SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis uses all sorts of words to describe safety David Bruton.
A freak of nature because of his athleticism. A good leader. A hard worker.
Just don’t ask him to call Bruton the fastest player on the team.
Weis has repeatedly referred to receiver Golden Tate as the team’s fastest runner, even though Tate confirms that Bruton, a sprinter at heart, beat him in the 40-yard dash this summer. Bruton said Notre Dame coaches won’t believe him.
“I’ve tried. I’ve pleaded my case,” said Bruton, whose third cousin is Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay.
Weis, though, isn’t buying it.
“When you see David this week, you tell him he’s now a football player that used to run track,” Weis joked.
a pass, Bruton not only made a key block that helped spring McNeil for the 43-yard return, Bruton raced back down the field, caught up with McNeil and recovered the ball when McNeil fumbled. Weis said it was an effort typical of Bruton.
“Even though he didn’t make the interception, there he is down the field,” Weis said.
Bruton also came up with an interception with 21 seconds left in regulation in a game the Irish lost 36-33 in four overtimes. He led the Irish with a career-high 16 tackles and had a pass breakup in the end zone in the fourth quarter. Bruton is second on the team with 73 tackles this season and has a team-high three interceptions.
He also has come up with some key plays. With San Diego State about to score in the season opener, Bruton jarred the ball loose and recovered it in the end zone to help the Irish rally to a victory. Against Michigan, Bruton forced a fumble at the Irish 5-yard line and later had an interception at their 5.
“He’s just the type of guy he’s always thinking about the next play, thinking about how he’s going to make the next play, about the next competition he’s going to be in,” defensive coordinator Corwin Brown said. “He never backs down from a challenge.”
Bruton, though, concedes there was a time he wondered whether playing college football was for him. When he arrived at Notre Dame he was content to be a special teams player. That changed when his son, Jaden, was born in 2005.
Playing behind Chinedum Ndukwe and Tom Zbikowski as a sophomore, he wasn’t sure he’d ever get on the field. He was struggling with school and he missed his son at home in Miamisburg, Ohio.
He thought maybe he’d be better off returning home, going to community college and working to help support his son. His parents and teammates, though, persuaded him to stay at Notre Dame.
“I realized being here and being able to get a degree from here and possibly play in the NFL can do exponentially so much more for my son than what I would have been able to if I left,” he said.
Weis said when NFL scouts talk with him, inevitably Bruton is the first player they ask about. Brown said the 6-foot-2, 212-pound Bruton will be attractive to NFL teams because he is smart, he can play on all the special teams and he’s a good athlete, with a 41.5-inch vertical leap.
Bruton said his son, who turns 3 on Sunday, has inspired him to be a better player.
“He’s my motivation,” Bruton said.
Bruton keeps a picture of his son in his locker, in his wallet and on the dashboard. He also has his son’s name tattooed on his left shoulder. Before every game he taps his chest and his shoulder and points to the sky, his way of saying: “Thank you for my son and everything you’ve given me.”
On his right shoulder, Bruton has a tattoo of Jesus crying, with the tears falling on the Earth, with the words: “Those who sow in tears will reap the songs of joy.”
“It kind of shows how real men cry. Real men are caring. Real men are strong. At times I’m emotional because of my son,” Bruton said. “It’s just something to remind me to stay strong, stay true. And just because you tear up doesn’t mean you’re any less of a man.”
His goal this weekend is to deliver his son the birthday gift of a win over Boston College.
“I want to bring him a win and a whole bunch of gifts I just got him,” Bruton said.
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