How Jerome Bettis led Alabama native Justin Tuck to Notre Dame
Justin Tuck thinks he was around 8 years old at the time.
He was shopping around his local Hibbett Sports store in Alabama. Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide apparel dominated the shelves. Well, most of them. There was a small section for national brands like the New York Yankees, the Chicago Bulls and so on.
And so on …
“All the sudden I see this white-and-gold hat,” Tuck said on the Inside the Garage podcast. “White with a gold brim. I said, ‘Dad, I want that hat.’ It was Saturday morning. The reason I wanted that hat is because Notre Dame was on one of the TVs and No. 6 was running the ball.”
No. 6 — former Notre Dame running back Jerome Bettis.
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As Tuck explained, growing up in Kellyton, Ala. — a town with a population that has recently dwindled below 200 — meant you watched two teams, if any; Alabama on whatever channel carried the Tide that weekend and Notre Dame on NBC. He didn’t even mention Auburn in that regard, even though Kellyton is much closer to there than Tuscaloosa.
Tuck said Bettis left a “mental imprint” on him he couldn’t shake.
“When I was going through the process of getting recruited, I remembered that,” he said.
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Tuck had plenty of motives to choose Notre Dame. He said his father was the type who demanded perfection; if he received a 99 on an assignment in grade school, he knew what was coming when he got home. “Why didn’t you get a 100?” Tuck was a whizkid in high school. He was also an Alabama Class 4A Player of the Year on the football field.
What better place to combine both strengths than Notre Dame — especially as a young man who had grown an affinity for the blue and gold thanks to Bettis?
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“There was so much fate around me choosing Notre Dame,” Tuck said. “I assume it’s the same for everyone that goes there. There’s something outside of just ‘they’re the best recruiters.’ There’s some personal story or connection in some regard that puts you on that campus.”
One of the Inside the Garage podcast hosts, KJ Wallace, has his own story of that sort.
Wallace was on an official visit to Notre Dame. He was in the book store buying shirts for his family to wear to that weekend’s game. Tuck just so happened to be at the same location. He took time to speak to Wallace and his family. He even gave Wallace his phone number and told him not to hesitate to reach out.
“Me being 17 years old, I was like, ‘This is Justin Tuck. I’ve seen him play. He played in arguably one of the best Super Bowls I’ve ever watched,'” Wallace said. “I watched him growing up and tried to recreate his face mask on Madden.
“I was like, ‘Wow. This is what a Notre Dame man is. This is what I could be if I come here.’ He really made a good impression. And I won’t lie, that right there was a big reason why I committed that day.”
Notre Dame mental imprints. Some just can’t shake them.
