With the first game closing in, the chatter is already heating up online, and one former Notre Dame linebacker has handed Wisconsin and Cooper Catalano a fresh batch of bulletin board material.
Mike Goolsby, who played linebacker for the Irish, said he “watched the film” before zeroing in on Catalano, the sophomore linebacker, and unloading on him. Goolsby called Catalano “light in the ass,” a shot aimed at his size and ability to bring power in the run game.
He also said to “expect downhill runs” from Wisconsin.
The problem for Goolsby is that his critique seems to have been built off the Oregon game from last season, which was Catalano’s first start as a true freshman. Even in that game, Catalano finished with eight tackles.
Goolsby apparently didn’t make it to November 8, when Catalano piled up 19 tackles, added a sack and two tackles for loss, and won Big Ten Player of the Week in a win against No. 23 Washington.
That was followed by another sack and five tackles the next week against Indiana.
Goolsby later tried to soften the blow a bit, adding that Catalano is “a fine player just light in the ass.” But the math doesn’t really help the argument much. Every linebacker on the Notre Dame roster is listed in the 6'1-6'3, 225-235 range, and Catalano is listed right there too at 6'1, 230.
If anything, the comments only add fuel for a linebacker who already plays with an edge. Catalano has the kind of fire that can turn this sort of talk into something useful on the field, and Wisconsin could use that extra juice in a first game against No. 4 Notre Dame.
While Marcus Freeman is praising Mason Posa and calling him one of the best linebackers in the nation, Goolsby is taking aim at Catalano. That leaves the young linebackers with a chance to answer in a big way. Bust CJ Carr a few times, get Aneyas Williams down in the backfield, and make some noise.
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