‘Tis the season for the continued vilification of one Tyrone Willingham. Every so often, message boards erupt with blame and finger pointing for the beleaguered former coach. Each time Washington lost in recent years, post writers would react with glee over his troubles. On signing day, ND fans contrast Ty’s classes with Charlie’s. Ty has been blamed each time ND came up short on the field. “A lack of depth,” we’ve shouted as the team wore out late in games. “No O-line,” we’ve uttered as Jimmy was sacked again. “ND could have won it all in 2006 if there had been more of a foundation,” we convince ourselves.

Don’t get me wrong, the Ty Willingham experience was a tough one to stomach. I was in the student section during his first year, watching the team rush to an unexpected 8-0 record, only to be disappointed against BC, USC, and NC State. His final two years were nearly impossible to watch. Losing by 30 to Syracuse? Letting Tyler Palko throw for 5 TDs? The team looked lethargic and outmatched in those years; that 8-0 record receded ever further into distant memory. And finally, the deal-breaker: recruiting classes were sub-par. There was no sign of hope in coming years – nothing to build on. The team was going nowhere fast.

I don’t want to spend an article rehashing the pluses and minuses of Ty’s firing. Was it fair? Probably not. If Davie had followed Ty, the situation would likely have been reversed. Have the past two years been sufficiently bad to warrant the firing of Charlie? In many ways, the answer has to be yes. Nonetheless, Ty is gone, and Charlie remains. This is the hand we’ve been dealt, and, at least for the coming season, this is the way things will be. The team has finally moved on, and so should we. No more of Ty’s recruits remain on the roster (if I’m forgetting someone, sorry). This is Charlie’s team and he has to display an ability to take his talented classes and turn them into winners. If he doesn’t, he’ll be fired – but not because of anything Ty did.

Tyrone Willingham is long gone. And yet, traces of resentment persist. After all, none of his 2004 class was drafted!!!! Few of them even spent time as starters! Look how bad of a recruiter he was! I find this ongoing anger unhelpful and a little unnerving. None of ND’s wins or losses in the past 4 years was determined by Mr. Willingham. Sure sure, there were factors going back to his tenure, but games are decided by the players on the field and the coaches on the sideline. It’s time to stop vilifying our former coach and start expecting more out the guys on the field. If we can’t let it go, we can’t expect guys like Pat Forde and Mike Wilbon of ESPN, or Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports to do so either. We (as fans) would all be happier if things had turned out better 5 years ago. Ty Willingham did his best, and, unfortunately, it didn’t work out. It is time to let it go.

Bud Light presents Real Men of Genius:

(Sings: Real men of Genius)

Today, we salute you, Mr. college talent evaluator.
(Sings: Mr. college talent projection evaluator)

Because while anyone can sit down and watch a game of football on Saturday’s, we need you to tell us which quarterback has the Elway-like arm strength to play on Sunday’s…
(Sings: Throw that deep out route)

Relaxed on the couch with your hand down your pants, you sit and watch film after film of players, and coin phrases like “hip fluidity” as reasons to why a cornerback can be the next Deion.
(Sings: It’s all in the hips)

Wingspan? Pocket presence? Intangibles? Explosiveness? You don’t even know what your talking about half the time…
(Sings: He’s gonna be a stud, yeah!)

So, while you’ve never played the game on a serious level, you once had a 2 year unbeaten streak playing Madden, and you have A LOT of hair.
(Sings: I know more than McShay!)

So crack open an ice cold bud light, deacon of the draft, because without you, we would be stuck doing yard work the last weekend in April.
(Sings: Mr. college talent evaluator.)

One of the most frustrating trends last season was ND’s seeming inability to make a play when needed. This was most epitomized (nearly infamously) during the near 4th quarter debacle against Navy, in which the Middies recovered two onside kicks with only a couple of minutes remaining. Clearly, that was two more than should have been allowed. On those plays, the Irish simply didn’t have anyone who would be the one to make a play.

Football is a team sport; arguably the most team-centric of them all. Players on the field must perform their roles, stay in their spots, and trust their teammates to do the same. Only a squad that truly works together will consistently put checks in the wins column. However, team interdependency only goes so far. Sometimes, football is an individual sport. A superior player makes plays – end of story. LT just knew he was the one that would tackle the running back. Jerry Rice would be the one to get open and catch the TD pass. A championship team is full of this kind of guy; the kind of guy who decides that he and only he will be the one to go get the ball. This player will not be denied. The ball won’t bounce into an opponent’s hands because he stood around waiting for someone else to make something happen.

– back to that Navy game –

My enduring memory of that game is watching ND’s players laughing it up on the sidelines while Navy’s hungry Midshipmen imposed their collective will at the end of the 4th quarter. Two onside kicks. Two!! Which Irish player decided to go end that game? Who just knew that he would come up with that football?

If I had to guess, USC probably has 30 guys who would decide to make that play. I bet Florida and Oklahoma do too. In fact, if we could jump in the DeLorean and go back to 1990, Lou probably could have put backup kickers on the field to cover those onside kicks. His guys always made that clutch play, whether it was a two point conversion against Penn State or a knocked down pass against FSU. Who could be those guys for ND?

• Brian Smith – the emotional leader of the defense seems hungry and passionate
• Robert Blanton – described by some as confident and others as cocky, Blanton is not afraid to go after the ball
• Harrison Smith – a ball hawk like Zbikowski (who hopefully won’t get quite so burned on the play fakes)
• Golden Tate – seems to come down with ball every time it’s in the air

These guys didn’t answer the bell on that Saturday last fall. Hopefully, they’re ready this year. And, hopefully, so is the rest of the team.