a  career high seven receptions for 90 yards vs. Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game.

This season (2013) TJ continues to shine, surpassing his numbers from last year with two games to go in the season. So far Jones has 54 receptions for 891 yards averaging 16.5 yards per catch. His longest reception is 80 yards and he has 8 touchdowns. His 2013 season-to-date looks as follows:

But this is what I really want to say … Thank you, TJ.

As a thank you to TJ, I’d like to pass along to him some stories about his father, Andre. Some of Dre’s teammates wanted to share with TJ some of their favorite memories of his dad to help him celebrate his Senior Day at Notre Dame. God bless you TJ and enjoy!

Notre Dame Wide Receiver, Alvin Miller

“The summer before his freshman year ‘Dre was in summer school, and we were hanging out in the hallway of the summer school dorm . I shot a bottle rocket in someone’s room under the door. Dre And I could not run away down the hallway because we were laughing so hard.  Crazy times.”

Notre Dame Offensive Lineman, Byron Spruell

“From the first day I met Andre (as I was an upperclassmen when he arrived as a freshman), I could tell that he could make a difference on our team. He was clearly a top athlete who could make plays but I also saw his leadership abilities and will to win. He always had a big smile on his face and a bounce to his step. I loved his enthusiasm and the way he would say, ‘Let’s go Spru’!”

Notre Dame Tight End, Derek Brown

“One of my favorite Dre stories was during my freshman year, Dre was my ‘big brother’ and he would always visit my roommate, Troy Ridgley, and I in Flanner Hall. I think he had a class nearby. Well, this one visit last a few days, if not over a week or so. Troy and I had a 2 man dorm and Dre would sleep on the floor in the middle of the beds and of course keep us up laughing our asses off with jokes and his impression of Coach Holtz. He had Coach Holtz’s voice down cold. ‘Hell’s fire son you have to have a base when you’re blocking and a low pad level.’ Wow, I also remember he would always wear a Notre Dame sweatshirt, his fake ‘Louis Vuitton’ hat, our standard black Adidas turf shoes, a backpack and a big umbrella. I miss that dude.”

“The day he died, he was supposed to have a business meeting with a high school friend of mine that next morning in Atlanta.”

“Love you Bro!!!”

Notre Dame Safety, Pat Terrell

“I will never forget our pregame meditation relaxation sessions in which Coach Holtz would make us visualize great plays. While lying on our backs he would walk through the players speaking about the game to come. If you found yourself next to Andre, you could hear him doing a perfect impression of Holtz but putting his own dialog in. I will leave the content out but it would be so funny that I would almost bust a gut trying not to explode in laughter. I still laugh out loud every time I think about it. Miss ya ‘Dre………”

Notre Dame Quarterback, Tony Rice

“We were at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse when TJ was a freshman and we were sitting in a back room they had reserved for us. It was Dean Brown, Pat Terrell, Rod West, Andre, TJ and I. We were just sitting around telling stories, and you know how we ’embellish’ our stories compared to what really happened. At one point ‘Dre was telling a story and imitating Coach Holtz. TJ was sitting there watching everyone and listening to the stories, soaking in every bit of the stories. I watched him and I took that as a sign that he was raised the right way. Some kids come to college and think they know everything, but TJ genuinely sat there, interested, and listened to his elders. It was like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (laughs). Boy, we thought we had it bad, but when you look back at guys like Johnny Lujack they had it worse! They had lights out at 10 pm.”

“I can never be like Andre as far as telling stories goes. He was a great player, and is very much missed.”

“This Saturday another number 7 will run out onto the field at Notre Dame stadium for the last time.”

“Two Jones wearing number 7. I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about it.”

“Not too many kids can say both they and their dad played at Notre Dame and wore the same number.”

Miss ya, ‘Dre.

Notre Dame Running Back, Ricky Watters

My story of Andre Jones starts before we ever stepped foot on the Notre Dame campus. We met at the Big 33 All Star Game between the best from Pennsylvania against the best from Maryland. Andre was on the Maryland team and I was on the Pennsylvania team. Well long story short, they beat us in that game and Andre was the MVP. He was all over the field. Clearly the best player I had faced up to that point. Because we had so much respect for each other and the fact that we were going to the same University, we hit it off right away. He was one of those guys who could always make me smile no matter how I was feeling. One of the funniest people I had ever met. We even roomed together in college along with Todd Light and we have been adjoined at the hip ever since. We were forming a Sports Management Agency before his untimely death. And it is great to see TJ wearing that jersey and playing so well. I know ‘Dre is up in Heaven smiling down on him.

 Notre Dame Tight End, Oscar McBride

“My favorite Andre Jones Story – On one of the first days of school my freshman year we were all sitting in the north dining hall towards the middle by the drinks (Me, Aaron Taylor, Lake Dawson, Clint Johnson, Brian Hamilton & others if I remember correctly). We usually sat as a group since at that point we didn’t really know anyone else and started to eat our lunch.”

“Out of nowhere (and I mean nowhere) Andre swoops in and begins… quickly… to take a sip out of and slam all of our glasses of juice making sure to lick the entire rim of the glass; while imitating then outside linebacker Coach Jay Hayes (who now coaches for the Cincinnati Bengals) ‘You Gotta have big leathers to play special teams…. big leathers.'”

“In honesty I think we didn’t react because of the immediate shock value of the action. I mean… who drinks someone else’s juice anyway? Good grief!”

“Then… just as quickly as he appeared to snipe our lunch and soil our accoutrements he disappeared leaving us disgusted and pissed… ‘Dammit ‘Dre!’ we yelled as he laughed and bounced out of the dining hall.”

“From that day forward everyone had to keep their heads on a swivel for the ‘Drink Bandit’ who would swoop in and take a sip from you glass and quickly dart out.”

“That was one of the many sides to ‘Dre that made him special to me. His humor and light-heartedness made things that would otherwise be intolerable easier to deal with; especially life on and off the field. Although a jokester he always had time to share an encouraging word to a freshman who was injured and bummed that he wasn’t playing. For that, I will be eternally grateful.”

“Thanks ‘Dre… love you man.”

 Notre Dame Lacrosse player, Tony Suber

“To limit my favorite moments to only two, does absolutely no justice to the very large personality, always prepared to mentor, and equally prepared to prank friend and confidant that we all knew and loved, Andre Jones.”

“I first met Andre on the sidelines of a Blue & Gold game in the spring of 2002. I found out that weekend that our timely intersection was unmistakable, and for me life altering. In the span of 60 seconds I discovered that Andre was campus big brother to my cousin Ray Zellars… Once played for my native city NFL favorites, the Pittsburgh Steelers… and had made his home with his family, in the Metro Atlanta area where I made my home after graduating from Notre Dame.”

“Weeks later I had the opportunity to visit Andre at his home. I met his wonderful wife Michelle, and later the kids when they got home from school. As I was sitting at their kitchen table reconnecting and taking in life’s lessons from Andre, his kids burst into the house. With well-organized chaos each one dropped his/her book bag, told their respective school stories, and then hit the treadmill/mini-gym in the loft area above our heads. I was in shock! Thinking what is this guy doing to these kids. He’s running a factory here. In doing the math TJ would have been about ten years old then. After they finished their work out, it was on to study hall (or homework), Jones Family style. Each kid helping the other, and no one able to leave the table until everyone finished. Four hours later after witnessing the Jones Family System in full progress I ask Andre, ‘How did you get to this point?’ Andre puts his hand on my shoulder, and in the funniest Coach Holtz voice I’d ever heard he says ‘Son, if you want to be great sit here and learn… if you want to be average take your (expletive) (expletive) next door!’ I never laughed so hard… but I got the idea. Crystal clear!”

“I am most grateful for my opportunity to say goodbye to Andre at his home-going ceremony. I have many other memories worth telling but I was profoundly moved by the remarks made by his children. What we all hope to achieve in life more than anything else is a legacy of life, told through the actions, words, and deeds of our children. ‘Always have a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and everything else will be just fine…’ was the message that hit hardest. And that was Andre all the way. His smile was like sunshine. You couldn’t run from it if you tried. Nor would you want to. I never heard Andre sing, but because of his mentorship I never needed to. He taught me how to sing in my own voice. For those life lessons and memories I am eternally grateful for every moment Andre shared with me.”

“Thank you Andre… Love the Suber Family.”

Georgia defensive end, Phillip Daniels

“Andre Jones was the partner of the sports agent that I hired coming out of college (the University of Georgia) and from that point on we became very close. Our sons were close in age and our families grew close over the years. We did a lot of things together both professionally and personally. He was more of a brother to me than just a friend.”

“TJ has always viewed me as his Uncle (and I view him as my nephew), and my son DaVaris viewed Andre as his Uncle. In fact, for a while they thought they were actually related!”

“Andre was there for me any time I needed help or guidance. If I needed him to come to Chicago, he would be on the next plane. Andre was a big part of why DaVaris went to Notre Dame. When Andre heard that DaVaris had received an offer from Notre Dame he would not let up. I just wish that Andre had gotten the chance to see TJ and DaVaris out there on the field at the same time, enjoying each other, because that was his dream. Although I know he is watching them every Saturday and is smiling down on them. When we got to that point when they both had a chance to go to ND, that was his dream.”

“When ‘Dre and I were first getting to know each other, he used to talk about ND all the time. I used to give him so much crap because he talked about Notre Dame all the time and I used to mess with him … man Notre Dame sucks.”

“When we went to ND for DaVaris’ visit, saw the history and tradition of Notre Dame, I saw my son smiling and I said ‘this is nice. This is where you need to be.'”

“All of the sudden I went from hating on Notre Dame to loving Notre Dame. I talk about ND more than UGA now … Andre would be smiling if he could see me today.”

“I never knew much about Notre Dame except from what I heard from Andre and his ND friends … they’d always give me this song and dance about ‘give me 4 years and I’ll give you 40.’ They were right.”

“Everyone who knew Andre and got to meet him … became close to him.”

“I had just talked to ‘Dre the day before he passed. He and I were busy planning the new business we were starting together. He was going to be the sports agent and I was going to do player development.”

“We were brothers … friends … partners …”

“They day I heard he had an aneurysm I thought for sure he would pull out of it.”

“‘Dre was someone who gave you advice and talked to you all the time. He was real, he wouldn’t sugar coat anything; he’d always tell you the truth.”

“When I look at his family and they look at us we are one big family.”

“I’m always checking up on the kids and seeing what they are doing … his kids are very athletic.”

“He was always funny … he always had fun. When the movie Friday came out we watched it so many times and quoted it every time we saw each other.”

“One thing I have to say about ND people … once you get to know them and hang out with them you become close. Renaldo Wynn and I played with each other at Washington and we are still close today. Everyone is family.”

“I can relate a lot to what TJ is going through as I lost my father as a young man. You become the man of the family … but at the same time, as a football player, you feel like your father is on the field with you going into battle … I’m so proud of TJ and all he’s done.”

…

Thank you, TJ! Your dad had a personality that was larger than life and he is profoundly missed. Your Notre Dame family loves you!

Cheers!

The post TJ Jones, Notre Dame Legacy – Thank You appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

The paths to Our Lady’s University are as varied as the men and women who find their way there. Some of us made it there via family legacy; some of us as the result of a lifelong dream,and others because of the role models who surround us. Tony Suber’s path to Notre Dame followed that third road — he saw men around him who he strived to become and they were the guiding force which drew him to Notre Dame. How does a minority student from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania get offered a chance to play Division I lacrosse at Notre Dame and later in life return to become a Development Officer for the University’s high networth benefactors? Walk Tony Suber’s journey with me.

Q: As a kid growing up in Pittsburgh, at what point did you become interested in attending Notre Dame?

A: “I became interested in Notre Dame when I was a freshman in high school at Sewickley Academy. Ray Zellars is a family relative of mine and he was being recruited to play football for Notre Dame when I was a freshman in high school. This gave me the chance to watch his recruiting process and to speak with him about the process as well as the difference between all of the schools which were recruiting him.”

“We already had a strong spiritual background in our family and with me attending Sewickley Academy education was obviously very,very important. Going to a top-20 college was not only a serious consideration but it was almost demanded as far as expectations were because of thecaliber of the Academy. Notre Dame presented itself as the kind of school that presentedboth fantastic academics and spiritually-based education — and it didn’t hurt that the ND network in the city of Pittsburgh was very strong, very vocal, and very palpable to some degree. I remember growing up seeing Notre Damemen in my community and around the city of Pittsburgh who I would say very proudly wore their Notre Dame colors – to them those colors stood for much greater accomplishments and values.They represented ND very well and did it in such a distinguished manner compared to other men and other alma maters. It really made Notre Dame stand out. The type of men that Notre Dame men were, I gravitated towards those kinds of men. Unlike a lot of kids and applicants I did not grow up wanting to go to Notre Dame, it became a choice because of maturity. The icing was when Coach Kevin Corrigan recruited me to play lacrosse there.”

Q: How did you become interested in playing lacrosse? How old were you when you started playing lacrosse? Did you play any other sports?

A: “I started playing lacrosse at the age of 14. That was the year I left a public city school and attended Sewickley Academy. My first semester on campus I played soccer in the fall and during the next sporting season I played basketball. In the spring all of the kids that played with me on those two teams played lacrosse. The choices for spring sports were lacrosse, baseball or cross country and since my closest friends were all going to play lacrosse I chose that sport as well. I had never played lacrosse before but I was a natural athlete and was excited and willing to learn and play a new sport.”

Q: What was it like being a non-football athlete at Notre Dame?

A: “I think that in terms of being a Division I athlete, the differences were minimal from a student-athlete perspective. The biggest difference is that there was no media microscope for our lacrosse players, even for the best lacrosse players, like there always is for the football players. I was never concerned that my life off the field was ever going to be scrutinized or put under a microscope like a lot of my peers who played football. Not to say that I took advantage of that in a negative way, but there was a palpable difference that I experienced.”

“What I experienced then and even now is being accused of being a football player at Notre Dame. Still today I get the accusation or assumption that I played football at Notre Dame. Maybe it’s because of my size and stature. It’s not uncomfortable, but it’s something that I have to clarify because it’s usually the second or third question I get asked.”

Q: Can you talk about the enormous growth of the sport of lacrosse both at Notre Dame and nationwide?

A: “During my high school years (1989-1993), because the sport was so rare in terms of the number of schools in the city of Pittsburgh that had lacrosse programs, we were forced to travel to six different states during the course of one schedule year to find good competition. We traveled as far west as Michigan, as far south as North Carolina and as far east as the Baltimore/Washington DC area. We played just about anyone who was willing to play us no matter where they were located. In Pittsburgh during the late 80s early 90s there were nine competitive high school lacrosse teams. Today it is recognized as a state sport with a state championship game.”

Stay tuned for more in the “Where are they now?” series!

“If you look at the same time frame at Notre Dame, the explosion of the sport of lacrosse really lends itself to why I was recruited. I did not grow up in a lacrosse hot bed (which would be Baltimore and Long Island); instead I grew up in an area where no one knew we actually played lacrosse. But that was my reality and because of the explosion of the sport I had the opportunity to compete at such a high level at Notre Dame. I was not playing at the level of a Baltimore or Long Island kid, but I was very well prepared by the time I got to Notre Dame thanks to all of the traveling I did.”

“Today the exponential growth of lacrosse just continues.”In 2012 there were nearly 300 men’s lacrosse teams at NCAA schools (http://www.laxpower.com/common/participation12.php) and over 350 women’s lacrosse team (ranging from Division I to Division III).  At the high school level the participation level has grown 149% just since 2006 (http://www.laxpower.com/common/ParticipationRates2012.php). Staggering participation numbers that just continue to grow.

Q: As a former fundraiser for Notre Dame’s development office, can you talk about the power of the Notre Dame brand and the ND alumni network?

A:“I don’t know that I can add anything to anyone’s assumptions, but I can say the following. No matter where you go in the world someone loves you, or someone hates you, because of your affiliation with Notre Dame. What I always cared about most is that they cared enough to love us or hate us. The day we become irrelevant to their care we’ve got a problem. There are tons of stories that I could share relative to my time in the Notre Dame Development Department, but each one of those experiences I hold near, dear and sacred. But in terms of service to the University I don’t think I could have picked a better place to work than for the Development Department at ND, to pay back the University for what I believe is a fantastic legacy for me and my family.”

Q: Where has your career taken you since your time at Notre Dame?

A:“Right out of college I worked in the marketing/communications field for United Media Group and DesignSpin, followed by working in the insurance industry as a Sales Manager for Liberty Mutual. Then I went into fundraising and institutional advancement at Notre Dame in their Development Department and it was there that I truly found my passion. And that passion was, or rather is, helping individuals with exploring and figuring out their philanthropy; and on the flip side of that, helping non-profits figure out and create strategies around developing high network relationships.”

“After leaving the Notre Dame Development Department what I found to be true for most non-profits is that high level net worth development is a very complex role and I was lucky that ND gave me the opportunity to begin my career in development at that level. It (high level net worth development) is a very rare commodity in the philanthropic world. It’s all about who you know and to some degree who knows you.”

Q: What was your biggest challenge as a Notre Dame student-athlete? How did Notre Dame prepare you for life after college?

A: “My biggest challenge as a student-athlete at Notre Dame was time management. As a Division I student-athlete you can’t imagine how good you’ve got to be at managing all of the new responsibilities that you have coming from a high school environment. In high school you can rely on your family, parents, siblings and to some degree your teachers, administrators and coaches. In college you can rely on them to some extent, but at the end of the day you are becoming an adult and you are expected to manage your life accordingly. The last thing that any of those people who love you with all their heart want to do is hold your hand while you make that transformation because if they do they are actually impeding your development.”

“Interestingly enough, what was not a challenge was adapting to being an African American student at Notre Dame. I was fortunate that I had my Sewickley Academy experience to in some ways over prepare me for what occurred at Notre Dame. I had six years to get used to that prior to even getting to ND and in some ways I was over prepared because of the sheer amount of wealth that was present at the academy which was staggering. It was a great background to have to prepare me for the transition to Notre Dame.”

Q: What advice would you give current student athletes?

A: “Find a way to be a student. And what I mean by that is find opportunities that you havea passion for or that will help you find a passion. Develop who you are in this young adult to adult transition phase. Find friends who are not your teammates and begin to develop relationships with the University. Make connections outside of your sport. Far too many (Notre Dame) athletes spend their free time in their dorm rooms resting and not taking advantage of what I believe is one of the greatest crucibles of networking in the country. If you separate yourself from the rest of your peers then you have no one else to blame but yourself. Find ways to be involved.”

Tony’s thoughts …

“I have three thoughts and I’m trying to decide which one is most important …”

“Prior to Andre Jones’ passing he and I were working on some ideas centered around developing a holistic Notre Dame experience for student-athletes,  football players in particular. It is one of the things I would love to see the University embrace, to wrap its arms around at a much deeper level thanwhat they are already doing. They are doing some of this but it needs to be at a much deeper level and more hands on.”

“The University needs to find ways to introduce current student-athletes and football players to the Notre Dame business community. I know that the topic is a touchy issue with compliance, but we shouldn’t avoid it just because it’s a touchy subject. We should proactively find ways to get our football players engaged with our Notre Dame network. Very few college football players leave the University and live out their dream of becoming a NFL player. What happens to the other 90 percent? There are far too many former football players that because of their own doing, by not engaging themselves in the Notre Dame network, take far too long to get tied in as a young business professional. I still have conversations with former football players from the 80s that share with me that they don’t feel very connected to the Notre Dame business community at all.”

“I think we can do something about it.”

“There is an easier way to do it. It shouldn’t be this difficult.”

The post WATN: Tony Suber – Lacrosse Talks Football appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Q. Finishing your childhood in Florida and being heavily recruited by the University of Miami and the Florida Gators, how did you become interested in playing football at Notre Dame? How hard was it to leave the warm state of Florida and head north to South Bend?

A: “My dad worked for IBM and before I was eight years old we had already lived in Virginia, California, Texas, England (the country), Washington DC and Georgia. I’m not exactly sure how Notre Dame crept into my decision pool, but smooth-talking Irish recruiter Vinnie Cerrato most definitely had something to do with it. I didn’t know much about Notre Dame football or its history, and I didn’t really have a favorite football team either. If I had to pick one, I probably would have picked the Steelers because I was a big fan of Terry Bradshaw, but that was obviously a professional team. I was very athletic growing up and played whatever sport was in season; football basketball, baseball and track and field. In high school I narrowed it down to basketball, football and track. The baseball team wanted me to pitch, but it interfered with spring football.”

Derek Brown, Notre Dame Spring Game 1990

“By my junior year in high school I had narrowed my choices down to the University of Miami, University of Florida and Notre Dame. Where I lived in Florida, the area was split half Gator country and half Hurricane country. Five or six guys from my high school went to Miami and were playing for the Hurricanes when we (Notre Dame) played them in 1988.”

“What it basically came down to was me being tired of people telling me where I was going to school. Everyone kept telling me, ‘Oh, you know you’re going to be a Gator.” My junior year I dreamt I was going to go to UF, but then everyone tried to push it on me and it got really annoying. Because of that I started to take a real hard look at Miami. I started going down there quite a bit. I loved Miami. So then it was down to Miami and Notre Dame. Ultimately, what I was looking for was a football team like Miami had with an academic program like Notre Dame had, but I had to make a decision.”

“Back in the 1980’s Miami was mostly known for being a little rough around the edges, but I loved it — those were my guys. Perception isn’t always reality, and the “thug” reputation was not ALL that Miami was (it is a private university after all). That being said, when it came down to it I didn’t want to be misunderstood and perceived in that manner.”

“I took my official visit to Notre Dame in the middle of December. I got off the plane wearing my Ray Bans, Miami Vice sport coat, t-shirt, slacks, loafers and no socks … greeted by one and a half feet of snow. Welcome to South Bend. My host that weekend was Andre Jones.”

“One Saturday morning during the winter of my senior year of high school I popped in this video tape that I had that was called “Wake up the Echoes.” No one was home and I started watching it and the video gave me goose bumps and at that moment I thought, ‘Screw it. I’m going to Notre Dame.'”

“It was tough saying no to Jimmy Johnson not just once, but twice in my living room, but I did and I am so glad I made the decision to attend Notre Dame.”

Q: What is it like to be one of the few players to have 1.) Won a National Championship (1988), been 1st Team All-America (1991) and 1st Round NFL Draft Pick (1992 – New York Giants Pick #14). What did being on that 1988 national title team mean to you?

A: “When you are in the middle of the kind of successes you don’t really think about it. But looking back at everything, it is truly amazing. No disrespect to the 2012 team but when I played college ball you couldn’t compare our team to anyone else — we were that much better. There were 63 combined guys from the Fighting Irish and Hurricane teams that went pro after that (1988) season. The most amazing thing about that Notre Dame team was how deep our lineup was. In front of me was Frank Jacobs. My backup was Irv Smith. His backup was Oscar McBride. Any of us could have stepped in at any moment and been good to go. And it was like that at every position, not just tight end. Coach Lou Holtz and his recruiting staff did an amazing job of keeping the talent rolling in.”

Q: What was it like to see yourself on the cover of Sports Illustrated?

Derek Brown, on the cover of Sports Illustrated. “One Wacky Season.”

A: “I was on the cover of Sports Illustrated during the 1991 football season and I didn’t believe it when I heard about it. Chris Zorich came in and said to me, ‘You’re on the cover of Sports Illustrated.’ … and when I said he was crazy he went and got it, and there I was! The issue was called, ‘One Wacky Season,’ and the featured article was about how many times the number one spot had changed hands during the football season. I was stunned that I was the one they picked for the cover. That just didn’t happen to guys like me.”

Q: What do you think about the evolution of the tight end position since you played the game?

A: “Man, I wish I could have hung around and played tight end in college and the pros today. I would have had a field day with these west coast offenses. I love watching Tyler Eifert. What a great kid –big hands and the top of his peer group. He should do very well in the NFL.”

Q: What is your favorite Notre Dame football memory?

A: “I would have to say beating Miami 31-30 in 1988 (the “One Shining Moment” game) was probably the most memorable game of my collegiate career. It meant a lot more to me than most of the guys on that team, being from Florida, and having been told during the recruiting process that we’d never beat them. It was a great feeling to walk off that field with a victory.”

“Another memory that sticks out for me was after we beat West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl game for the national title. After the game I stood there on the field with Todd Lyght and looked at him and said, ‘Now what do we do?’ And Todd replied, ‘Alright, let’s go out!’ It was like it was no big deal to us. We had just won the national title and it was just another win to us. I guess because our coaches made us feel like there was no doubt in their minds that we would win, it was kind of anticlimactic.”

“Coach Lou Holtz had told us, you don’t win a national championship, you wake up to it.”

Q: What do you think made that ’88 team so special?

A: “It was a good mix of old-school guys and new-school guys. We had great senior leadership: Pat Eilers, Tim Grunhard, Mark Green; and then we had a group of young guys who came in with a chip on their shoulders. Quite frankly, we didn’t give a crap what anyone thought. We were coming in and if you didn’t play up to your expectations we were taking your spot. We were there to win games and we had some serious swagger.”

Q: What is your favorite Lou Holtz memory/story?

A: “My favorite Lou Holtz memory was when he was getting us ready for the 1988 “One Shining Moment” game against Miami, that we won 31-30. This has to be the best Lou Holtz quote ever.”

“In Lou’s pregame pep talk he told us, ‘You have an afternoon to play, a lifetime to remember. But I want you to do one thing: You save Jimmy Johnson’s ass for me.'”

“Of course it sounded great and we were all about delivering Johnson to Coach Holtz, but honestly, there is no way Coach Holtz could have taken Jimmy Johnson (laughs).”

Q: What are your memories of the day you were drafted?

A: “I was in Florida on my draft day. I had a hotel suite in Cocoa Beach with a large group of my family and friends. I had been invited to come to New York City to be at the NFL Draft but I didn’t want all of those cameras in my face just in case something went wrong. I was expecting to go to Cleveland in the number nine spot, but when they took Tommy Vardell I know it would be a bit more of a wait. Then I got a call from Ray Handley, the head coach of the New York Giants saying that they were going to select me as the next pick (14) to play for the Giants. I remember walking out to the hotel balcony and reflecting on everything that had just happened.”

Q: What were the highs and the lows of playing in the NFL? What was the highlight of your NFL career?

Derek Brown [Photo: Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images]

“As far as the lows go, I didn’t think that my NFL career panned out the way that I thought it would. If I had played in different systems, had different opportunities, maybe it would have turned out differently. I wanted to be a 10-year pro bowler and to play for 12 seasons. I played for nine seasons, and didn’t make the pro bowl, but I am still happy with all that I accomplished during my football career.”

“The highlight would have to be getting to the AFC championship game in 1996 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was their second year of existence (the franchise had just started in 1995) and we had a players-only meeting and had told each other we have got to start making plays. If we were going to accomplish anything, it was up to us. We had been 3-6 after nine games and then from there we really came on strong. We beat Buffalo at home (30-27) in the Wild Card game and knocked legendary quarterback Jim Kelly out of the playoffs. Then we beat Denver (30-27) at their place in the Divisional playoff game (Denver’s regular season record was 14-2), but then we lost to New England 20-6 in the AFC championship game. Even though we lost that game, we were really only a blocked punt and fumble from going to the show. It was quite a run for a team that was only in its second year of existence.”

Q: Can you talk a little bit about the hit you took from Denver Broncos safety Tim Hauck during preseason? What was rehab like?

Brown missed the entire 1995 season as the result of a hit from Denver Broncos safety Tim Hauck during a preseason game. He suffered bruised ribs, a collapsed lung and damage to his spleen and kidney. He was in the hospital for 10 days and in a wheelchair a few weeks after that.

A: “Steve Beuerlein was Jacksonville’s quarterback in 1995 and this was the last game of the preseason. It was supposed to be my coming out game. This was going to be my year because in the first year of an expansion team our quarterback did not have much protection and I was sure as the tight end I was going to get a lot of balls thrown to me. I had three receptions and a touchdown in that game and Beuerlein had thrown to me two or three other times as well. Then in the second quarter the pass to me was tipped and I was making an attempt to come down with it when I got hit hard right in the back. When I came down I heard a clicking sound every time I took a breath and I knew something was not right. I was able to get up and jog off the field. They took me into the locker room to have x-rays done and I had a broken rib. I took a shower and then the first time I went to the bathroom I peed blood. Our trainer had seen a similar accident in a baseball game and decided that I needed to go to the hospital for further examination. My girlfriend (now wife) took me to the hospital and once I was admitted my condition worsened with every passing hour.”

“I went from having a broken rib, to a collapsed lung, to a cracked spleen, to having air bubbles around my heart. I was in intensive care for six days and then four more days just in a regular hospital room. In those ten days I went from 262 pounds to 247 pounds When I was released from the hospital I was confined to a wheelchair for several weeks because I still had so much internal bleeding that needed to clot. After ten weeks of recovery I started to work out when I developed a pseudo-cyst around my pancreas. Then I had to go in for scans every week to monitor my progress. They had to put a catheter between my ribs to take care of the bleeding in my pancreas. At that point they put me on Injured Reserve and I was out for the remainder of the season. Despite all that I went through that year I played for five more seasons after that. My girlfriend was such a huge support to me that year.”

Q: Where did life take you after football?

Derek Brown

A: “In 2000 I was with the Arizona Cardinals (my ninth season in the NFL). Vince Tobin had just been fired and Dave McGinnis was hired as the new head coach. Dave brought be back to play and then four weeks later I was released. The summer prior to that season my wife’s sister had been diagnosed with breast cancer and so we were planning on moving back to be near her anyways so that we could help her out, and that is how we settled in Albany, New York.”

“My in-laws also lived in the area and so my first business opportunity was working for my father-in-law in the food business, working for a food marketing company, Panoply.”

“The next opportunity was with a friend who I had gone to elementary school with. We decided to open up several Quizno’s stores. It went gang busters at first but then we quickly learned that it was not as great as we had initially thought. We ran the Quizno’s stores for two years.”

“Then I decided to get into commercial real estate and I did that from 2007 to 2010. When the real estate bubble burst I took a job with Blue Rock Energy, which is where I am today, but I still do some real estate work on the side.
Blue Rock Energy is an energy supply company. We supply commercial business with their energy needs — whether it be electric, natural gas, or green energy. I have been there for two years now and love what I do!”

Q: Can you talk about the charity foundations you are involved in?

A: “I sit on the board of directors for two charitable foundations: Capital District YMCA and the Double H Ranch, a ‘serious fun camp.’ http://www.doublehranch.org/ The Double H Ranch, co-founded by Charles R. Wood and Paul Newman, provides specialized programs and year-round support for children and their families dealing with life-threatening illnesses. All programs are FREE of charge and capture the magic of the Adirondacks. It really is a wonderful foundation. It is amazing what they can do for these kids. In the winter, they have a skiing facility where even kids who are on ventilator machines can ski down the mountain. It really is amazing stuff.”

Q: What advice do you have for current college athletes?

Stay tuned for more great stories in the “Where are they now?” series!

A: “I know when you are young you think you know everything, but the first bit of advice I would give is to have fun and enjoy every moment. When I was in high school I wanted a car really bad. My Mom said that if she could afford a car that she would get me one. She would not let me have a job during the school year because her philosophy was you’re only a kid once, you have the rest of your life to work so you should enjoy yourself now.”

“I can’t imagine all of the information that these kids have to process these days between texting, the internet and social media.”

“My best advice: work hard but play hard too. Try and have a true understanding of what really matters. People so often stress about things that just don’t matter.”

I’d like to give a big thank you to Derek for stopping by the blog. It was an absolute pleasure to walk through his journey with him. Stay tuned for many more great stories in the “Where are they now?” series!

The post Where Are They Now? Derek Brown appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.