Duckett's Spartan performance causes Notre Dame headaches
Tim Casey
Assistant Sports Editor
We know him as the SI guy.
In April, this campus, Notre Dame alumni and the sporting nation were all abuzz about the Sports Illustrated article questioning whether Irish football was dead.
The headline of the 11-page spread read: "Irish Stew: How strong academic requirements, a suicidal schedule and an unproven coach have taken the fight out of Notre Dame." The piece devoted over 800 words at the beginning to a high school running back from Michigan and his father, who explained his son's January 1999 meeting with Dan Saracino, the assistant provost for enrollment.
"[Saracino] assumed that my son wasn't intelligent enough to get through his school," the father said in the article. "He told me, `We don't have basket-weaving at Notre Dame.'"
We all know the rest, that the player had not taken pre-calculus, that Saracino denied the basket-weaving reference and that there were other recruits who believed Notre Dame's admissions policies hindered the Irish's on-field success.
In newspapers, classrooms, bars and around the water cooler at work, the anti-Notre Dame sentiment, always strong, grew larger.
But, for now, the most pertinent words of that article were "Notre Dame didn't formally reject T.J., because he never formally applied."
On Saturday, T.J. Duckett will mean more to Irish fans than a prime example of why their beloved team has not been a serious title contender since 1993.
As Michigan State's starting running back, arguably the nation's best back, Duckett poses a much stiffer challenge.
"I've played against almost all of [the best running backs]," Coach Bob Davie said this week. "Bo Jackson, Herschel Walker, George Rogers, Eric Dickerson. [Duckett] is a unique combination of that kind of size and that kind of sprinter's ability."
Strong words for a sophomore with 177 career carries. Yet, the aforementioned size (6-foot-2 and 252 pounds), speed (4.45 seconds in the 40 and 10.9 in the 100), strength (bench pressing 505 pounds) and instincts pose a dangerous threat to any defense.
Duckett should know.
He was an All-American linebacker at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, recording 102 tackles and nine sacks as a senior. And when he wasn't wreaking havoc in the opposing team's backfield, Duckett was part of Loy Norrix's option attack as a quarterback.
Duckett teamed alongside running back Little John Flowers, his current Spartan teammate, to form a high school version reminiscent of Nebraska's mid-1990s duo of Tommie Frazier and Lawrence Phillips.
When it came time to decide on college, coaches saw Duckett as a future Lawrence. Not Phillips but Taylor.
Except for Davie.
The Irish compared Duckett to former star Jerome Bettis and knew the quarterback could excel a few more feet behind center.
"What we see now is what we envisioned him being," Davie said. "That's why we were in the hunt to recruit him."
Duckett's version of the infamous recruitment, circa Sept. 19, 2000, offers an opposing view.
"At the time, linebacker was what I really wanted to play," Duckett said. "Even though, I wanted to play [tailback] too. But Notre Dame wasn't going to give me the opportunity to play linebacker at all. And Michigan State would let me play both and by my sophomore year I could decide what position I wanted to stay at."
He began last year alternating between running back and linebacker before switching to offense full-time in the second half of the season. Duckett gained 606 yards and scored 10 touchdowns for the 10-2 Spartans but by the Citrus Bowl his weight increased to 275 pounds.
In the off-season, Duckett dieted and ran to help get back to his current playing weight.
"Say we ran ten sprints, afterward I'd try to run five or six extras," Duckett said. "I would try to do extra things that would help me lose that weight and gain my speed and endurance."
Besides the extra conditioning, Duckett also dealt with the death of his mother, Jacquelyn Barham. After six years with lymphoma cancer, Barham passed away on March 17.
"I feel that if I have any questions, I can ask her," Duckett said. "Even though I don't get a response, I know what she would say back to me. I'm dedicating this year to her."
Thus far, Mrs. Barham must be pleased with her son's performance. He has gained 350 yards and scored two touchdowns in two games for No. 23 Michigan State. And, if he continues his pace, Duckett may pass a familiar name on Spartans all-time rushing lists. His brother, Tico's 1,394 yards in 1990 are fifth-best in school history and his 4,212 career yards are the second-highest total for a Michigan State runner.
"He can end up being one of the great backs," Davie said of T.J. "He has got a lot of ability."
Duckett's no longer the SI guy.
At least for this weekend.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Sports Stories for Friday, September 22, 2000
