Looking for leadership | by Pat

As the Irish team keeps losing and the youth movement is gathering more and more steam, it was nice to hear that one of the younger players is already looking to take on more of a leadership role. Here's Charlie's take on an early morning meeting on Monday.

Not getting into one player, but it was probably one of the most enjoyable parts of my entire week, happened yesterday morning at 5:30. Yesterday morning at 5:30 I'm sitting in my office and I keep the door locked because I don't like just anyone walking in at 5:30, and my phone rings and one of the players on our team is outside. I said, oh, no, here we go again. He wants to talk to me so he knocks on my door. I thought we had another person that was looking to pack his bags and go.

And it was just the opposite. He said he hasn't slept all night. He's an underclassman. He hadn't slept all night and he felt he needed to step up and take on more of a leadership role, and he was asking for some advice on how to do that. I mean, that's the type of guys you want on your team, guys that aren't sleeping because they're worrying about how they can -- he's a regular player, but how they can step up and take on more of a leadership role. I thought that was a good way to start the week.

Later in the day, Sam Young admitted during media interviews that he was the player who met with Charlie.

"I just want the team to do well," Young said. "Whatever position I need to be in, I want to fill it."

With John Sullivan out, Young, still only a sophomore, is now the veteran leader of the line with 23 career starts under his belt. He's had a rough second year campaign, slowed by a wrist injury and a switch to left tackle. Still, it's great to hear about him stepping up to take on more of a leadership role with this young team.