Rock-Solid Stonebreaker Foundation Of Irish `D'

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Linebacker Michael Stonebreaker, recovered from injuries he suffered in a drunken-driving accident, will be a key to Notre Dame's defense next fall, said football Coach Lou Holtz.

``I'll tell you this, if everything goes well, he'll be playing football for a long time,'' Holtz said. ``He really loves the game and has natural instincts and good leadership qualities.''

Stonebreaker has played relatively little at Notre Dame, but his performance has been first-rate.

He played 10 games his freshman year, mostly coming off the bench, but winning a start in one game to replace an injured regular. Bad grades kept him off the team his sophomore year, but he returned in 1988 to rack up 104 tackles and earn All-America honors.

Then in January 1989, Stonebreaker was at the wheel of a vehicle that veered off the road near campus and struck a sign pole. Stonebreaker suffered a dislocated right hip and a broken right knee. His passenger, Ursula M. Garzia, a student at neighboring Saint Mary's College, was injured seriously.

``At the time, I was on top of the world,'' he recalled. ``I was a member of a national-championship team, an All-American and I had just been to the White House. All that was gone, and I was at the bottom.''

Garzia recovered, and Stonebreaker pleaded guilty to a drunken-driving violation. His license was suspended, and he was ordered to perform community service by lecturing to elementary and high-school groups on the dangers of alcohol.

By the summer of 1989, Holtz had hoped Stonebreaker was sufficiently recovered to return to help defend the Irish's 1988 national title. But Stonebreaker drove a car while on campus - a violation of his license suspension - and the university administration banned him for the season.

So he concentrated on rebuilding his leg and his strength. The first day with trainer Jim Russ was scary. ``Jim told me to lift my leg, and I couldn't get it off the table,'' he said.

With extra time off, thanks to the suspension, Stonebreaker had more time to heal. Still, no one yet knows how far the hip and knee will carry him. ``He's doing well, but his biggest test will be in August when he doesn't get a day off,'' Russ said.