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topicnews · October 26, 2024

Notre Dame football draws inspiration from Max Hurleman

Notre Dame football draws inspiration from Max Hurleman

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SOUTH BEND — Bob Wolfrum, legendary football coach of the Wyomissing (Pa.) High School Spartans, has a motto that guides his approach of playing the best teams in the state every year, regardless of classification.

“If you want to be a bullfighter, you have to fight the bulls.”

Ross Tucker, the CBS Sports football analyst who played for Wolfrum three decades ago, carried those words through a standout career at Princeton and up to five seasons in the NFL as an offensive lineman.

Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone, now in his eighth NFL season, transferred from Wyomissing to the University of Florida (after nearly ending up at Notre Dame) and was a third-round draft pick.

Now comes Notre Dame football’s Max Hurleman, the Colgate graduate transfer and proud Wyomissing man who only arrived in South Bend in June but still managed to make himself indispensable on special teams for the 11Th-ranked Irishman.

As Notre Dame prepares to play No. 1 at MetLife Stadium on Saturday at noon

The typical graduating class size in Wyomissing is approximately 140 students. And yet Wolfrum, still in his early 70s coaching on that field that bears his name, is the second-largest coach in career wins (more than 350) among all active coaches in Pennsylvania high school football.

“We’re a small school, but we’ll play anyone, anytime, anywhere,” Tucker said in a phone interview this week. “Coach Wolfrum is not afraid of losing. That’s a bullfighter’s job: you fight bulls. I think that’s one of the reasons people are so proud of Max. He wanted to fight the bulls at Notre Dame. He wanted to see what he could do.”

Max Hurleman wanted to “make it big or go home”

For four seasons at Colgate, Hurleman did just about everything for the Raiders.

Standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing 200 pounds, he was a running back through 2022 who averaged 4.2 yards per carry and finished his career with 814 rushing yards for the FCS-level program in Hamilton, NY

He moved to wideout for his senior year in 2023 and caught another 28 receptions en route to a career total of 80 catches for 778 yards (9.7-yard average).

Hurleman also played on special teams, both coverage and return units, and was named the Patriot League’s top special teams player last season. Over the last two years, he averaged 18.3 yards on 16 kickoff returns, and his punt return average (on 26 attempts) was 8.3 yards.

These totals may sound modest, but they were achieved against a backdrop of defeat. Colgate, a proud program whose alumni include former NFL running backs Marv Hubbard and Mark van Eeghen, struggled from 2020-23 with a combined record of 14-21.

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Hurleman was only allowed to play a handful of games against FBS competition, and the losses were all painfully one-sided: 51-0 at Boston College, 41-10 at Stanford, 42-17 at Army and 65-0 last year. Start in Syracuse.

With a Covid bonus 2020 season available to him, Hurleman decided to enter the transfer portal.

“I wanted to see what was out there for me,” he said in mid-October. “My goal has always been to play football at the highest level. There was definitely some risk involved.”

Staying at Colgate for one final season was an option, but Hurleman wanted to test himself.

“I wanted to see what I could do to take the next step,” said Hurleman, who earned his Colgate degree in economics. “I wasn’t the most recruited player in the portal, but I knew I wanted to make it big or go home.”

As he did his senior year at Wyomissing, Hurleman turned to Go Big Recruiting, Tucker’s recruiting agency that helps aspiring young athletes get their highlight reels in front of the right people.

Injuries that torpedoed Hurleman’s sophomore and junior seasons for the Spartans severely limited his options in the 2020 recruiting cycle, even as an all-state running back with nearly 1,500 scrimmage yards and 18 touchdowns in a 12-1 senior season.

He ended up at Colgate on a partial scholarship and quickly earned a full-time position.

This time around, Hurleman’s options in a crowded transfer portal were initially limited to Richmond and New Hampshire at the FCS level and walk-on opportunities at Duke and Northwestern.

“I was very active in trying to reach out to everyone I could,” Hurleman said. “To make a decision like that, you might have to be a little delusional and have a little irrational confidence.”

Ross Tucker’s advice to Max Hurleman: “You can do this”

After speaking with Tucker, whom Hurleman calls “a great guy in my football life,” the aspiring Bullfighter contacted Notre Dame recruiting ace Carter Auman. General manager Chad Bowden was involved in the discussion, and an agreement was soon reached for Hurleman to play at Notre Dame.

“I just said, ‘Listen, if I can play in the NFL and Anzalone can play in the NFL, you can play at Notre Dame,'” Tucker recalled telling Hurleman. “I said, ‘You can do it.’ I really believe in you.’ “

Tucker noted the value of Notre Dame’s alumni network, which includes the McGlinn family of Berks County, Pennsylvania. Terry McGlinn, who died in 2017, is a member emeritus of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees and a longtime benefactor of the university.

“Only two things can happen,” advised Tucker Hurleman. “Number one: you go there and you end up getting playing time and it’s an incredible experience. Or you can go there and know for the rest of your life what it’s like to play against Notre Dame players at that level of play and you can put it on your resume. And you will be a Notre Dame football player for the rest of your life.”

Despite missing spring ball, Hurleman was ready when summer conditioning began. His test scores matched those of scholarship-level players, and the former four-sport star from tiny Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, quickly earned the respect of his new teammates.

“It’s amazing to see a guy like him come in and just be the light of the team,” said wide receiver Beaux Collins, the Clemson graduate. “To see a guy like him come from a lower school and be able to help us is just very eye-opening. I appreciate people like that, people who just have a love for the game, just like me.”

How Max Hurleman found his niche at Notre Dame

Hurleman was assigned to running back alongside fellow Central Michigan walk-on Jake Tafelski and moved to defensive back for fall camp when Devyn Ford returned to running back.

Hurleman earned a spot on three special teams teams, including kickoff coverage, in the season opener at Texas A&M, and in Week 3 at Purdue he gained ground as a sure-fire go-getter among punt returners.

Special teams coach Marty Biagi would no longer have to worry about the “hidden yards” lost due to rolling punts.

Through seven games, Hurleman has played 92 games on four different special teams teams. Only freshman Loghan Thomas (100 games) has seen more action.

“I can’t say I’m surprised just because he’s a kid guy,” Tucker said. “His will, his determination, his belief — I thought that would work pretty well on special teams. Even my experience in the NFL, special teams, is highly desirable. Special teams require a lot more desire, preparation and technique than I think most people give them credit for. Max proves that, so to speak.”

Tucker paused for a moment to collect his thoughts as he tried to explain Max’s importance to their shared hometown.

“I’ve seen (Marcus) Freeman’s quotes and it’s hard to describe,” Tucker said. “It bothers me because it’s a really small hometown, but it’s close-knit and the high school football program means a lot to people.”

When Hurleman played for Colgate at West Point in 2022, Tucker refereed the game for the CBS Sports Network. Wolfrum and his coaching staff were also on site and made the journey from Wyomissing.

Berks County is part of Penn State, but this fall it will also be part of Irish Nation thanks to Hurleman.

“We all support him,” Tucker said. “We all follow him. There’s a lot of pride in seeing him out there doing what he does because you know how hard it is. We couldn’t be prouder of him.”

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.

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