Possible burnout sends Cunningham home from Rutgers; SPC next?
A year ago, when Brad Cunningham spurned Notre Dame to sign his name to a national letter of intent to play at Rutgers, it was a matter of school pride for Cunningham’s alma mater, namely Hudson Catholic.
Cunningham had every opportunity to go play football under the Golden Dome in front of Touchdown Jesus in historic South Bend, but decided instead to head to Piscataway to play on the banks of the old Raritan, to become a member of the first-storied recruiting class of new head coach Greg Schiano.
The thought of Cunningham’s decision sent shudders through everyone. How could anyone turn down a prestigious and respected place like Notre Dame to play at lowly Rutgers? Cunningham didn’t care about perception. He just wanted to be close to home.
Sure enough, Cunningham went to Rutgers and made a mark right away. He became a starter at linebacker with the Scarlet Knights as a true freshman, an almost unthinkable concept. Most freshmen are sent to red-shirt land, given a year to bulk up and mature. Cunningham was so highly thought of that he was given the chance to play right away.
The 6-1, 220-pound Cunningham actually started four games for the Knights and turned out to be the team’s fifth leading tackler. He had 63 tackles, including seven for lost yardage, and recovered one fumble. Cunningham’s finest game came against Navy on October 20, when he registered a season-high 14 tackles, including 12 solo stops. He collected seven or more tackles in six of the nine games he played. He showed bright promise for the future with back-to-back, seven tackle performances vs. Boston College (11/17) and California (11/23).
Cunningham was only one of eight true freshmen to play for the Knights last season. Because of his efforts, Cunningham was named to The Sporting News BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
But there were other things going on in Brad Cunningham’s life. He suffered a neck injury during that Navy game, a frightening sight that made everyone in attendance believe that he was destined for some sort of paralysis.
In that game, Cunningham was motionless on the field for several minutes before being immobilized and taken off by stretcher to a waiting ambulance. He was fine and recovered to play the next week vs. West Virginia, but the injury definitely changed the way Cunningham looked at football and looked at life.
"There’s a bigger picture than football," Cunningham said. "I’m thinking more long-range now. I’m not sure I’m ready to make the commitment that’s necessary at a school like Rutgers. That kind of injury opens your eyes to things."
Cunningham has admitted that he doesn’t have the same passion for football anymore. So recently, he withdrew from classes at Rutgers, ending his big-time college football career.
"Football is a long process and you have to do a lot of things that I’m not ready to deal with right now," Cunningham said.
Rutgers coach Schiano was shocked and disappointed with Cunningham’s decision to leave school, but he understood the reasoning behind the decision.
"It’s unfortunate that Brad has lost some of his desire to play the game because he showed promise during his freshman year and he’s a fine young man," Schiano said. "Obviously, Brad and I have talked extensively about this. He knows I will always be there for him in the future."
Cunningham was expected to be one of the leaders of the 2002 Rutgers defensive unit. But that will not happen.
"This is obviously not about playing time and I have no problem with the coaches at Rutgers," Cunningham said. "I’m just not happy. If you’re not happy in college, you should leave."
This is more than likely a case of when too much is enough. There was too much expected too soon of Brad Cunningham. He wasn’t ready to be a star, wasn’t ready for all the expectations and the accolades. He never had a chance to truly enjoy college life. The pressures were gigantic from the outset.
So now, he’s walked away from it all. He turned down the chance for Notre Dame and walked away from Rutgers. But friends have said that he’s happy.
Maybe sometime down the road, Cunningham will have the urge to play again. He’s enrolled part-time at St. Peter’s College and could eventually end up playing there for his high school coach, Rob Stern.
"This is just something I felt I needed to do," Cunningham said. "The decision is final. I’m not going back to Rutgers. I’m moving on."
You have to applaud Cunningham’s convictions. From a sportsman’s standpoint, the decisions Cunningham has made – trading Notre Dame for Rutgers, then Rutgers for St. Peter’s – doesn’t make sense.
But the decisions make sense to one person and that’s the one that Brad Cunningham has to look in the mirror on a daily basis. And that’s the only person that matters right now. Perception doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.
In that respect, then Brad Cunningham deserves all the praise and credit in the world, for making yet another tough decision that he has to live with. In that respect, this decision was a tougher tackle than he ever made on the gridiron.