IRISH INSIDER:Moving from an earthquake to a rumble
BY ANDREW SOUKUP
Sports Writer
Carlos Pierre-Antoine's arrival at Notre Dame caused an earthquake. His departure will barely make a tremor.
What happened to cause one of the most heavily recruited high school athletes to essentially become a four-year special teams player, Pierre-Antoine doesn't know. He only understands that he tried his hardest, yet never emerged as a regular in the Irish lineup.
"It was frustrating," he said. "I want to get out there and I want to play, but you have to do whatever the coaches think is best, and what the coaches thought was best was for me to get behind my teammates."
Coming out of high school in Seattle, virtually every major recruiting service listed Pierre-Antoine as one of the top linebackers in the nation. He earned MVP honors in the Seattle Metro League twice, captained his team twice, and finished with 105 tackles his senior year.
When the Irish landed Pierre-Antoine, he was seen as one of the crown jewels in a recruiting class that eventually produced seven NFL draft picks. But even as NFL teams placed calls to his classmates last spring, Pierre-Antoine ferociously battled to earn a starting spot.
At times, Pierre-Antoine admitted the hype got to him and affected his adjustment to college. He sat out his entire freshman year to preserve a year of eligibility and to adjust to college life, a decision he hoped would prepare him for future greatness.
The decision appeared to pay off his sophomore year when he appeared on defense in all 12 of Notre dame's games, recording a career-high 19 tackles that season.
But Pierre-Antoine started to feel the pressure the spring after his sophomore season, when he battled his good friend Tyreo Harrison for a starting linebacker job — a decision Pierre-Antoine thinks was already made before the spring.
"I think he was going to start anyway, they were just doing that to get him fired up," he said. "So I'd try to help him out as best I could, that was my role."
That spring seemed to be the defining point in Pierre-Antoine's career, a point that epitomized the struggle he went through trying to carve out a spot on the team. Harrison moved into the starting lineup, while Pierre-Antoine moved to the special teams unit.
He had another chance this fall to earn a starting position again, but Derek Curry beat out Pierre-Antoine, sending the fifth-year senior back to the special teams unit.
Pierre-Antoine isn't bitter toward Bob Davie's coaching staff for keeping him on the sidelines, nor is he bitter toward Tyrone Willingham's staff for deciding to keep him there again. Although he briefly thought of transferring, he wanted to stay in South Bend to get a Notre Dame degree. In the meantime, he was left wondering why he stayed on the sideline.
"I don't know what it was," he said. "I guess its that the coaches felt the other person can get the job done better than I can."
Notre Dame's success this season has made Pierre-Antoine's season go a little easier. He gets his satisfaction in small bursts, mostly from making huge hits on special teams.
He had his moment in the spotlight against Florida State when he drilled a kickoff returner and caused a fumble, helping Notre Dame to a 34-24 victory.
What lies ahead for Pierre-Antoine, he doesn't quite know. He got his degree in Sociology and computer applications last year, and is working on an education minor. After college, with the NFL out of the picture, Pierre-Antoine wants to explore the possibility of playing football at some level. If that doesn't work out, he plans to get a Masters in social work.
Even now, at the end of his college career, Pierre-Antoine isn't sure how he'll look back on his football days at Notre Dame. Disappointment is a word he frequently uses, yet his experience in South Bend taught him football isn't everything.
"You can say that about a lot of people, that they came in [and] didn't do what was expected in college," he said. "There are different situations, you want to come in and play, and I wish I could have done the same.
"But this is the plan God has for me, and I'm going to do the best I can and go in the direction I'm going to go."
All Sports Stories for Friday, November 22, 2002
