Notre Dame Football 2012: The Return of Chris Badger to the Fighting Irish

Notre Dame's secondary will be receiving a large boost this season, but not necessarily from incoming freshmen Nick Baratti, Elijah Shumate, John Turner or C.J. Prosise.

The Fighting Irish will be welcoming back Chris Badger, a 6'1", 190-pound safety, who spent the better part of the last two years on his Mormon mission in Ecuador.

Badger, considered a 3-Star recruit in the 2010 crop by Rivals.com, will be a welcome addition to a secondary that will need all the help it can get in 2012.

Badger will likely be thrown into the mix at safety, but figures to be a force on special teams.

The Timpview, Utah, native didn't have to return to Notre Dame, though. The University released Badger from his scholarship during his mission, granting him the option to transfer without having to sit out a season in between.

Badger has a clear vision of how he wishes his career at Notre Dame to pan out.

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"It's to win Notre Dame a national championship. I'm very serious about that. And I want to be a starter and an All-American."

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While his goals may seem unrealistic to most, Badger has been putting in the work necessary to attain such metaphorical heights.

While in Ecuador, Badger awoke at 5:30 each and every morning in order to work out. Because of that dedication, he has put himself in a position to compete for playing time as soon as he sets foot on campus in June.

Badger didn't just grow in a physical sense, though. His mental strength and toughness was sharpened during the near two-year mission. The now-20-year-old freshman faced various forms of adversity while in Ecuador, including being robbed three times, once at gunpoint.

He was also cast into Ecuador not knowing a lick of Spanish. Badger returned to the United States being fluent in the language.

However, the most challenging aspect of the trip for Badger was responding to critics of his mission.

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"Not everyone is going to want to hear your message. Some people had the wrong idea about what we were trying to do, but, all in all, the people in Ecuador are really special people to me. I'm never going to forget them. I already have plans to go back there
later in life and do some humanitarian work."

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Having overcome the vast amount of obstacles he faced while in Ecuador, and because of his rock solid faith, Badger's mental toughness will not be questioned on the football field.

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"It taught me to be disciplined, to be obedient, to be focused, to be
a leader. It's not enough to have dreams. You have to set goals. Then
you have to work to achieve those goals."

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Congratulations, Mr. Badger. Welcome home.