BGS Bits | by Pat

Will Yeatman was recently interviewed by Inside Lacrosse and offered up some good quotes on playing both football and lacrosse at ND for the next four years.

“I mean, there was one point in the spring where we played Air Force on a Friday, Denver on a Sunday and then had spring football practice on Monday,” said Yeatman, in South Bend for summer classes. “That was about as bad as it got. I remember that practice Monday. My legs were toast. But I got through it. And I said, ‘Man, if I can get through that, I can get through anything. … So, I guess, right now, I’m looking at it thinking four years. Lacrosse is so much fun. I love the guys on the team. I love the coaching staff. I wanna say four years. But at the same time, we’ll see what happens. Right now, the plans are four years of both. And if anyone tells you otherwise they’re lying. I get so many people saying, ‘You’re moving to offensive tackle. You’re not playing lacrosse.’ But that’s not happening.”

The fact that he's not going to add much weight while playing lacrosse combined with ND's solid offensive line recruiting should keep Yeatman off the offensive line. Hopefully he'll be able to stick with both sports, but that's one heck of a workload. Make sure to check out the rest of the article for the story about Weis singling out Yeatman in front of the football team for his lacrosse accomplishments.

"Touchdown Irish!"

It appears that ND and Westwood One are parting ways and ND will seek a new radio broadcast partner next season. Rumors have ESPN Radio and ISP Sports among the two major new suitors with ESPN Radio being a favored front-runner. One of the interesting sidebars to this story is the possible return of ND play-by-play legend Tony Roberts.

The major remaining question is whether Notre Dame would attempt to have Roberts return to the booth in 2008. Although school officials insist they leave on-air talent issues to their broadcast partners, Roberts is hopeful.

His strong ties to Notre Dame remain. Next month he will emcee the second annual Notre Dame Coaches Kickoff for Charity, a $1,000-per-plate event in Beverly Hills that will feature Charlie Weis, Lou Holtz and Ara Parseghian.

"Charlie has spoken [to Notre Dame officials] on my behalf," Roberts said. "Maura Weis and my wife are like two sisters. They invited us to New York for their St. Patrick's Day festivities at the New York Athletic Club. They'd love to see me back there.

"I'm telling you, from the day I got dumped I've been praying. Broadcasting for Notre Dame is the greatest job in the world."

Don Criqui did a very good job broadcasting ND games last season and his calls of the MSU and UCLA come-from-behind victories will go down in Irish lore, but Tony Roberts is the voice of Notre Dame football to many Irish fans. It would be great to have him back in the booth.

Track Star

Following up on being named Tennessee's 2006 Football Back of the Year, incoming safety Harrison Smith was just named Track Athlete of the Year by the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

Body by Bartley

If you're wondering just what the football team does to stay in shape while home for the summer, one local sportswriter attempted to find out by mirroring Bartley Webb's off-season workouts while Bartley was back in Arkansas during the summer.

Getting a shot

Switching gears and looking to the pros, Maurice Stovall just might be in the starting lineup for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year as he's being given a serious shot at supplanting current starter and former first round pick Michael Clayton.

"He started for us last year as a rookie; that's no mistake, " Gruden said. "It's no mystery, really. He's 6 foot 5, he's in great shape, he's a reliable guy, he's tough as hell and he wants to play. At least that's what he's showing out here every day. He's a guy that gives us a size factor, I think a physical playmaker and a guy that's going to make for a real interesting camp."

That's great news for a player that really put in the hard work to have a stellar senior season back in 2005.