Luck Of The Irish
ADAMS TWP — For the Carmody family, it's now Notre Dame times two.
Incoming Mars senior Michael Carmody, a 6-foot-7, 295-pound offensive tackle, has decided to continue his academic and football career with the Fighting Irish. His brother, Robby, just completed his freshman year at Notre Dame as a member of the basketball team.
Michael also considered Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Texas A&M before choosing Notre Dame — and not because of his brother.
“Honestly, no,” Michael said of Robby's presence there being a factor in his decision. “I didn't want to be in his shadow anymore.
“This move felt right for me. It felt comfortable. It's where I want to go.”
The timing of the decision took his father, Mars boys basketball coach Rob Carmody, by surprise.
“We had taken a visit out there and Michael told me he wanted to go back,” Coach Carmody said. “We went out last weekend and he had visits to Michigan and Ohio State scheduled for this week.
“But we were sitting in Coach (Brian) Kelly's office and Michael said, 'I want to do this.' So he did. I'm happy for him and thrilled for our family.
“I've got one son playing basketball in the ACC, the best conference in the country. Now I'll have another one playing football at Notre Dame, which plays a national schedule and is contending for a national championship.
“To have two sons going to the same school ... that school ... Our family is truly blessed,” the coach added.
Notre Dame went 12-0 in the regular season last year before losing to Clemson in the semifinals of the national playoff. Kelly is 81-34 in nine years with the Irish, including 23 wins over AP Top 25 opponents.
Michael expects to be red-shirted his freshman year. He is carrying a 4.0 grade point average in high school and plans to major in engineering.
“They have a one-year masters program there in engineering,” he said of Notre Dame. “Ideally, I'll red-shirt my freshman year and will be in that masters program during my final year of eligibility.”Mars football coach Scott Heinauer believes Carmody may see some action his freshman season.“Notre Dame has five offensive linemen they've recruited, so you never know what might happen,” Heinauer said. “With the rules now, you can play four games and still get red-shirted. Schools are taking advantage of that rule.“I know Michael is a family guy. His brother being there will be helpful to him. He feels this is the best choice for him. Any of those five schools would have been a great choice. He's a fortunate kid to have those kinds of options.”Michael has only played 10 high school games as an offensive lineman. His father said his exploits on the basketball court added to his recruitment as a football player.“Everybody knows about his size,” Coach Carmody said. “But you don't see many offensive linemen being able to explode to the basket for a two-handed dunk or display the quickness he has on the floor.“These football coaches saw all of that. When you combine that physique and quickness, they see that potential. He weighs 295, but he looks like he weighs 240 because of the way his body is made up.”One thing Michael Carmody won't get is a head start at Notre Dame. He is not planning on graduating high school in January.To the contrary, his Mars athletic career won't be close to being over at that point.“I'll definitely be playing basketball next year,” he said. “And after that, I'm going out for baseball. My best friend, Joey Craska (headed to Va. Tech for baseball) is on the team.“I haven't played baseball since eighth grade, but he and I want to be teammates. Wherever I can help the baseball team, that's where I'll play.”Heinauer isn't surprised.“That kid has always supported all of Mars athletics,” the coach said. “That's just who he is. He wants to do it all.”He's got an impressive list of goals for down the road at Notre Dame as well.“I want to win a national championship there, get drafted, win the Lombardi Award as the best offensive lineman in the country,” Michael declared.“This whole process happened so fast. I know I made the right choice. It's a big weight off my shoulders.”
