Notre Dame's Brian Kelly: All of my players are 'at-risk' academically
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly commented on his players' academics this week.
Speaking to the South Bend Tribune, Kelly said the entire team is “at-risk” academically and questioned how many players would be admitted into the school “by themselves.”
“I think we recognized that all of my football players are at-risk—all of them—really," he told the paper. "Honestly, I don’t know that any of our players would get into the school by themselves right now with the academic standards the way they are. Maybe one or two of our players that are on scholarship.
“So making sure that with the rigors that we put them in—playing on the road, playing night games, getting home at 4 o’clock in the morning, all of the demands that we place on them relative to the academics and going into an incredibly competitive academic classroom every day—we recognize this is a different group."
Kelly's comments come less than a year after five Notre Dame players—DaVaris Daniels, Kendall Moore, Eilar Hardy, KeiVarae Russell and Ishaq Williams—were suspended amid an investigation into academic fraud.
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In 2013, quarterback Everett Golson missed the season and was not enrolled at the school for the fall semester after committing an academic violation. He returned to the school last season but transferred to Florida State this off-season.
Kelly recently told Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel that there are "transformative conversations" regarding athletes' academics.
