Trying to Win One for the Tutor

John McLaughlin and Leon Blunt spend most of their nights in a cramped dormitory room studying philosophy, theology and the Notre Dame football playbook until the wee hours.

At times, the academic demands alone have been overwhelming for these 18-year-old freshmen who dream of being standout players for perhaps the nation’s most-storied college football program.

“It’s horrible,” they said during separate interviews.

McLaughlin, from Hart High, and Blunt, from San Fernando, sought the challenge of making the grade at Notre Dame. Neither realized how difficult it would be.

“You feel like giving up sometimes,” said Blunt, a reserve quarterback and wide receiver. “Especially (at) this school. It’s like Harvard.”

Said McLaughlin: “Sometimes the coaches will yell at you and threaten to kick you off the team to make you work harder. That shakes you up. It gets in your head.”

And McLaughlin has had several coaches in his 2 1/2 months in South Bend, Ind. He started at tight end, was switched to wide receiver, then outside linebacker, then free safety. Now he’s back at outside linebacker and plays on the kickoff-coverage team.

“It’s kind of a joke around here,” he said. “People are saying, ‘Are you going to be taking snaps tomorrow?’

“But this is Notre Dame. Coach (Lou) Holtz tends to get everybody uptight and worried about making a mistake. You gotta keep plugging. It’s a pain.”

Both players have been hobbled by injuries. McLaughlin has tendinitis in his right knee. Blunt, who saw minimal action early, missed two games and is still hobbled by an ankle sprain.

But Blunt admits he has been hurting more in the classroom, where he scored badly on his first round of tests.

“My grades ain’t too good now,” he said. “I’ve got tutors. I’m trying to get everything together.”

Blunt’s course load consists of philosophy, theology, English composition and literature, a math-science class and swimming. Blunt said he was forced to take swimming because he failed a swimming test. “But they want me to be an Olympic swimmer.”

Said McLaughlin, who shares classes with Blunt: “The schoolwork has been tougher than anything. High school work was like a joke compared to this.

“I couldn’t wait to leave home. I didn’t think I’d get homesick. But my parents went to the Michigan game. And my brother (Kevin) came to the Stanford game. When they left, I realized I was homesick. It’s horrible.”

But this freshman rite of passage is not without reward. Holtz has his eyes on both players. The Irish keep moving McLaughlin to see where he will best benefit the team next season.

Holtz, at Monday’s press conference, said he might use Blunt as an option quarterback to spark an offense that has sputtered near the goal line in consecutive upset losses to Boston College and Brigham Young.

“I told him I would do whatever to help the team,” Blunt said. “I want to get on the field and do what I can do.”

Three losses this season have taken the Irish out of contention for the national championship, dropped them out of the Top 25 and put added pressure on Holtz.

“After last game (a 21-14 loss to BYU at home), Holtz was devastated,” McLaughlin said. “He didn’t know what to say. He said, ‘I sincerely love each and every one of you. I’m feeling pain right now.’ And he canceled practice Monday.”

But McLaughlin and Blunt said each week loyal fans who flock to the campus strengthen their resolve. Each Friday, the bookstore is jammed with out-of-town folks buying Notre Dame football paraphernalia.

“We come out of our pregame Mass and there are hundreds of them lined up and waiting for us, clapping and cheering,” McLaughlin said. “They’d be behind us if we won only one game a year.”

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Add Irish: A goal by Notre Dame sophomore midfielder Cindy Daws (Louisville High) helped the second-ranked Irish women’s soccer team defeat No. 11 Portland, 2-1, Sunday. Notre Dame (13-0-1) is on a roll, having posted a 6-0-1 record against Top 20 opponents, and Daws is playing well.

She has seven goals and 11 assists after recovering from surgery to repair a broken foot. She suffered the injury in January, had surgery in March because it hadn’t healed properly and had not kicked a soccer ball for nearly nine months before the season.

Daws didn’t score two weeks ago against No. 1 North Carolina, but a 0-0 tie broke the Tar Heels’ streak of 92 consecutive victories.

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Around the country: It is showdown week for No. 18 Utah (6-0) and No. 12 Colorado State (7-0). The winner of Saturday’s game in Fort Collins, Colo., likely will win the Western Athletic Conference championship and a trip to the Holiday Bowl. Colorado State senior fullback Leonice Brown (San Fernando) has gained 466 yards in 60 carries, a team-high average of 7.8 yards a carry.

He rushed for 94 yards in only his second start of the season last week, a 47-9 victory over Texas El Paso. Brown ranks eighth in career rushing at Colorado State with 2,216 yards.

At Utah, senior wide receiver Curtis Marsh (Simi Valley, Moorpark College) ranks third in the WAC in receptions (33) and first in touchdowns (seven). He had five receptions for 51 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown catch, in a 14-3 victory over Hawaii last week.

Senior safety Steve Rudisill (Thousand Oaks) of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo ranks second on the team in tackles with 35. The Mustangs will play Cal State Northridge at 7 p.m. Saturday at North Campus Stadium.

Starting guards Nathan Gibbs (Camarillo) and William Knight (Antelope Valley) helped BYU upset Notre Dame last week. . . . Senior Brad Faunce (Hoover, Glendale College) averages 41.1 yards a punt at Nevada Las Vegas.

Ohio junior running back LaKarlos Townsend (San Fernando) rushed for 117 yards against Miami (Ohio) last week. It was his first 100-yard game of the season. He had 99 against Pittsburgh in the opener.