Michael Floyd cleared another hurdle in his bid to be reinstated to rejoin the Notre Dame football team on Monday.
Irish head coach Brian Kelly announced in a statement that Notre Dame’s star wide receiver would be able to participate in voluntary team workouts and strength and conditioning activities this summer, but stopped short of saying Floyd was ready to be reinstated. Instead, Kelly said that Floyd still has some work to do before he is officially back on the team.
Michael has made steady progress towards modifying his behavior and he may participate in the voluntary workouts being conducted by his teammates as well as the summer strength and conditioning program, if he so chooses,” Kelly said. “However, Michael still has steps to take before he can be considered for reinstatement to our football team. If he meets the conditions I have outlined to him and he demonstrates improved decision-making skills, Michael will have the opportunity to rejoin the team for practices and games this fall. If he doesn’t meet every criteria given to him, Michael will not play for Notre Dame in 2011.
After sitting out the entire spring, this news is significant since Floyd has not been able to catch passes from any of the Irish quarterbacks since the Sun Bowl on New Years Eve. Participating in strength and conditioning activities should also help Floyd get back into playing shape and ready for fall camp should he be reinstated by Kelly.
Floyd has been working towards reinstatement since his off-season arrest for driving under the influence and so far it at least appears as though he is on pace to be back with the Irish this fall. After escaping punishment from Res-Life in the spring, it seemed likely that Floyd would be on the field on some this fall, but Brian Kelly has since said that Floyd will either be a member of the Irish in 2011 for every game or no games.
At this point it still is not clear when a final decision will be made regarding Floyd’s status with the team by Kelly or even what criteria Floyd has met or needs to meet yet in order to be reinstated. What is clear, however, is that it looks like Floyd is at least on a path towards reinstatement.
Getting Floyd back for the entire 2011 would greatly enhance Notre Dame’s chances for a BCS run and his value to the team can’t be overstated. Right now Notre Dame just does not have another receiver capable of providing what he brings to the Irish offense and if he is on the field this fall, the Notre Dame offense has the potential to be potent.
With fall camp inching closer and Kelly’s statements that it’s all or nothing for Floyd in 2011 it might not be too much longer until we find out whether #3 will be terrorizing secondaries for another season in South Bend.
JDH is usually pretty fair, whether or not you agree with him. Plus one can tell that unlike “A Fan,” JDH actually is a ND fan. (I’m sorry, I know that I said I didn’t judge who was or who wasn’t a real ND fan, but I’ll make an exception in the case of “A Fan” and call him/her out as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.) I’m not sure JDH deserves to be lumped in with the likes of “A Fan”. I have always learned something and appreciated my exchanges with JDH.
What a great society full of “freedom” that we live in today. Only in a ‘I know whats best for you and you better do it…’ society could someone actually think jail time is appropriate for a crime that was truly victimless, no injuries and no property damage. I argued about this a month or so ago with JDH or whatever. He was another guy you would really want on your jury. JDH and AFan(ADouche) think the death penalty should be applied to a MISDEMEANOR DUI. Are you guys that in need of someone telling you how life should be? BTW I love Michael Floyd, he is the most talented offensive player ND has had in years. He will make a great possession type receiver at the next level. He could easily catch 100 passes for the next ten years. Please hold onto the damn ball though Mike.
Or we could use AFan’s recommendation, turn our backs on a member of our extended family, throw him in jail, throw him off the team and then throw him to the wolves of the Lockout and Supplemental Draft. I for one am willing to give a 21 year old kid REPEATED chances provided he is not breaking NCAA rules and he does not hurt anyone, including himself.
A Fan, please stop. Now. Right now. It’s over. Stop being so sanctimonious like you’ve never made a mistake. This is a private thing between a university and one of its student, your opinion is completely irrelevant in all of this. You are in no way affected by any of this and have no say in what will happen. If you are so offended by this then stop cheering for Notre Dame. Otherwise, enough.
Dear ‘Fan’,
Take about 20 seconds to scan this article and tell us again how ND is “the same as all the other NCAA programs” when it comes to it handling of all of its sports programs and student-athletes.
http://www.und.com/genrel/060111aaa.html
ND is absolutely different and there are many years of history just like these latest numbers to back it up.
Please let us know what school/program you are a “fan” of so that we can compare some student-athelete rankings with ND and your favorite school.
Should be interesting…
Like the man said, it makes more sense to straighten out a kids life than to bury him for a mistake a lot of 21-year-old kids make. I don’t agree that ND’s season rides on Floyd’s shoulders, though. There are plenty of playmakers on this team and more coming in. Any one of five are capable of rising to the occasion. And, given a defense that may hold all opponents to two touchdowns, a balanced, ball-control offense should be capable of winning every game on the schedule. Not to say Michael won’t be a great asset, though.
Coach Kelly is handling this situation in the exact manner any parent would and should handle it. This is a teachable moment. If the lesson sinks in then Mr. Floyd will have been saved from continuing down a path of potenial distruction – excess drinking and driving under the influence is a dangerous combination.
It’s called a short leash.
And so in zero punishment. He should do some jail time. 0.19 is unforgivable
“A Fan,”
I thought that the sane people on this board settled this a while back. Most of us here fell somewhere in between your “Puritanical” extreme and the “Know-nothings.” Most of us said we’d be OK with a 2-3 game suspension if it came down to that. If anything, BK is threatening far worse.
Are you an attorney? If not, keep your judicial opinions to yourself. Last time I checked, a plea bargain was perfectly legal.
Jail time, seriously?? The kid made a stupid mistake that unfortunately millions make every year. If you have a glass of wine and drive home you most likely would blow over the legal limit. I’m not saying it is ok to do this but let’s not get crazy here.
One glass of wine and 0.19 are two different things. Plus, with the size of Floyd, getting to 0.19 takes a lot of drinks. He will get no punishment for this and he should
0.19 IS forgivable.
Happends all the time.
No one got killed or hurt.
Nobody’s property was damaged.
Nobody’s peace was distrurbed.
There was no resisting arrest.
No drugs, no guns, no violence
Was he lucky? Depends on your point of view.
The University left it up to our Judicial system and the coach.
Maybe since you don’t know the details, perhaps you should do the same.
I fully expect Floyd to start for ND in the September 4 opener vs. Purdue.
By Purdue you mean USF.
USF? Where did you get that? The header at the top of this site indicates that ND opens against Purdue on Sept 4.
That’s last year’s schedule.
Frank might not have a USF or Maryland helmet yet to stick up there . . . . .
That is last years schedule at the top.
Contrary to popular belief, there is a moral rudder at ND. Unfortunately many fans like to interject their snap judgements. I’m sure if we were in Michael’s shoes we would not be feeling a slam dunk return to the team. Michael is a good kid and I wish him well in his quest to return to the team.
The moral rudder was broken when res-life decided not to punish Floyd. ND fans need to drop the “we’re different” crap and accept that Floyd is getting different treatment because ND needs him for football.
“A Fan” (of ND?)
Unlike some here, I don’t take a critique of ND or its football team to be tantamount to treason. And I certainly don’t pretend to be the self-righteous arbiter of who is and who isn’t a real ND fan.
Having said that, I think you’re definitely crossing some lines here. To even insinuate that somehow this MF incident makes ND just like USC or Ohio St. is a joke!
The fact that the MF episode is even talked about by us ND fans, while it would be a total non-issue if we were Ohio St. USC, UF, or Tenn. fans, is proof that there’s a “moral rudder” at ND and among its fan base.
If you don’t think “we’re different,” “A Fan,” then you’re not a “REALIST.” REALISTICALLY, “A Fan,” ND is (while not perfect) heads and shoulders above almost all other D-1 (or whatever it’s called these days) today (with the possible exceptions of the likes of Duke, Stanford, Vandy, and the like, as well as the military academies, of course).
Anyone who thinks Floyd won’t be playing for ND next year is kidding themselves. This is a joke. “He can practice with us, but he is still not on the team”. Just say he’s back Kelley and quit jerking us around.