Tony Driver’s talent is as unquestionable as B follows A and night follows day. Notre Dame coach Bob Davie has called Driver the most athletic player on his squad, one who in four years has Ping-Ponged from special teams to offense to defense, a fleet runner and a ferocious hitter who has handled a multitude of football tasks with an even-keeled proficiency.
But even the biggest stars, those who stabilize, unify and set standards, must subjugate individual efforts into the pool of the collective good. They always must be aware their private actions may affect the overall play of their team.
That is something Driver and Brock Williams learned last year. The lesson has not gone to waste.
Backfield mates in a rejuvenated Irish secondary, Driver and Williams spent significant swatches of last season serving suspensions–Driver missed five games for having women in his dormitory room after hours, Williams all 12 for a number of team infractions.
But as the Irish begin preparations for their game Saturday at West Virginia, Driver and Williams are among those serving as an example for the squad by setting football at the summit of their priorities.
“I went out to the Navy game last year for a little bit, but at halftime I left,” Driver said. “I went home and watched it on TV. I just wanted to be out there so bad.”
Instead, he suffered through the first game of his suspension in solitude. This year, he tied an NCAA record by returning two fumbles for touchdowns in Notre Dame’s 45-14 thrashing of the Midshipmen last Saturday.
On the season, Driver has 44 tackles, an interception and a pass deflected in addition to his two fumble returns for touchdowns. Williams has 26 tackles, one sack, one interception and three passes deflected.
More important than those numbers is the impact their presence has had on the rest of the defense.
Finally, the Irish have enough talented one-on-one players to utilize a man-to-man defense.
“Anytime you can get up on people and cover them, there are a lot of things you can do,” Davie said. “This season, we’re able to jump on people.”
In the secondary, Driver and Williams have combined with Ron Israel and Shane Walton, both in their first season as starters, to hold opponents to just 183 passing yards per game, as compared to the 241 yards per game opponents passed for last season.
Notre Dame has not won a game on an opponent’s home field since Nov. 7, 1998, when it claimed a 31-26 victory at Boston College. But the secondary could be able to shut down Mountaineers quarterback Brad Lewis, who has completed just 47 percent of his passes on the season. And a one-dimensional West Virginia offense may be just the antidote the Irish need to cure their road affliction.
“Are we the most talented team? Probably not. But I think we play hard because guys have invested so much,” Davie said. “You talk about the Tony Drivers and the Brock Williams and go all the way down the line with it.”
Having lost his starting quarterback just two games into the season, Davie knows that one player’s absence cannot, and should not, make or break a team.
But after watching him perform at a pep rally late last season, Davie is certain of which stage Driver belongs on.
“We’re coming out of a pep rally. And I look up and there’s somebody dressed like [Flintstones characters] Pebbles and Bam-Bam. It’s Tony Driver,” Davie said. “You talk about breaking your heart. I like him a lot better with that No. 25 on and that helmet on.”
