He Calls Many His Brother

They named him John Shaft Covington.

John Shaft, after the tough guy played by Richard Roundtree in the movies and praised in song by Isaac Hayes.

“Who is the man “Who would risk his neck “For his brother man? “Shaft! “John Shaft!” Only he doesn’t use his whole name, now that he’s starting at strong safety for the Notre Dame football team. He’s plain old John Covington, a 6-foot-1, 211-pound senior from Winter Haven, Fla.

John’s got a lot on his mind. There’s Saturday’s game here against USC. The big date with Florida State is Nov. 13.

A week later, the regular season will end with a game against Boston College. So, John won’t be playing any more football until the New Year.

Leaving the holidays in between.

Thanksgiving.

Christmas.

Oh, how John Shaft Covington always hated the holidays.

“I used to hate Christmas and my birthday in particular,” he says. “My parents were so poor, they had nothing to give. I’d have to sit and listen to how much my friends got.”

Why were they poor?

Because they had 20 children, that’s why.

That’s right, John Covington is one of 20 kids. He’s the fifth-youngest of the brood. They range in age from 38 to 10.

And they’re still poor.

That’s why he plays so hard. That’s why he would like to be drafted by the pros, the way his cousin, Tony, also a safety, was last season at Virginia, taken in the fourth round by Tampa Bay.

This is why John Shaft risks his neck.

For his brothers. For his sisters.

“I’m the savior for my family,” Covington says. “They’re all counting on me to help them out of their poverty.

“That’s pressure. That’s a lot of pressure. The way I deal with it is to just block it out. If I carried that around with me, I wouldn’t make it.”

He keeps trying so hard. Five tackles against Northwestern. Six against Michigan. Seven against Purdue.

That’s also why he shouts so loud. Louder than anyone else on the field.

To make himself heard over everybody else.

Family life was like that. Loud. Frenzied. So much so that when John came home late, nobody noticed.

He began hanging out with some bad people. Older dudes. They would end up in jail. John avoided that, and good thing, he says.

“My dad ever found out, he’d have put me in the hospital.”

But for his natural parents, it all became too much.

Then, along came Karen and Sam Smith. Their son was a friend of Covington’s from the seventh grade.

The Smiths invited John to come live with them. Their boys had a lot in common, everything but their skin color.

John’s parents were against it. They weren’t sure they wanted their son living with whites.

Sam Smith understood. So, he did something about it.

Covington says, “Every day, my white dad would remind me to go home and see my mama.”

Calm and order came to his life. He loved his brothers and sisters, but there were just so many.

At Winter Haven High, he became a leader. Captain of the football squad. Captain of the basketball squad.

When a recruiter, Vinny Cerrato, called to inquire about Covington’s possibly attending Notre Dame, John knew what he had to do.

Hang up the phone.

He thought it was one of his friends, playing a joke.

Once everything was straightened out, Covington wondered what Indiana was like and if he would fit in. He did. Played all 12 games as a freshman. Played in the Orange Bowl, back home in Florida.

As a sophomore, he tried different positions. Free safety. Even some linebacker. He made five tackles against USC, nine against Stanford, 11 against Hawaii. Played in the Sugar Bowl.

As a junior, he experimented some more. Got some work at defensive end. Returned to safety and made 13 tackles against Brigham Young. Played in the Cotton Bowl.

He plays hard.

Plays hard because it means so much to him.

Every game, Covington goes out there as though his entire future depends on it. A lot of futures.

He is asked the most important thing he has learned since coming to Notre Dame.

“Nothing’s free,” he says.