Aug. 9, 2014
CULVER, Ind. – Four weeks of preseason camp can get pretty monotonous in college football where schools are not allowed to have any outside scrimmages or joint practices like in the NFL. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly found a way to mix things up a little on Friday when he decided to neither walk across campus to Culver Academies’ Oliver Field nor ride there in a golf cart.
Kelly saddled up one of Culver’s famed black horses, a mare fittingly named “Patton” for the Notre Dame leader’s grand entrance, and galloped onto the field for practice. The stunt caught the team and most of the support staff completely off guard and produced a great moment of levity that all on site enjoyed. Kelly’s equestrian entrance also became a viral hit nationally on the internet with nearly every major sports media outlet picking up on the mid-morning ride of coach Kelly, including ESPN’s flagship SportsCenter.
After Sheldon Day and Nick Martin partook in a great Culver tradition of firing off an artillery cannon to wake up their teammates at 7 a.m., the Irish held their first full-pads practice of camp at Culver, enjoyed one last lunch in Culver’s timeless dining hall and then boarded busses back home to South Bend, concluding a productive week of off-site camp. The team held its evening meetings back in the familiar confines of the Guglielmino Athletics Complex and then settled back into on-campus dormitories to rest up for Saturday when the Irish will conduct the first two-a-day session of 2014’s preseason camp.
“We’re at Culver Academies and they’ve got one of the greatest equestrian programs in the country,” Kelly told Jack Nolan of Fighting Irish Digital Media after practice. “I thought it would be fitting that the head coach would represent that. We’re playing two teams that feature a horse prominently as their mascots, Florida State (Renegade) and USC (Traveller), and we need to beat both of them. It was a way for me to remind our guys that’s coming real soon.
“You come out on the fifth day and you know your guys are tired and sore, but you want to lighten it up a little bit. I think we lightened it up a little bit for them, but we also know that there’s work time too. They want to see the human side of you as you’re grinding them and trying to get them to be the best they can be. It’s important to show there’s a lighter side to you as well.”
STRONG AND TRUE UPDATE: Jess Atkinson of 3 Penny Films is once again documenting Notre Dame’s preseason camp for a Strong and True program that will air on the NBC Sports Network at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 25. On Friday, Atkinson was up bright and early for the thunder of the cannons. He then got footage of coach Kenny on his horse along with the team’s hard-hitting first practice in full pads.
Honored that @slmandel picked @CoachBrianKelly for his first @foxsports sit down interview. Airs in a couple weeks. pic.twitter.com/CAAkTL2SCC
– Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 9, 2014
And then… Brian Kelly arrived at @NDFootball practice on a horse http://t.co/VL1TwsiRNZ via @LTorbin pic.twitter.com/8PeJVtYzys
– NCAA Football (@NCAAFootball) August 9, 2014
We had a wonderful week at Culver, but it’s also great to be moving back into our home at the Gug. pic.twitter.com/SoWHMfSa3M
– Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 8, 2014
You’ve been waiting for it all day, here’s the video of @CoachBrianKelly riding a horse to practice, via @WatchND: http://t.co/z2sXGmaEqP
– Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 8, 2014
@FOXSportsLive @CFBONFOX @CoachBrianKelly @LTorbin Coach did say need to bigger up front
– Mike Stillion (@prescottdevil) August 9, 2014
So Brian Kelly rode a horse to #NotreDame practice today and Jimbo Fisher killed a bat at #FSU‘s. You know who can’t wait for Oct. 18? PETA.
– Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) August 8, 2014
Thanks to Head of Schools John Buxton and the @CulverAcademies staff for being wonderful hosts this week. #GoEagles pic.twitter.com/J4W2YZzfax
– Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 8, 2014
First day in full pads means first day with an officiating crew at practice. #CampCulver pic.twitter.com/3Pl9PNfBsP
– Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 8, 2014
“@SportsCenter: Notre Dame HC Brian Kelly rides into practice on a horse. (via @LTorbin) pic.twitter.com/nNXFAV0DTY” Culver makes ESPN
– Matt Tresslar (@MattyTress_1) August 8, 2014
“@FOXSportsLive: @CoachBrianKelly arrived at practice today on a horse. (via @LTorbin) pic.twitter.com/GmZFnAujUs” > Your move, Jason Garrett.
– Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) August 8, 2014
#22Days RT @MollyMo32: Just sittin here waiting for football season to start. @gamedayND @CoachBrianKelly #goirish pic.twitter.com/5DHtrPaqgd
– Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 8, 2014
Talk about making an entrance! @CoachBrianKelly arrived at practice today on a horse. (via @LTorbin) #NotreDame pic.twitter.com/kM4chgason
– FOX Sports Live (@FOXSportsLive) August 8, 2014
So @CoachBrianKelly arrived to practice on a horse today (via @LTorbin). pic.twitter.com/erV7WyJY9U
– College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 8, 2014
A season of unbridled optimism! RT @LTorbin: Coach Kelly made quite the entrance today. pic.twitter.com/KgCHGX9kcw
– Carl Deffenbaugh (@CarlDeff) August 8, 2014
https://t.co/GIAlSqTclI RT @BGInews: Recent developments make our preview issue cover line seem almost prescient. pic.twitter.com/W8cTA09esA
– Andrew Owens (@BGI_AndrewOwens) August 8, 2014
@Matt_Fortuna @LTorbin “Outlined against a blue sky, the One Horseman rode again…”
– John Walters (@jdubs88) August 8, 2014
Is it too much to ask to just skip games and have coaches re-enact Full Metal Jousting instead? RT @LTorbin: pic.twitter.com/kpCiS9y629
– Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) August 8, 2014
Neigh. RT @LTorbin: Coach Kelly made quite the entrance today. More to come later today via @NDFootball and @WatchND… pic.twitter.com/8lI8yDRhy4
– Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) August 8, 2014
somebody get Barry Gallup another year of eligibility stat plz RT @LTorbin Coach Kelly made quite the entrance today.pic.twitter.com/KrGvGLaG4o
– Brian Hamilton (@BrianHamiltonSI) August 8, 2014
The Fifth Horseman.”@LTorbin: Coach Kelly made quite the entrance today. NDFootball and @WatchND… pic.twitter.com/K9tCdAIvRs“
– Bob Wieneke (@BobWienekeNDI) August 8, 2014
BK, that’s our mane man! MT @LTorbin: Coach Kelly made quite the entrance today. pic.twitter.com/SXVQ4jkEAO
– ND Club of Miami (@NDMiami) August 8, 2014
“Our mane goal today is to prove the neigh-sayers wrong.” RT @LTorbin: Coach Kelly made quite the entrance today. pic.twitter.com/Wl8ZfdvaLl
– JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) August 8, 2014
A little horsing around on the last day of camp? RT @LTorbin Coach Kelly made quite the entrance today. pic.twitter.com/6V1ivQYO2W
– Pete Byrne (@PeteByrneWSBT) August 8, 2014
Sheldon Day & Nick Martin got to wake up their teammates in @CulverAcademies tradition this morning…with a cannon! https://t.co/BdRobdoTbQ
– Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 8, 2014