Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly has made it clear he will show no mercy in the future for players who break the rules after 11 players were caught for underage drinking.

"We know what is expected when it comes to Notre Dame football. It had a national following from coast to coast. ... I understand the enormous task and responsibility of the position or I wouldn't have taken it. But I don't think I get caught up every day thinking about it either," he said.

"We're certainly disappointed that some of our players didn't make good decisions," Kelly said. "We hold them accountable for their actions on a day-to-day basis, just like any parent would for a 17- to 21-year-old. So yeah, we take that serious."

There were big names among the 11 athletes who were arrested including backup quarterback Nate Montana, wide receivers Robby Toma and Tai-ler Jones, linebacker Steve Filer, kicker Nick Tausch, cornerback Lo Wood and offensive linemen Chris Watt and Tate Nichols;

Kelly said told the team last Sunday he was expecting a lot better.

"I think with a little bit more time with them, I think they are going to make better choices next time around," he said,

"I'm thankful it wasn't an event that was larger in scale that could have been catastrophic," he said. "Our players clearly know that I'm not happy about reading about Notre Dame in the newspaper when it comes to things like this."


Kelly also admitted he is feeling pressure at the quarterback position where Dayne Crist is the only player with any experience. Montana and four freshmen make up the rest of the QB roster..

"We got to keep Dayne healthy," Kelly said. "That's the one that keeps me up. There's no question, not having a guy that's got a couple of years experience, even in a part-time role, is unusual for me. ... We've got zero of that."