Bulking up, diving in :ND junior Sam Young expects grueling summer ...

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Weis explained the concept last Friday at Media Day to a partiallyskeptical, definitely overflow gathering, clearly but notsuccinctly.

It was a concept passed down from one of his mentors, BillParcells, and had to do with opening weekend at the Jersey Shore,when the air temperature was typically 90 degrees per Weis' memoryand the water about 40 degrees cooler.

"So there are two types of people that would go to the beach thatweekend," Weis said. "One group of people would go up there, puttheir toe in the water and say, 'Oh, I just don't know if I can dothat.' And they'd walk in a little bit, and walk in a little bit,and most of them would then return to their suntan oil or lotionand go lay back down on the beach.

"Then you'd have those loony tunes that would just throw theirstuff down and just go running into the water and just 'Dive RightIn.' Basically, the whole thought methodology with our team iswe're looking for players that want to 'Dive Right In.' I'm notlooking for toe-in-the-water type of players."

Young clearly is not the latter. Before he got around to pushingaround weights on campus this summer, he was getting pushed aroundby personal trainer Pete Bommarito back in South Florida during hissupposed May/June "vacation."

"Don't ask me how to spell his last name," Young said of Bommarito."I just called him 'Pete the ...' "

Well, Young claims it's a term of endearment, even though mosteditors might not see it that way. Suffice to say that Young didtake the dive and then some.

Bommarito works at a facility called "Perfect Competition" inDavie, Fla. NFLers — like Samari Rolle, Plaxico Burress andFred Taylor — and professional athletes from the NHL alsoworked out there too.

The bounce from that association wasn't being able to name drop. Itwas to see where the bar really should be set. Young took specialinspiration from San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore, whohas excelled through injuries and personal tragedies to become anelite player at his position.

"You talk about a guy who's had to battle back from adversity,"Young said. "You won't find a harder worker. It's a privilege to beable to train with them (the NFL players). I try to learn from them— been there, done that, you know. I just try to take some ofthat experience."

Young had to battle through his own private hell last fall, not tomention the very public humiliation of ND's 3-9 season and beingpart of an offensive line that set a new NCAA nadir for sacks (58).

A right wrist injury rendered him essentially one-handed in termsof pushing off for most of the season. Then a chronic foot injurylimited his explosion. All the while a hectic schedule and thecampus dining hall food designed for someone half his size made itdifficult for Young to keep weight on.

In fact, Young was shedding it so rapidly in one stretch thatYoung's father, Tom, jokingly suggested his son slip a roll ofquarters in his underwear to make the mandatory minimum weight thatthe Irish coaching staff had set for him at his weekly weigh-ins.

"Hey," the elder Young said, "who was going to check?"

It was about that time Sam Young bounced out of bed extra early onemorning and over to Weis' office at the Guglielmino AthleticsComplex and pointedly asked his coach how one goes about being aleader.

In May and early June, Young demonstrated he was paying attentionduring that conversation. He asked Bommarito to analyze hisweaknesses, and Pete the ... obliged.

"He definitely knew what buttons to push," Young said.

One of the buttons was having Young walk around the outside of theexpansive Perfect Competition building seven times dragging a sledloaded with weight with the unforgiving Florida sun smacking him inthe face.

"And Pete's barking at your rear end the whole time," Young added.

Then Young showed up for summer school and got to have Irishstrength and conditioning coordinator Ruben Mendoza do the barking.

"I think the whole offensive line recognized we needed to getbetter and everything that entails," Young said.

The cautionary tale here is that "9-3 isn't good enough" and "Thisis not a rebuilding year" — Weis' mantras from preseason 2006and '07, respectively — didn't have the staying power to evenmake it to the collectible plate/potholder stage.

"Dive Right In" might suffer a similar fate, but Young is convincedthe spirit behind it won't.

"We came back from California and went right to work," Young said,referring to ND's season-ending win over Stanford last November."I'm proud to say I was a part of that. And if you wanted me togive you a grade on our performance in the offseason, I'd say a'B-plus.' And the reason I say that is because we still have toearn that 'A' during the season."

Sounds like a great T-shirt slogan.

Remembering Jack Rockne

In Jack Rockne's final days, the longtime South Bend residentrequested an audience with Notre Dame head football coach CharlieWeis. The two ended up spending an hour communicating last month,even though Rockne's cancer had rendered him speechless. He wrotehis thoughts to Weis on a dry erase board.

Monday Weis shared his thoughts on Jack Rockne — the youngestson of the late legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute andBonnie Rockne, who died Sunday afternoon at Sanctuary Holy Cross inSouth Bend from complications of cancer. He was 82.

"I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet and get toknow Jack Rockne," said Weis, who had struck up a friendship withJack. "He was an admirable man who showed great respect for hisfather and his legacy.

"In my last conversation with Jack, his only regret was that hisphysical condition would prevent him from attending the Notre Damegames this year. Now he can watch the games with Knute."

Jack Rockne's funeral Mass will be held at 9:30 a.m., Friday at theBasilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of Notre Dame.

Staff writer Eric Hansen:
ehansen@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6470