Mike Anello

Classroom

A member of the dean’s list every semester at Notre Dame, Anello graduated in three and a half years with a finance degree and finished his undergraduate career with a 3.937 cumulative GPA and a perfect 4.0 in his finance courses.  He enrolled in the graduate studies program for the 2009 spring semester and returns in 2009 as a fifth-year senior after being named a second-team Academic All-American.

Character

Anello has been called ‘Rudy… with Responsibility’ by his teammates and has become a fan favorite over the past two seasons because of his sensational special teams plays. Unlike most of his teammates, he blends into the general student body at Notre Dame. Anello was accepted to the University of Notre Dame and was not a member of the football team during his freshman season. In the spring of his freshman year, he endured a grueling tryout process for potential walk-ons and was one of a few players from the Notre Dame student body selected to practice with the Irish that spring and the following fall. Anello learned to deal with anonymity well. In 2006 his name was misspelled and he had the wrong position listed next to his incorrect last name in the media guide. Anello did not see the field at all as a sophomore and was used more as a glorified tackling dummy than anything else during his first season on the team. His perseverance paid off though as he became a star on the Notre Dame special teams unit in 2007 and 2008. In the 2008 regular-season finale at USC, Anello broke his leg making a tackle on punt coverage.  When head coach Charlie Weis approached Anello on the field, Anello calmly told Weis he would be back for his fifth season in 2009 and would be ready for the season opener against Nevada. Anello turned down job offers in 2009 from Wall Street to play one more season of football for the Irish.  He declined the opportunity to earn his MBA from Notre Dame this year to instead focus more of his time during the season on teaching the younger players how to avoid getting blocked on kickoff and punt coverage teams.  Because of that, Anello was elected one of nine representatives on the football team’s leadership committee and is the only former walk-on to be selected this year.

Community

In the community, Anello has taken part in the Tackle the Arts program, which invites South Bend youths onto Notre Dame’s campus to learn about different fine arts programs from members of the Fighting Irish football team.  He recently shaved his head in support of St. Baldrick’s Day and he’s participated in various community service efforts in his four years at Notre Dame.

Competition

The 5-10, 180-pound defensive back burst onto the scene in the third game of the 2007 season at Michigan.  As a member of the punt coverage unit, Anello recorded a solo tackle on his second play. He played in eight games in 2007 as a gunner on the punt coverage team where he tallied six tackles including four solo stops. In August 2008, head coach Charlie Weis acknowledged Anello’s skill and talent by awarding him a scholarship for the 2008 season.  He was one of just three walk-ons to receive a scholarship for the ’08 season.  Anello added the role of gunner on kickoff coverage in 2008 and his production nearly quadrupled as he led the team with 23 special teams tackles.  He also forced two fumbles and recovered another fumble.  Following the 2008 season, Anello shared with team captain Maurice Crum Jr. the prestigious Nick Pietrosante Award, presented each year to the Notre Dame student-athlete who best exemplifies the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and pride of the 1950s Notre Dame fullback.