Notre Dame's loss is Gophers' gain

Matt Carufel said he never reached the point where he hated playing football during his 1 1/2 years at Notre Dame. But he became so unhappy that he felt if he didn't leave, he might look back on his college career mostly with regret.

"I just said, 'You know what? This just isn't worth it. I'm wasting my time,'" he said.

He was miserable then, but Carufel is nothing but smiles now. The former high school All-America offensive lineman from Cretin-Derham Hall left Notre Dame last October and has found a new outlook with the Gophers.

Carufel enrolled at Minnesota this semester and must sit out the 2008 season under NCAA transfer rules. It's not easy for a player to take his redshirt year after already playing two seasons, but Carufel said he's not about to complain.

"I couldn't be happier," he said.

Carufel declined to elaborate on the reasons behind his decision to leave Notre Dame, saying only that it was a bad fit for him. He started three of the first six games as an injury replacement at right guard last season, but his words reveal his level of unhappiness.

"The way I described it to my parents was that I was living my life for 12, 13 [game days] out of the year," Carufel said. "The other three hundred and whatever days were just hell. It's a mind-set there. I'm not trying to say it's a bad system, but it's a system that didn't work for me. It's something that I didn't want to be a part of any longer."

Carufel reached his breaking point during the season. The coaching staff asked him to take the weekend to think about his decision, but Carufel had already packed his bags.

"As soon as I walked out of the doors, I knew that was it," he said.

So did his parents.

"We listened to him and we supported him," said his father, Kevin. "You just want what's best for him."

Carufel strongly considered Iowa in high school and admits he "was going straight to Iowa City" after he left Notre Dame. Cretin-Derham Hall assistant head coach Andy Bischoff encouraged him to visit new Gophers coach Tim Brewster before making a decision. Carufel liked what he heard and saw and decided to stay home.

"He is very comfortable here," Bischoff said. "He is a Minnesota kid who should have stayed home."

Carufel (6-5, 295 pounds) will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. He is working at right guard on the scout team and has made a favorable impression on coaches in spring workouts.

"Matt is really a good football player," Brewster said. "He's very fundamentally sound and he has a competitive nature to him that's outstanding. Matt is one of those guys who will be an excellent leader."

Carufel said his only regret is that he didn't take more official visits in high school. He was a Parade All-America and Top 100 prospect with scholarship offers from numerous BCS schools, including Florida, Miami and Minnesota. But he took only one official visit, to Notre Dame.

It didn't work out, but he insists he is happy now and moving forward. He already has connected with his new teammates and feels comfortable with his new environment.

"This is a redshirt year for me so I'm going to use it to get stronger and get nasty out on the field," he said. "I look at it as a gift. It's another year that I wouldn't have had if I stayed there."