Fresh off of his first career 1,000 yard season, senior running back Cierre Wood has found himself on Heisman Pundit’s pre-season Heisman Watch List making himself the first Irish running back to generate some pre-season Heisman buzz in years.
Wood grabbed hold of the starting running back position for Notre Dame at the end of 2010 after Armando Allen’s season came to an abrupt end due to a knee injury and he hasn’t let go of it since. Last year Wood shared the spotlight with Jonas Gray before his injury, but he still lead the Irish ground attack wracking up his first career 1,000 yard season in the process.
By the end of the season, Wood put together a 1,102 yard season with 9 touchdowns while recording his three 100 yard performance along the way. The highlight of his season in week 5 when Wood terrorized the Purdue defense to the tune of 191 yards on 20 carries all highlighted by a 55 yard touchdown run in Notre Dame’s 38-10 victory over the Boilermakers.
Heading into this season, Wood will once again pace the Irish ground attack even with Theo Riddick moving back to running back and sophomore George Atkinson III starting to emerge as a playmaker for Notre Dame. Another 1,000+ yard season is certainly not out of the question for Wood in 2012. In fact, its entirely possible for Wood who slowed down towards the end of 2011.
Three Notre Dame opponents – all quarterbacks – are also on Heisman Pundit’s Watch List. Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, Michigan’s Denard Robinson, and USC’s Matt Barkley are all included in their list. Notre Dame has faced Barkely and Robinson a combined three times throughout their careers – all Notre Dame losses.
no player is bigger than the team, what kind of person smokes weed just before the first game of the season, they have no respect for the team, the school, things have changed since george kunz, rocky blier, the team should rise to the occasion
Shazam,
I understand your reasoning. I just disagree with our legal system and NCAA rules. That is all.
Brandon,
“just disagree with our legal system and the NCAA rules”
You got no arguement from me there brother!
I couldn’t agree more.
I remember a QB by the name of Garcia who played for Steve Spurrier at South Carolina that got suspended 5 times before finally being dismissed from the team.
5 Times!
I mean, I believe in second chances and all, but come on!
Brandon,
I think it should be remembered that TR was “charged” with assualt, but those charges were dropped by the appointed St. Joesph County court at their own choosing.
It doesn’t mean TR was proven guilty or innocent of that, just that the court chose not to pursue that charge for whatever reasons.
TR has acctually appeared in court,(Wood has not) plead guilty to underage drinking, to being somewhat unintelligent, and letting his school and team down.
TR has stood up, paid his fines and fees, apologized to all involved, completed his community service, will miss the “once in a lifetime” trip to Ireland as he serves his one game suspension, and probably has some type of probation.
Wood’s punishment falls under NCAA and ND rules and law.
It’s a little bit different process.
Wood will not face possiable jail time as could have been the case for TR.
But as was the case with Rees, I think he is guilty of poor judgement, and of letting his school and team down.
I think much like Rees, he has apologized, will miss the trip to Ireland, and is on probation as well.(and will miss the first home game)
One game… two games… for players of their stature, it should have been no games.
I believe all these guys are good kids. They came to ND for the education first.
Lessons are learned in all types of ways, including the hard way, even at ND.
So Tommy Rees knees a cop and get arrested, but only gets one game. Cierre Wood fails a test for weed and gets 2 games. WTF?
USAFIrish,
Yeah, how dare me. Let’s take the moral high ground and look the other way when the shoe is on the other foot. Suuuure. It appears the new USC East program endorses weak punishment as the new normal. Interesting, 4 players suspended and you remember Holtz? Spoken like a true BK fan boy.
DUI, pot smoking and assulting an officer is pure speculation? Suuure. I can’t wait for all the USC hate drivel here to rear it’s ugly head at the end of the season! Of course, no double standard with those relentless multi-paragraph diatribes posted here on USC.
Yeah, for sure only USC has a scrofulous program as identified by our select rant team on this site. Including myself in the past. I’m looking forward to you holding ALL accountable to your new meaningless speculation standard. WELCOME!
WE ARE ND! GO IRISH! For the responsible players on the team!
Well that pretty much wraps up the shortest heisman campaign in ND history…
I’m not pissed about double standards or what guy got what punishment. What is frustrating is that a guy like c wood that has one season left then he’s off to live his dream doing something selfish like this. He is suppose to be a leader on this team, an upper-classmen. I sure hope it was fun. He let not only his team down but himself as well. RB’s aren’t drafted all that high anymore and now he has that stupid “character issue” label. I doubt he goes any higher than the 3rd round next april. I know he still has eligibility left but the nfl is all he ever talks about on twitter so i have my doubts he returns.
Also he should realize that he doesn’t exactly have a bunch of chumps behind him on the depth chart. Riddick, GAII, Carlisle, and mahone are all pretty good players. GAIII could be the most explosive player we’ve had since rocket. I hope the kid pulls his head out of his rear because his teammates need him. I still support c wood I’m just disappointed that another upper-classmen/leader on this team had a brain fart. I’ve enjoyed watching him play over the years but the team and us fans need him to buckle down and focus because the season is here.
5 days….
GO IRISH
JC,
You have no idea what happened, so stop speculating on the horrible double standards applied to the different teams. I don’t get why guys shoot off their emails without at least a modicum of thought, except that they have absolutely no retribution for typing hateful drivel.
It seems to me that team cohesion and leadership from the seniors this year is a strong point. Punishing fairly those that don’t live up to standards actually brings teams closer together.
I seem to remember a story about Lou Holtz suspending a running back for a big game back in the day and everything working out just fine.
Bad day for the two, but good day for the team in the long run.
This is really disappointing. Wood and Utupo are just the latest ND football players to make poor decisions and fail to represent themselves, their teammates, and most importantly, the University, in a positive manner. Absolutely no excuses!! Notre Dame is a special place built upon a commitment to ethical standards and academic and athletic excellence!
Woods and Utupo should be held accountable for their actions here. In my opinion, a two-game suspension isn’t stringent enough. Frankly, I am surprised Rees is still on the team after his actions this past Spring (assaulting a police officer).
Hey Todd, C-Dog, Shaz, Steelfan, JTRAIN, SCAV, bj, Irish 94′ and others,
Did we not just a few years back expel one of our Basketball players for smoking pot? FOR THE REMAINING SCHOOL YEAR?!?! Hmmmm…Interesting favoritism developing with the football team. Oh but gee whiz, that’s what ALL college kids do now! Suuuuure.
Well Coach Brey, I would starting screaming foul today by getting some new “get out of jail free passes” for your players since we love ND Basketball also.
Well guys, are we avoiding the NEW ND unvarnished DOUBLE STANDARD truth here? 4 football players on suspention and counting?? NO WONDER IT’S DIFFICULT TO WIN 10 GAMES! Winning the ND way without question is now a thing of the past.
Kyle McAlarney definately got railroaded in light of this new frequent flyer program! Kyle without fail should get a refund on his classes he was FORCED to miss!
HUGE disappointment for ND Nation today. Are we headed in the right direction with endorsed pot smoking now? What about it guys? Do we want to win at all costs? For the record I don’t. What’s next, paid prostitutes for the football team?
I think you have to read inbetween the lines of what Kelly said “He/they are aware of the standards I set for the program”. Maybe Brey has a different tolerance than Kelly does for team rules(football/basketball) which are different. Just my opinion.
GO IRISH!!!!
I thought I heard during the Floyd incident that there were some changes made in Resident Life, who were the ones who kicked McAlarney out, not Brey.
My question is why did Floyd get no games and Rees one when they were ARRESTED, while Wood gets 2 games for breaking a team rule?
I think each incident is handled on a “case by case”
approach as it should be.
I was never a big supporter of the “one size fits all” punishment when it came to rules enforcement.
(Especially for a first timer)
I also want to be careful when it comes to passing judgement.
I am not at practice, classes, or team meetings.
I only know what I read, or see on Saturday’s.
I trust Kelly when it comes to handling his kids.
He rescruited them, sat in their parents living rooms, and works with them everyday.
He knows a heck of a lot more about it than I do.
Plus, while it is certainly a disappointment, you never know what is going to transpire that will pull a team together and keep them focused.
Perhaps something good can still come from a difficult situation.
Yep, because he smoked something legal in a handful of states (and moving towards more states legalizing it), we are moving towards the Apocolypse. The sky is truly falling.
You make it sound like the football program is handing out joints and sanctioning this behavior. Sorry to break to this to you, but just because someone goes to ND doesn’t mean they are going to be canonized.
This is society. Deal with it.
Yeah,
Same BS we heard in the 70’s.
You would have made a great flower child with your assessment!
You should have attended some funerals where some people from school I knew started with pot and ended with LSD.
Yep, it doesn’t even matter in your world if breathing is good. Yeah, no worries it’s just pot!
Impaired driving pot smoking jack-asses kill people. Check with your local hospital for the facts.
JC,
I agree. But my agreement is that McAlarney got railroaded. I do think punishment is in order, but Kyle’s was extreme, unless there had already been unpublicized incidents.
I don’t understand athletes doing anything impure to their bodies. Talk about the temple. Why would anyone who wants to compete at a high level smoke weed? Lou would have suspended guys for taking a drink.
Well, I guess someone from another team will be on the Heisman watch list. Who cares anyway. This team needs more wins.
Amen C-Dog,
I’ll bet McAlarney would have been thrilled with only a two-game suspension vs expelled for the year!
Must be the fact that B-ball only takes in 250,000 a year vs millions with football.
Pandering of the football team is patently obvious vs the rest of our sports programs.
UNFAIR AND DRACONIAN TREATMENT ND ADMINSTRATION!
This heismanpundit article is 5 months old, and Wood is suspended for first two games. A Heisman seems pretty unlikely at this point.
Go Irish!
Wood and Utupo 2-game suspention now on this main board, NBCsports, NYT and ESPN….going virol now.
Lou Holtz: “Never tell people your problems 80% don’t care, and the other 20% are glad you have them.”
Hahahaha got to LOVE Lou!
Guess the rumor was correct, with our Heisman candidate suspended for 1st game.
Next man in.
The drug he failed a test for is completely irrelevant, and a possible suspension of 3 games is a huge deal. It’s not my fault you were too lazy to check up on it yourself. In the amount of time it took you to type that snarky reply, Google would have answered your queary every bit as much as I.
Not all the details you need? Snarky Mr. Paragraph?
Hahahaha.
I’m hearing the same rumor that he failed a drug test.
How is he failed a drug test not all the details you need? He will be out anywhere from 1-3 games, allegedly for weed.
Well excuse me Mr.Vague:
Sorry I could not read between your ears!
Failed drug test? How many types of drugs are there?
Amazing, did not realize pot was the only drug in the world for football players.
Suspended? 1-3 games vs anytime soon? Yeah, clear as mud.
Sorry to have bothered your elite immediate grasp of the (not so) obvious in your world.
Rumors are great with pop quizzes! Hahaha. Any thing else worth listening to?
Can’t believe they put navy game “highlights” from 2010 in that video. That game should never be seen or spoken of again. The thought of it makes me sick. Anyway Woods best run was the long one before halftime of the USC game in 2010. It resulted in the first win in 8 years and we probably won’t win again in another ten years. His long run against Miami in the bowl game was sweet too
Well, Wood is suspended for failing a drug test, so we won’t be watching him any time soon.
Well, please don’t shower us with any details?
So, Frankie what is going on?
Where did you see this at?
john,
Just now over on ESPN’s main board. Wood and Utopo 2 game suspention.
So Riddick probably starts for two games.
GO IRISH!
Congrats Cierre Wood!!
How about that Heisman Watch List ESPN? Can you say ND? So much for your exclusive ‘hoity-toity’ 6-6 pronostication!! We believe 10-2 or better this year with the toughest schedule in the NCAA; unlike the WENEE league SEC! I can’t wait to see all the new speed this year to support Wood.
Yeah, strap-up ESPN your going to see a punt returned this year also!
What about it Lou! Dump some cold water on those ESPN boy naysayers over there with their lips super glued to the SEC! Here come the Irish!
WE ARE ND! GO IRISH!