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Santa Claus delivers special gifts to two walk-on players at Notre Dame

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

They say it’s always better to give than to receive. But this year, when it comes to Notre Dame football, there are two walk-on student-athletes who may slightly disagree with that this year.

Both received pretty amazing gifts this holiday season.

On Christmas morning, Santa Claus had a special gift for Mick Assaf and Colin Grunhard, both walk-on players for the Fighting Irish. In front of their teammates, both were handed presents from Santa and Mrs. Claus, and were brought to the front of the meeting room to open the boxes.

Inside were congratulatory messages, saying they both had earned scholarships. After revealing the gifts, they were mauled by enthusiasm from their teammates.

Those are gifts both Assaf and Grunhard will remember for a very long time. And it was a really cool move from head coach Brian Kelly this holiday season.

Assaf is a running back for the Fighting Irish, appearing in nine games this season and has taken nine carries for 34 yards. Grunhard is an offensive lineman and has played in five games this year and eight total contests in his Notre Dame career.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB