Notre Dame-Miami game pits Deon McIntosh against his brother RJ

 

Notre Dame ranks 5th in rushing offense this season and sophomore Deon McIntosh is quickly rising up the chart.

Saturday's game is a homecoming for McIntosh. He is a native of Pompano Beach, about an hour from Miami.

While he will have the opportunity to play in front of his friends and family - he will also be playing against his brother - RJ McIntosh, a defensive tackle for Miami.

Deon is third on the team in rushing with 367 yards and 5 touchdowns this season.

Against North Carolina Deon rushed for 124 yards and 2 TDs earning him the game ball and a lot of love from his teammates.

While Deon may be considered the little brother on the Irish football team he's actually the middle brother in the McIntosh family. His big brother, RJ, is a junior defensive lineman for the hurricanes.

"They were carrying a football and a basketball before they could walk," Richard McIntosh, Deon and RJ's father, said.

Deon and RJ grew up in a household surrounded by love and family.

Richard and Kyria have 6 children.

"We have 3 boys and 3 girls, so they were all running around," Kyria said.

"What did you make them do when they were kids?" Allison Hayes asked.

"I'd make them wrestle, make them box, you know the normal things you'd do as a dad to make them tough. He would get the best of Richard some time and he'd be mad but Deon would show that he would never back down," Richard said.

The brothers are opposites physically. Deon is 5'10", 193 pounds. RJ is 6'4", 291 pounds.

They are opposites off the field, too

"Deon was the kind of kid who stood off to the side by himself, he has his own personality, he's a quiet kid, not very loud. Richard on the other hand, he lights up the room. He's funny outgoing, very playful. They're a little opposite, but as far as the love they have for each other; unbreakable," Richard said.

Two brothers, playing for two of the nation's top football programs- but the youngest brother Kenny is next. He is a 4-star running back prospect with offers from Notre Dame and Miami and schools around the country.

No matter where the brothers play they always keep an eye on each other-

In last week's game against Virginia Tech- RJ had a fumble recovery-and he relied on his family ties to get him moving.

"It was special for me, I grew up in my family, all my brothers, my two brothers played running back, my dad played running back in high school. So, being around them, I guess that helped me a little bit," RJ said.

RJ didn't quite make it into the end zone

"I know my brother and them will be blow my phone up about me not scoring, but it's alright. I'll be alright," RJ said.

"Of course, they told him 'Stick to what you used to doing and that's tackling," Richard said.

The trash talk has escalated this week with the two taking jabs at each other with a game of this magnitude on the line.

"He's a good player, I grew up with him. We going to handle him, too," RJ said.

It has even carried over onto social media. Deon took to Instagram with a few words for his brother.

While they are the first to give the other a hard time, they always have each other's back.

"They're real close, we're all really close. We're a real close family and they love each other to death. They're very loyal to one another," Richard said.

With two sons playing who are the McIntosh's rooting for?

"I'm Miami and Notre Dame fan. I'm not biased like their daddy," Kyria said.

"It hurts to say I'm a big Hurricane fan, I know Deon is going to look at me different. But it's been unbelievable, we love the fact that the boys are where they are and doing what they doing I'm telling you it's been a long journey but we're so happy and thankful," Richard said.

"RJ and Deon, I'm rooting for both of them. I'm their biggest fan. We're not a house divided," Kyria said.

While Richard admits he's been a life-long Miami fan, stepping foot on Notre Dame's campus- he says he now understands why Deon loves it so much.

"Unbelievable. The first time stepping foot on that campus, it was amazing. That slogan you have 'we're not recruiting you for 4 years, we're recruiting you for 40 years' I can understand why," Richard said.