Word: holtz
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...much for aiming low. In four seasons as coach at the University of Notre Dame, Holtz has returned the school to the pinnacle of college football from which it had fallen in mortification under the earnest but inept Gerry Faust. Last year Holtz drove a young, tentative team to a 12-0 record and a national championship with a variation of the message that ugly ducklings can become beautiful swans if they work hard, love one another and believe they can be great. Holtz fervently believes that. He also devoutly embraces traditional values, specifically the importance of having...
...after last Saturday's 34-23 defeat of Penn State, and two wins away from a second consecutive national title. The Irish could conceivably stumble this weekend against Miami or on New Year's night against undefeated Big Eight champion Colorado. But the 23 consecutive victories Holtz has directed add up to an achievement unmatched by any of his more illustrious predecessors...
...this self-described wimp done it? Not with mirrors, although one of Holtz's secondary skills is the ability to perform parlor magic tricks. First and foremost, he is a disciplinarian in the Vince Lombardi mold. In his first team meeting in 1985, he looked around and saw players slouching in their seats. He ordered them in no uncertain terms to sit at attention from that point on. Says senior defensive tackle Jeff Alm, who is almost 1 ft. taller and 120 lbs. heavier than Holtz: "He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he seems to possess...
...Holtz is a master salesman. Junior defensive back Todd Lyght was recruited by Michigan, Michigan State and UCLA when he was a high school senior in Flint, Mich. But Holtz told Lyght that if he came to Notre Dame he would be part of a national-championship team. "I looked deep into his eyes, and I knew he was telling the truth," says Lyght. Holtz also persuaded quarterback Tony Rice, tailback Ricky Watters and flanker Raghib ("Rocket") Ismail, players who have been crucial to the Irish success, to enroll at Notre Dame. Not that Notre Dame, with its mystique...
...Holtz also possesses the ability to make young people believe in themselves. His sharply honed self-deprecation is designed in part to demonstrate to his players that if a 98-lb. weakling like him can succeed, surely they can. Holtz likes to tell his coaches, "If you preach something long enough, people are going to believe it. Especially in our case, where it's true...