To the surprise of no one, Dayne Crist will be in a different uniform come next season.
On Sunday, the University of Notre Dame granted the senior quarterback the chance to talk to other schools about where he wants to play football in 2012 for his last year of eligibility. Crist will then ask the university to be released from his scholarship, which Notre Dame will no doubt grant whenever he asks.
Highly-touted coming out Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, CA, Crist never came close to living up to his huge potential while in South Bend. The 22-year-old would sit behind starter Jimmy Clausen for his first two years of college and in the brief minutes that he played against Washington State in 2009, he tore his ACL.
Despite the injury, Crist became ND’s starter under center in 2010 when Brian Kelly took over as head coach. In the starter’s role, Crist would complete 59 percent of his throws, passing for more than 2,000 yards and throwing 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The injury bug would hit Crist once again though in a game against Tulsa, which ended his season.
This season, Crist would once again find himself the starter at QB despite another significant injury. Kelly would give his senior a very short leash this time around and Crist would be pulled after the first half of the game against South Florida. He would see a couple of more snaps during the season, including a costly a fumble against USC when Notre Dame was inside the Trojans five and about to tie up the game.
Even though Crist failed to live up to the lofty expectations that many Irish fans set out for him, you have to applaud the hard work that Crist put in while in South Bend. To come back from two very serious injuries and become the starter both times, just shows you the dedication and the work ethic that the young man put in.
Unfortunately, his lasting legacy at Notre Dame will be that fumble in the SC game.
Where Crist will play next season is anyone’s guess at this point. There have been rumors that he could go back home to play in California and rumors in recent days have heated up about him going to Wisconsin.
Wherever he plays, I will be rooting for him. He was an ideal student and player while he was in South Bend. When he lost his job earlier this season, he could have easily complained and pouted, but instead continued to work hard in practice and be somewhat of a mentor to Tommy Rees.
Best of luck next season, Dayne. You deserve to be a starter somewhere and win lots of football games in final season of college season. Lets just hope one of those doesn’t come against the Irish.
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I was 100% supporting Charlie Weis at ND.. as head coach.. Dayne Crist might look into Kansas where Weis will be the new head football coach… I think Weis has nerves of steel … ,, I wish I had that ! jack