Michigan's Darryl Stonum, Notre Dame's Michael Floyd Face Opposite Futures

When Michigan and Notre Dame play their annual football game September 10, Michigan wide receiver Darryl Stonum will be cheering on his teammates instead of competing with them. 

Stonum, who's been forced to take a redshirt season for multiple bouts with alcohol, will be in clear site of Michael Floyd, Notre Dame's premier pass catcher. 

Especially upsetting is that Floyd will be catching passes for Notre Dame, despite a similar history of alcohol-related scrapes with the law. No two situations are alike, but there's no question Michigan fans might be a bit miffed when Floyd breaks out of the Fighting Irish huddle. 

Ironically, both Stonum and Floyd have charted similar paths. 

In 2010 Stonum had a breakout season, catching 49 passes, and looked forward to a banner season under first-year coach Brady Hoke. 

But in May of this year, Stonum was arrested for his second drunk driving offense. He was also briefly jailed in 2010 for probation violations.

Immediately after the arrest, he was suspended by Coach Hoke.  

Floyd, on the other hand, was expected to be Notre Dame's go-to receiver. In 2010, he caught 79 passes, but for some reason, also had his third bout with the law.

His issues with alcohol have gone back a few years. In May 2009, Floyd was arrested for underage consumption before being stopped for a similar offense a year later. Last March, Floyd was caught running a stop sign near the campus main entrance, and failed a breathalyzer test.

Kelly suspended him the following day but claims that Floyd has made tremendous progress since then.  

“We took football away and it was really about making a decision to change his life because I didn’t believe suspending for a game or two was going to make a difference,” Coach Brian Kelly said.

Just last week, Floyd was reinstated to the squad by Coach Kelly, just in time for fall practice.

“There has to be integrity in what you do...There has got to be more than just winning games. I get it. I got to win games. I understand that. I also have to have fulfillment I can impact young men’s lives in a positive way,” Kelly said.

Stonum's situation took an about face just before Michigan began its fall drills. 

“While it would be great to have Darryl on the field this season, we feel it is in his best interest and the best interest of our program for him to redshirt,” Hoke said Sunday night in a statement released by the school. “Darryl will continue to be an important part of our team and family. He has done everything we have asked him to do, but our number one priority is to help Darryl grow as a person."

So one player will be on the sidelines while another might be making history. No one, however, has ever said that everything was supposed to be fair. It's just that two coaches with similar problems attempt to solve them with different methods.

Maybe one the the coaches believes that winning cures all. Frankly, a lot could be said for that.