Why former Notre Dame DE Justin Tuck succeeds off the field

Former Notre Dame and New York Giants star defensive end Justin Tuck pushes back on the narrative that athletes aren’t intelligent or can’t be successful in other fields. He would know — Tuck is the Managing Director of Private Wealth at Goldman Sachs, where he has worked since 2018.

“I always tell people, I love hiring athletes, because we are so much more comfortable dealing under pressure, performing under pressure,” Tuck told Blue & Gold on Friday in an exclusive interview. “Those are things that people don’t think about.”

Sitting in a bus with the DirecTV and Notre Dame logos on it outside O’Rourke’s on Eddy Street, Tuck reflected on why the reputation of athletes off the field is misguided

The defensive end who held Notre Dame’s all-time sack record from 2005-22 is in South Bend in partnership with DirecTV. Tuck is meeting and hanging out with fans Friday and Saturday in advance of the Irish taking on USC.

What many people think about when judging intelligence and business acumen, Tuck believes, is capacity to learn. The idea is that athletes, even those who come from Notre Dame, can’t match up with those who graduated Cum Laude at Ivy Leauge schools in their learning capacity.

That, Tuck said, is a false narrative.

“Okay, you want to talk about capacity to learn,” Tuck said. “Let’s look at our playbooks, especially in the NFL, where we get a different playbook every Wednesday and you got to know it by Friday.”

Tuck glanced over at the TV to his right, which was showing a replay of Thursday night’s game between the Broncos and Chiefs.

“I got to understand everything that you need to know about Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes and what they do in trips personnel with the back offset to the right on third down and 10, and that changes when it’s third-down-and-five,” Tuck said. “And I gotta know that because you, the quarterback, are saying, ‘Down, set, hut,’ and I gotta make sure that I know that like [claps] that. 

“You’re telling me that these athletes don’t have the capacity of learning and doing it very quickly?”

The experience of playing football, or any sport, in a locker room with many people with Type-A personalities helps in the world of business and finance as well. Tuck spent time with people from many different religions, walks of life and backgrounds, which he said translates to his job at Goldman Sachs, too.

On a team, football or otherwise, Tuck recalls dealing with different types of people and, as a leader in the locker room, helping them move together to achieve their goals

“If that doesn’t mirror what you’re going to see in the professional field from an office perspective, I don’t know what does,” Tuck said.

Going to Notre Dame specifically, Tuck said, played a big role in giving him the tools to succeed in business and finance.

Tuck grew up in Kellyton, Ala., where he didn’t have AP courses to take. He felt like he came in a little bit behind at Notre Dame, but he grew a lot during his time in South Bend. The Mendoza College of Business, from which he graduated, gave him the resources to close the gap. If there was a gap, he added.

“Notre Dame is just that place where they ask a lot from you, but they also offer you a lot to make sure that you’re up to speed,” Tuck said. “And you have the right resources to become that which you want to become, both on and off the field of play.”

Notre Dame lauds its “Four for 40” recruiting pitch, which is the idea that four years in South Bend will do more for your life after football than playing collegiately anywhere else.

It’s hard to think of a better example than Justin Tuck.

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