Irish recruit won’t toe the line
Notre Dame’s top-ranked recruiting class isn’t quite as bulletproof as advertised. Omar Hunter, a defensive tackle from Buford, Ga., ranked No. 53 nationally by Rivals.com, has reneged on his oral commitment and won’t be signing with the Irish in February. “Just watching Notre Dame, their style and how they play it doesn’t really fit with the way I play,” Hunter told ESPN.com in Orlando, where he’ll play in the Under Armour All-America Game on Saturday. “I am not really sure about the coaching staff there, I know they are good guys and I love them, but I am not comfortable with the decision I made.” Hunter said he will now choose between USC, Florida and Auburn.
— Brian Hamilton
NIU’s Kill shares the wealth
Northern Illinois University’s new football coach says he’ll donate $50,000 from his Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award to a cancer fund. Jerry Kill — who won the award for his coaching performance at Southern Illinois University — had a cancerous tumor removed from his kidney in 2006. Kill started the “Coach Kill Cancer Fund” more than a year ago. It provides assistance for cancer patients and has raised more than $150,000. The money will stay at SIU, where Kill spent seven seasons, and be administered by Southern Illinois Healthcare. A director at the hospital system said they are grateful for the donation. He said Kill lives out his mission through actions rather than words.
Peterson joins elite company
Adrian Peterson is impressed. Not so much by his achievements as he ran away with the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting the same way he surged past opposing tacklers this season. What has gotten the attention of the Vikings running back is the company he keeps. “It’s a great honor to join a list with names like those,” he said when told that Jim Brown, Emmitt Smith, Eric Dickerson and Billy Sims also won the award. “They are guys that I looked up to growing up.” Peterson, who set the league mark for rushing in a game with 296 yards in a 35-17 win over San Diego, also had 224 against the Bears. He finished second in the NFL with 1,341 yards, to San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text).
