Notre Dame Preparing For Familiar Faces on Saturday
There will be a small reunion in South Bend for a couple of Pittsburgh Panthers, which will include two Notre Dame alumni in running back C’Bo Flemister and linebacker Shayne Simon.
Both will make their first return to Notre Dame Stadium since departing from the program after the 2021 season and it will also mark the return of former Irish signal-caller Phil Jurkovec.
Marcus Freeman is familiar with Flemister and Simon as they overlapped his first year with the Irish program.
And in the past, Freeman has made it known he’s not thrilled when he sees players leave the Notre Dame program without their degree, but Flemister and Simon don’t fall into that category.
”It hurts when you see people leave who don’t get their degree,” explained Freeman. “That’s what hurts. When guys are able to get their degree from this place and go on to look for an opportunity to play more elsewhere, I’m so happy for those guys.
“Both of those guys got their Notre Dame degree. I’m proud of what they’ve done here at Notre Dame and what they’re doing at Pitt. Look forward to seeing them perform on Saturday.”
Notre Dame won’t have a player from that 2018 recruiting class on the roster, but those in the 2019 class are expecting a challenge from their former teammates this weekend.
”I definitely have a feeling they’re going to be a team ready to come at us because they have three of our old players,” Notre Dame defensive end Nana Osafo-Mensah stated. “C’Bo’s been having a hell of a season. I’m not sure what Shayne’s been doing because he’s one defense, but I know C’Bo has been getting into that No. 1 spot.
“I know he’s been looking forward to this game and that’s my boy. We used to be neighbors out here, so I know he’s coming to show the whole ND family and ND nation what he’s about.”
Flemister has moved into the starting tailback spot as he rushed 23 times for 105 yards last weekend in a 21-17 loss at Wake Forest. On the year, Flemister has tallied 282 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“Everyone is excited to play someone you know, especially C’Bo and Shayne,” explained Notre Dame defensive lineman Howard Cross III. “C’Bo is known for running head down and running over anyone who is in front of him. Shayne is one of the hardest workers I’ve known since being here, so it’ll be fun and challenging and we’re ready for it.”
Osafo-Mensah echoed the comments by Cross as Flemister is known for his tough running style.
“I know C’Bo is a guy who does not care who is in front of him,” Osafo-Mensah said. “He’s going to do what he has to do to make sure he can get to where he wants to go if that’s in the end zone, if that’s in the flat, if that’s down the A gap, he’s going to hit it. I’ve been telling guys we got to stay ready. We got to stay hard-nosed because it’s going to be a fight.”
Flemister downplayed some of his emotions earlier this week when asked about his return to South Bend, but the Georgia native also is more than excited to get back to his alma mater.
“I’m excited to go anywhere and play anywhere, but it’s kind of special for me because I did spend the first four years of my adult life there,” explained Flemister. “I kind of grew into who I am today there. I had the opportunity to come here and showcase that even more. It’s definitely exciting. It’ll be a great time to go back and I’m looking forward to it.”
Simon will enter the game No. 5 in tackles for the Panthers as he’s recorded 27 tackles and three sacks on the year, but he’s focused on upsetting the Irish more than anything entering the weekend.
“I’m excited,” Simon stated. “I think every game is a huge game to prove yourself, but any time you get to go back to your alma mater, it’s pretty cool. I’m excited, but I’m excited for this team to try and go out and get a win.
“We’re all excited to go out there and play somebody that has a lot of hype and have a lot of guys who have NFL potential. For us, there are a lot of guys in our room who want to prove themselves against some of those guys. We’re all excited to go play, have some fun and go try to pull off an upset.”
As for keeping up with their former teammates, both Flemister and Simon are in touch but there hasn’t been too much trash talk this week.
“I check in with guys every now and then,” Flemister said. “I tell them good job. I came in with some of those guys and some of them came in after I left, but we were teammates. I’m always rooting for them. It’ll be fun to go in and compete against them.”
Simon also added he’s noticed Notre Dame has been playing well and has been more than happy to see the success of his former teammates over the first eight games.
“I have a lot of guys on the team I’m still cool with and I’ll be happy to see them and glad to see them make a play,” said Simon. “They’ve been playing well over there.”
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