From The Chicago Tribune
Michael Floyd returned to Notre Dame this winter after lukewarm NFL evaluations, vowing to prove himself the best receiver in the country. He had every school record in sight, a team MVP award and a celebrated work ethic that led to an appointment as a team captain for the 2011 season.
Monday, Floyd eyes a future far more ominously clouded. The Irish’s leading receiver is suspended indefinitely from football-related activities after a weekend arrest for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, an incident that could mean the end of his Irish career.
Prosecutors charged Floyd with OWI, a Class A misdemeanor, following an arrest early Sunday. Floyd allegedly ran a stop sign while driving a white Cadillac and then registered a blood-alcohol content of .19, according to documents released Monday.
This follows Floyd’s January 2010 citation in lieu of arrest for underage drinking in Minneapolis. And that means his fate likely rests with Notre Dame’s disciplinary arm, the Office of Residence Life, which could issue a penalty such as a semester dismissal — ending the receiver’s senior season before it started.
“Football needs to take a back seat at the moment while Michael gets his life in order,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said in a statement. “While I don’t know when Michael will be reinstated, it will not happen until Michael demonstrates he has successfully modified his behavior and the legal and university disciplinary matters have run their respective courses.”
Floyd also issued a statement, apologizing and accepting Kelly’s suspension.
“I understand the gravity of the decision I made and how it could have had catastrophic effects on myself and others,” Floyd said. “I absolutely recognize that I have many things to work on to become a better person and will need to regain the trust of all whom I have hurt.”
According to prosecutors, Notre Dame police witnessed a white Cadillac run a stop sign early Sunday morning. After being pulled over, Floyd failed three field sobriety tests and registered a .19 on the breath test, more than twice the Indiana legal limit of .08.
Precedents for Notre Dame players with two alcohol-related legal run-ins do not bode well for Floyd. Will Yeatman, a tight end and lacrosse player, transferred to Maryland after two 2008 suspensions — one after an underage consumption arrest and one following an OWI arrest, the same infractions Floyd committed.
Notre Dame’s Office of Residence Life has been under new leadership since longtime student affairs Vice President Bill Kirk was fired last summer. Whether Floyd benefits from leniency instead of the notoriously harsh sanctions levied in the past remains to be seen.
According to the Notre Dame student handbook, if Floyd is found to have committed a “second offense” of the intoxication policy, the Office of Residence Life will “separate the student from the University for at least one academic semester.”
Floyd is the school’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions with 28 and ranks second in school history in catches (171) and third in receiving yards (2,539).
He strongly considered bypassing his senior season, but a third-round draft projection from the NFL Advisory Committee convinced him to return. He was expected to bolster Notre Dame as it built on a four-game winning streak and aimed for a BCS bid this fall.
If Floyd cannot play, he could enter the NFL’s supplemental draft — if there is one. He could wait until 2012 to be drafted without having stepped on the field since New Year’s Eve 2010. Suddenly, Floyd has options — just none of them good anymore.
