Jones Update

Additional rumors are flying all over about Demetrius Jones. It is official Jones has left Notre Dame, and he has enrolled at Northern Illinois. Now, information is coming out that Jones never told Weis he was planning on transferring. Instead on Friday when the team bus was about to leave for Michigan, Jones asked his roommate to relay his transfer decision to the coaching staff. I truly hope this is just a rumor. I understand why Jones would want to transfer, but if he did it in this king of deceitful manner...wow! I do not want to rake Jones over the coals without knowing all of the facts of the situation. I have heard that if Jones left ND and enrolled at Northern Illinois now he would not have to sit out next year. However, I really want to believe a player that took it upon himself to be a leader of this 2007 Irish football team would not jump ship because he was not starting anymore. Even if Jones knew he was going to be the third string QB for the rest of the year, he has an obligation and a responsibility to the team he is part of and to the University he is using a scholarship up from to stick it out. I know Jones wants to play, and I know he wants to win, but if he made this choice he will never be a winner. Even if the team he starts for goes undeafeated for the next four years, he will never be a winner. Leadership is more than being starter, and it is more than worrying about yourself. Leadership is about being the glue that keeps a struggling team together and building on positives, any positives, in an otherwise dreadful start to a season. The University of Notre Dame costs $46,730 a year to attend. If the rumors on how Jones left are true, I figue he owes Notre Dame the amount it costs for one scholarship. His actions robbed a dedicated, team-oriented player a free education at least for one year.