Notre Dame: December 2008 Archives

Waubonsie Valley senior kicker Mitch Ewald has been selected to play in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl.

The Indiana recruit is one of 88 players from across the country chosen for the Jan. 2 event, which will be broadcast live on the Fox College Sports network from the Coastal Carolina campus just outside Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In 2008 Ewald converted four of six field goals and 31 of 34 PATs for the Warriors. He also yielded touchbacks on 80 percent of his kickoffs.

Other players set to participate have made verbal commitments to programs such as Ohio State, Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia and Florida State.

Illinois natives on the bowl's roster include: East St. Louis defensive back Tommie Hopkins; East St. Louis defensive end Ty Phillips; Simeon linebacker Tyrell Webster; and Hubbard linebacker Darius Moffett.

-What if the Big Ten does decide it needs a 12th member school to stage a lucrative conference championship game? Notre Dame values its football independence above all else. Syracuse football is in free fall, and its basketball program has strong ties to the Big East. Beyond that there aren't many obvious logical candidates. And nothing is imminent. But here's an interesting hypothetical that came out of New Jersey from columnist Steve Politi of The Star-Ledger, The Official Newspaper of Tony Soprano:

"If the Scarlet Knights prove they can win the Big East, if they finish the stadium expansion and keep selling out the stadium, then they can start mapping their exit strategy.

Big Ten officials insist they're not looking at expansion, but they need a 12th team to create a championship game. Rutgers, a large state institution in the shadow of the New York market, has plenty in common with the flagship schools in the Midwest conference."

-Vanderbilt defensive end Josh Jelesky, a Naperville Central graduate, is using his freshman season as a redshirt. That's not a huge surprise - coach Bobby Johnson and his staff have used the redshirt as a way to build program depth in the brutal Southeastern Conference. The Commodores (6-6) face Boston College (9-4) in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl on Dec. 31 in Nashville, Tenn.

-Northern Illinois will play Illinois for just the fourth time in program history on Sept. 18, 2010, the DeKalb university announced Wednesday. According to the press release:

"The Illinois game continues the Huskies' commitment to scheduling in-state foes as well as Big Ten opponents. Northern Illinois will play Western Illinois at Huskie Stadium in 2009 and will play host to Big Ten foe Wisconsin on Sept. 17, 2011 at Soldier Field in Chicago. The Huskies open the 2009 season at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison and will also play at Purdue next year."

Glenbard West lineman Chris Watt has been named the Gatorade Illinois Football Player of the Year after leading the Hilltoppers to a 12-1 record. The 6-foot-3-inch, 280-pound Notre Dame recruit will also play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl next month in San Antonio. Watt recently told a Rivals network writer - linked here through EdgyTim.com - that he's firmly committed to the Irish. The declaration came before the university announced that coach Charlie Weis will return next season.