FAQ
Can we get a sneak peak at “Rising thru every Fall?”
“Rising thru every Fall” mostly takes place from 2001-2005 while you were a wide receiver on the University of Notre Dame Football team, correct?
Yes. I began my college career playing for Bob Davie in 2001 and ended it as a redshirt senior playing for Charlie Weis in 2005. The story delves into some high school and NFL, but mainly takes place within this timeframe.
Did you really have five head coaches during that time?
The years I played college football feel like the forgotten years of Notre Dame Football history, and I’m sure the university would love it if everyone forgot about these years. But, yes, I had five head coaches during my five years at ND: Bob Davie, George O’Leary, Tyrone Willingham, Kent Baer, and Charlie Weis.
I mean, it’s been nearly 20 years since you graduated, and yet your stories are so specific that it feels like you lived these experiences yesterday. How can readers be sure the stories in your memoir are accurate, are real?
This is a notion I address right away in the book. Readers are embarking on a journey with me, they are stepping into my shoes, and I don’t believe they can truly immerse themselves if they believe aspects of the story are fiction or based on memories from my college days. During my senior year, in 2005, I trekked across campus to University Health Services for two-hour visits, twice a day, for six weeks to receive treatment after fallout from a surgery that nearly took my life. A near death experience will give you perspective and almost force you to evaluate your life; when I looked at mine, I realized my journey through unprecedented change was unique to sports, college football, and Notre Dame — so, I wrote it ALL down.
So, the story is 100% from your perspective?
Yes and no. It is my story, so I guide the journey from my point of view, but I am not the only person with a voice: I interviewed players, wrote down quotes from people at that time and over the years I have scoured articles for quotes from players, coaches, university officials, and columnists. The book contains quotes that agree and disagree with my view; I want readers to see both sides of certain stories, so they can form their own thoughts.
It’s easy to see why a Notre Dame fan should read this book, but why should someone who isn’t a fan?
Turmoil, both Notre Dame’s and the roller coaster that was my sports career. ND fan or not, readers will enjoy this journey and walk away with an experience only eight people in the history of sports can take you on with FIVE head coaches in FIVE years. It’s not all “sunshine and rainbows.”
What do you think people will get out of “Rising thru every Fall,” what is their takeaway?
It’s a unique story that has so many themes that are “human:” navigating change, overcoming doubts, failing, fighting back from injury, dodging death, rising through adversity, finding light when surrounded by darkness, triumph, winning, succeeding, holding on to hope, and learning how to move on when seasons of your life pass. I hope people close this book with one thought resonating within their mind: “You have the ability, simply remember your courage.”