A Legacy of Excellence and Leadership
SOUTH BEND — On his way to South Bend last weekend to celebrate the life of his late mentor, former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz, Shawn Wooden made a stop in Atlanta for the Maxwell Awards Gala. The former Notre Dame defensive back and captain, who went on to a nine-year NFL career with the Dolphins and Bears, was honored with the Jim Henry Award in 1990 for all-around excellence as a high school senior in Abington, Pa.
This year, Wooden was there to introduce 2025 winner Joey O’Brien of La Salle College High School in Wydmoor, Pa. O’Brien, a five-star recruit at safety who enrolled at Notre Dame in January, made the trip down ahead of spring practice.
“He was like, ‘Oh, so when did you win?’” Wooden recalled on Monday, March 16 at Notre Dame Stadium. “I was like, ‘1990.’”
Wooden, 52, playfully covered his mouth as he gave the painful answer.
O’Brien’s response: “Wow.”
Added Wooden: “I won the sixth one. You won the 41st one. So that just goes to show you. Thirty-five years ago. I think I’m older than your parents.”
A Shared Connection Beyond Football
And yet, for Wooden and O’Brien, their connection goes beyond the fact they were raised in the Philadelphia suburbs and signed with the Irish out of high school. Both were offensive standouts who ultimately chose to play on the defensive side, but even that falls short of describing their link.
It’s more about how they see the world and their sport and the platform it can provide.
“I got to spend some time with him,” said Wooden, who earned his degree in computer science and has worked in wealth management since leaving football. “He’s so mature. (Notre Dame) got a great guy there. Him and his family. Great individuals.”
Honoring a Football Legend
Notre Dame lauded its late football coach Lou Holtz for his ‘genuine love’ for the program and the players. Life lessons from Notre Dame freshman Joey O’Brien have also been highlighted as part of this legacy.
O’Brien’s acceptance speech and interaction with other attendees at the black-tie affair left the audience highly impressed. In an online video clip that was posted by the Maxwell Football Club, O’Brien shared his advice to younger players.
“I would say yes, you love football,” he said. “That’s all you want to do, but … football ends. That’s what Coach (Marcus) Freeman preaches. That’s why Notre Dame was such a good fit for me.”
A Two-Way Student-Athlete
O’Brien, at 6-foot-5 and 197 pounds, fully intends to be a two-way student-athlete, drinking deeply from the available knowledge in both departments.
“Your degree is what you rely on,” he said in Atlanta. “What you do in the classroom, what type of person you are, is all that matters. Being good at football is a plus, but it’s your character and what you do in life — that’s what really matters.”
Wooden, 5-11 and still close to his 205-pound playing weight, could hardly believe how polished O’Brien is already.
“He carries himself extremely well,” Wooden said. “You know he still has some growing to do — not height-wise — but once he gets in the weight room and around this program, I’m expecting some good things from him. He heard my little Holtz speech when I was giving it to the kids.”
Humility and Influence
O’Brien’s humility away from the dais is what caught Wooden’s attention even more.
“It was kind of interesting,” Wooden said. “I saw little kids come up to him and how engaging he was with them and spending time with them. Not just taking a picture but speaking with them and talking to them.”
O’Brien, who also starred in basketball with fellow early Notre Dame enrollee Grayson McKeogh, a highly rated offensive tackle, even made time for kids from other sports.
“There was this one kid that played baseball,” Wooden said. “(O’Brien) was giving life lessons. I’m like, ‘Dude, I don’t think I was giving life lessons at 17 years old.’ There’s no way, not at all. These kids are way more advanced.”
A Strong Foundation
With O’Brien joining a defensive backfield that already includes returning captain Adon Shuler, likely captain Leonard Moore and projected future captain Tae Johnson, Wooden made sure to relay his stamp of approval to Freeman.
“I wanted to make sure that Marcus understands he has some good kids in there,” Wooden said. “He’s got good kids with this program, good young men.”
A History of Defensive Excellence
Long before Kyle Hamilton, Xavier Watts, Cam Hart and Ben Morrison put their stamp on the modern NFL, Notre Dame was churning out pro-level defensive backs in the heart of the Holtz era.
“We had a little bit of DBU back in the day with us,” Wooden said. “Our defensive backs, we all did pretty well. We just didn’t go to the league. We had careers. The Tommy Carters, the Jeff Burrisses, they laid that foundation (as first-round draft picks).”
Other highly drafted defensive backs during Holtz’s run with the Irish included first-rounder Todd Lyght (1991); second-rounders Pat Terrell (1990), Rod Smith (1992) and Bobby Taylor (1995); and third-rounder Willie Clark (1994).
“All those guys,” Wooden said. “It was fun. It was fun times.”
