IRISH INSIDER: Linebacker plays football while keeping promise
By JASON McFARLEY
Sports Writer
It took Charles Hedman seven years and 100 pounds to make good on his final pledge to his father. An opportune coaching change didn't hurt either.
Then Hedman's yearning to keep his promise kicked in at the right time, too.
"I wanted to wait until all the circumstances were perfect to try out for the football team," said Hedman, now a senior walk-on.
Making the team this fall fulfilled the promise to play college ball that he made to his dad before his death in 1995. Keeping his word has today literally made Hedman twice the man he was then as a high school freshman.
The Mishawaka native stood 6-foot-1 — his current height — but weighed a scrawny 120 pounds when he played football and basketball at St. Joseph's High School. Now a 220-pound mass of muscles and fiery red hair, Hedman is a fraction of his former self.
The guy who 100 pounds ago scrambled around the field as a safety now delivers punishing hits as an outside linebacker on the scout team. He benches 370 pounds and squats almost four times his high school weight.
The transformation began when Hedman entered Notre Dame in 1999. With the promise to his father in mind, Hedman knew a 120-pound frame wouldn't fly in the college ranks. He started building a football body.
"I ate right and lifted every day," he said. "I gained most of the weight in a year's time."
By his sophomore year, Hedman had the body but didn't feel ready to try out. He spent three years at Notre Dame before finally giving tryouts even a second thought last winter. Hedman was in fact waiting for the perfect time to live up to his word.
Enter Tyrone Willingham in January.
"As soon as he was hired, I made up my mind to go out for the team," said Hedman, who lives off-campus this year. "With the reputation Coach Willingham came in with, I knew I wanted to play for him. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here."
And of course, Hedman is happy to be where he is.
Practices are tough, he said, but nothing that he didn't expect. The camaraderie among players makes the experience worthwhile for him. When Hedman needs extra motivation, he thinks of the years-old promise to his father.
"Playing has been better than you could ever expect. I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world," he said.
Life outside of football is good, too. The 21-year-old political science major is headed to Harvard next fall to pursue a law degree and MBA.
Hedman promises he's ready for the challenge of an Ivy League classroom; a season on the Notre Dame gridiron has prepared him for anything. If his latest promise is anything like the one he made all those years ago, expect him to make good on this one as well.
All Sports Stories for Friday, November 22, 2002
