3 more say theywon’t play in ’ 14
Daniels, Williams, Moore latest casualties of probe
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Former Bears defensive end Phillip Daniels’ hashtag seemed to say it all.
‘‘#HeIsNDNoMore,’’ Daniels wrote Tuesday on Twitter.
The ‘‘ he’’ refers to Daniels’ son DaVaris. The wide receiver, one of five players Notre Dame investigated for suspected academic dishonesty, wrote on Twitter that his time with the Irish was ‘‘ done.’’
‘‘ Not looking to transfer, ND was my team,’’ DaVaris Daniels wrote. ‘‘ ND is where my heart was. Unfortunately my time here is done, ready for the future.’’
While the No. 5 Irish prepared for their make- or- break game Saturday against No. 2 Florida State, Daniels, linebacker Kendall Moore and defensive lineman Ishaq Williams announced they wouldn’t play this season because of the outcome of the academic probe.
‘‘ Finally after over 4 months my son got an answer,’’ Phillip Daniels tweeted. ‘‘ He is done at Notre Dame and will weigh his options for the future! #HeIsNDNoMore’’
He later tweeted: ‘‘# Irish fans. There is an option for DaVaris to return in 2015 and that is being considered as well. Sometimes you gotta see through the fog!’’
Earlier, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said he hadn’t seen any tweets from DaVaris Daniels. He did say Williams expressed a desire to return in 2015.
‘‘ God will not put you through anything you can’t handle. # minor setback # major comeback,’’ Williams wrote on Twitter.
Moore wrote on Instagram that he is leaving.
‘‘ Notre Dame has rendered its decision,’’ Moore wrote. ‘‘ While it is disappointing, I will respectfully leave my alma mater as a proud May 2014 graduate of the institution that I have respectfully loved and given my best efforts during my college career.’’ Moore was a fifth- year senior. On Friday, cornerback Kei-Varae Russell wrote on Instagram that he wouldn’t play this season. He plans on coming back in 2015. Safety Eilar Hardy also went through honor- code hearings. His outcome is still unknown.
Meanwhile, the five still are enrolled in school, a university spokesperson said.
Russell, Daniels and Williams were projected to start before their academic issues surfaced, but the Irish ( 6- 0) have kept rolling without them.
‘‘ We’ve handled it with the right amount of respect and the right amount of understanding that we all have to attend to our own business,’’ Kelly said. ‘‘ We miss our teammates. We care for them. Yet we have our own lives that we have to move on with. Our guys clearly understood that, and they’re here to get a degree and play football for Notre Dame. We balance that out as a group.
‘‘ We have very good leaders that we’re able to continue to move that message forward through the group. And I was really proud of the way they’ve handled it. The easiest thing would be for them to be out on social media, taking a side. They’ve stayed away from doing that. They’ve handled themselves with great maturity in a very difficult situation. It’s been really the way we’ve handled it internally that’s allowed them to stay focused on themselves and their teammates and doing their job on a day- to- day basis.’’