Ale Turns In His Blue Notre Dame Jersey to Redshirt at UCLA

When Arnold Ale signed a letter of intent with Notre Dame in February, 1988, it was a traumatic experience for the former Carson High football star.

With tears in his eyes, Ale reluctantly told USC Coach Larry Smith of his last-minute decision. Everyone knew that Ale wanted to go to USC, but when it came time to sign he bowed to parental advice and committed to Notre Dame.

Reports of outside influence again cropped up this week after a homesick Ale dropped out of Notre Dame and announced he was transferring to UCLA.

Did the fact that USC is on Notre Dame’s schedule, while UCLA is not, have anything to do with Ale choosing the Bruins instead of the Trojans?

Notre Dame denies it, and Ale put the debate to rest Wednesday by signing a financial aid package with UCLA and practicing with other incoming Bruin players.

“This is where I want to be,” he told Marc Dellins, UCLA’s sports information director.

A Notre Dame official denied that the school had influenced Ale’s choice before it would grant him a release.

“If a student-athlete contacts us about wanting to transfer, we’re not out to make their life miserable,” said Melissa Conboy, Notre Dame assistant athletic director. “We would have granted him a release to USC as well.”

Proving Conboy’s point, Notre Dame granted USC’s request Wednesday to talk to Ale, although it became a dead issue after Ale practiced with UCLA.

Under NCAA rules, an athlete on scholarship must be released by a school before he or she can receive immediate financial aid from another university. If Ale had left Notre Dame without getting released, he could attend another university but could not receive financial aid for a year.

Asked what he would have done if Notre Dame had refused UCLA’s request to approach him, Ale said: “I’d probably be (at Notre Dame) right now.”

Ale, a rangy linebacker who was the only freshman defensive starter for last season’s national champions, will redshirt this season and have three years of eligibility left starting in 1990.

Titus Tuiasosopo, a redshirt freshman center at USC and Ale’s former rival at Banning High, said he hoped his cousin is making the right decision.

“If it’s UCLA, I hope it’s Arnold who wants UCLA,” he said. “He made one wrong choice already. I don’t want him to make another one, because I love him like a brother.”

Tuiasosopo said he and Ale frequently worked out at USC this summer, but he was unaware that Ale was serious about transferring.

Folks at USC were also caught off guard.

“We were surprised,” said USC sports information director Tim Tessalone. “Our coaches were not aware of him transferring.”

Everything appeared normal when Ale reported to Notre Dame on Aug. 7 after spending the summer with his family in Carson. But after only a few days back in South Bend, Ale said he realized he wanted to come home.

He contacted UCLA assistant coach Greg Robinson and expressed an interest in transferring to the Westwood campus. Ale said Robinson responded by saying the Bruins would like to have him.

“Nobody knew about it,” Ale said. “I didn’t want to tell anybody. It was a decision I had to make. I thought things over.

“Nothing really soured me on Notre Dame. It’s a great school. I came back because I missed home and my family. Having a whole summer here had a big part in my decision. Maybe if I didn’t stay here the whole summer, I wouldn’t have come back.”

However, Tuiasosopo said Ale felt alienated at Notre Dame.

“Every time we called him, he was having problems dealing with being away from home,” Tuiasosopo said. “He said once the season finished nobody knew who he was anymore. There was nothing going on there in the off-season.

“They had one dance club and one theater in the city, but there was no place to go. Coming from L.A. to a place like that, it would be hard.”

Ale said the hardest part about leaving Notre Dame was breaking the news to his coaches and teammates.

“At first they were disappointed,” he said. “I can understand their feelings. From a coaching standpoint they were disappointed, but from a personal standpoint they understood where I was coming from. It was the same with the players.”

George Kelly, an assistant to the athletic director, was one of the first Notre Dame officials to learn that Ale wanted to transfer.

“Naturally I was taken aback by the fact that he wanted to leave,” Kelly said. “I learned that UCLA had called for his release. I went over to the practice field and told (Coach) Lou Holtz. From there, the athletic department did everything to accommodate the young man. We harbor no animosities.”

Ale, a 6-foot-4, 211-pound outside linebacker, had a fabulous freshman season for the Fighting Irish. He played in all 12 games and started the last four. He said he would have started again had he stayed.

“I don’t blame anybody for questioning my decision, because I had a great year,” he said. “People ask, ‘Why does he want to throw it away?’ Hopefully I can accomplish here what I did there.”

Ale has been a dominant defensive player since his days at Carson High under Coach Gene Vollnogle. He was named to the All-L.A. City team as a senior in 1987 and holds school records for most sacks (24), most tackles for losses (48) and most tackle yards for losses (251) in a career.

After establishing his collegiate career and contributing to a national championship as a freshman, Ale says he is anxious to start over at a new school in his hometown.

“It will be tough sitting out, but it’s something I knew I had to go through,” he said. “I think it will benefit me. It will give me a chance to put on a few pounds and work on some things.

“I have a lot to prove to everyone.”