As a lifelong ND fan, and recent alum of the university, I’ve got a different perspective than others pertaining to the issues of Michael Floyds character and draft status. My freshman year at Notre Dame was 2005. During this period, recruiting became a part of what type of fan I’d become, a ‘recruitnik’ so to speak. I became a regular reader of all things scout and rivals in relation to ND football and the players it was recruiting.

During the years 2005 thru 2010, I came to know many players by reading so much information about them in high-school and also by meeting just about every player throughout my six years at ND (no, didn’t take me 6 years to graduate, earned my B.A & MBA in that period). I wasn’t close friends with every player, but I do have a few that I still keep in contact with, only one is currently in the NFL and one actually had a brief stint in Buffalo, D.J. Fitzpatrick, was a punter in the pre-season and very close friend of mine.

Getting back to the topic for the post, Michael Floyd was a coveted prospect coming out of Cretin-Derham Hall HS in St. Paul, Minnesota. So, naturally I became a regular reader of all things Michael Floyd during the abysmal 2007 season at ND, one thing about him caught my eye and made me really believe that this kid was not only a talented athlete but a great young man. This was a story I’d read about him, Floyd, his mother, and his five siblings were from a rough part of St. Paul. Both he and his mother wanted him to attend CDH for high-school, but due to the fact that it’s one of the top schools in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region and was a private school, it was out of their price range. This school, Cretin-Derham Hall has produced so many top athletes, notable alumni include: Matt Birk, Ryan Harris, Chris Weinke, Joe Mauer among others. The school has an option for someone like Michael Floyd, who didn’t have the money to afford this school, it was a work to study program. Basically, from the article, Floyd would arrive up to two hours before classes started and would help the custodial staff clean along with working at the schools fitness center to help pay for his scholarship. To me, this is the type of example of a kid that has the work ethic and desire to be great. Not only would he be doing his duties in this work study program, he played both football and basketball, excelling in both sports, and worked hard enough to carry a B average and have the grades to get into Notre Dame. This is the kind of stuff that builds character in a young man; he saw an opportunity to become great and used the resources, along with his athletic ability to be an extraordinary player and prospect, receiving offers from Ohio State, Florida, USC, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame.

Now, his alcohol related offenses are obviously a concern. Three offenses are pretty inexcusable, particularly two within a 14 month time frame, and the worst being the one DUI. There’s no way that people wouldn’t be put off by this kind of behavior. Then again I’m of the thought that, he was a college aged kid. Drinking isn’t some uncommon thing for kids in college, even underage, I drank a lot during my time at ND, even before I was 21. I’ve even drank with many ND football players, I’d often buy them shots while telling just about all of them they’d one day be playing for the Bills (most would just laugh and joke around, including Floyd, but only one player literally got PO’d at me from saying that; Kyle Rudolph, not sure why but he was upset, Clausen didn’t like me saying that either, but I digress). I’m about 100 % certain that Floyd doesn’t have an alcohol problem, he just was caught drinking. They’re much worse things that some of these other draft prospects have done to warrant concern, but to totally dismiss a guy off a team’s draft board for being caught drinking just doesn’t seem logical. Like I said, it’s definitely a concern a about his character, especially if you don’t know anything else about him, which is why I wanted to write this post, to show people that, yes, he has had issues, but I think he’s a hard working kid, who’s dedicated to becoming great.

Honestly, back in February, I’d never considered Floyd to be a possible pick by the Bills; I would’ve slotted him to go in the mid to late first round, likely at 19 to the Bears. But due to his good showing at the combine, (a 40 time that shows he has great speed 4.47) he has jumped up the draft boards and now looks to be considered as a possible selection for the Bills. Even for me, a huge ND fan, I’m still not sure I’d want him to be the Bills selection @ 10, I still have others who I’ve liked for a while, I’m just coming around to him being the pick the last few weeks. I figured I’d write this article to show him in a different light in regards to his character, which seems to be his biggest knock on him.

Here’s a link to the story about him I referenced earlier (from 2007) http://www.startribune.com/sports/preps/11656271.html?page=2&c=y