Notre Dame Top 25 Football Players of All Time!

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Bogtrotter07

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I thought this would be a fun topic to get through the last long days until we can start to parse snippets of info and video (when came starts) to support opposing conjectures that : ND is going to field the best team in America this year! Or everything is going to fall apart, and if we would have only fired _____ (pick Longo, BVG, Booker, etc.,) the season would have been better than the s$!t show it will be!

UHND has kicked off a rather in depth series on their pick of the top 25 of all time :

⌂Home / Notre Dame Football / Top 25 Players / #17 Raghib “Rocket” Ismail: Notre Dame Football’s Top 25 Players

I decided to start with their first nine, 25 to 17 to see what you think. (Spoiler alert : look out for 16.

17- Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, ALL PURPOSE, 1988-1990
#18 Tom Clements, Quarterback, 1972-1974
#19 Chris Zorich, Nose Tackle, 1988-1990
#20 Aaron Taylor, Guard/Tackle, 1990-1993
#21 Nick Buoniconti, Linebacker/Guard, 1958-1961
#22 Ken MacAfee, Tight End, 1974-1977
#23 Bill “Moose” Fischer, Left Guard, 1945-1948
#24 Todd Lyght, Cornerback, 1987-1990
#25 Louis “Red” Salmon, Fullback, 1900-1903

I thought this thread would be fun to debate whether a player deserved their ranking, or should be higher or lower.

Also, it would be fun to guess ahead as to who will turn up in the top 15.

Personal stories, about how this player affected you and your fandom would be great. Doesn't matter if it is radio, TV, or personal acquaintance. All stories welcome!

Without further ado, names that come up for me that should be on the list are : Bob Golic, Leon Hart (all the Heisman winners for that matter!), Tim Brown, Jerome Bettis, Alan Page, Jungle Jim Martin (may not belong, but he is a personal favorite), Bob Crable, Joe Theisman, Joe Montana, and who else?

Let the fun begin!
 
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Irish#1

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Michael Stonebreaker
Walt Paluski
Johnny Lujack
Jack Snow
Jim Seymour
 
B

Bogtrotter07

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Michael Stonebreaker
Walt Paluski
Johnny Lujack
Jack Snow
Jim Seymour

Agreed!

25 is a pretty rough job! Fifty would be better. But you really can't leave any one of these off of the list, can you?
 

Irish#1

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Agreed!

25 is a pretty rough job! Fifty would be better. But you really can't leave any one of these off of the list, can you?

If you did, I'd have to call you some foolish name. lol
 

jspags10pg

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Zack Martin should be on that list. He probably won't be...but he should be.
 

EddytoNow

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Manti Teo
Ricky Waters
Michael Floyd
Golden Tate
Autry Denson
Nick Eddy
Gerome Bettis
Alan Page
Michael Stonebreaker
Chris Zorich
Tyler Eifert
Jaylon Smith
 

Sherm Sticky

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Who is Gerome Bettis? Related to Jerome Bettis?


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Irish#1

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Just a gentle, nudging correction:

I do believe that it's Walt Patulski you're referencing.

Caught by the grammar police. I was in a hurry. What can I say, except, "Guilty as charged".
 

dshans

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Caught by the grammar police. I was in a hurry. What can I say, except, "Guilty as charged".

I just want a "clean" record.



Don't want none of this "Who the hell is Terry Hanratty" nonsense.
 
B

Bogtrotter07

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Remember, we are talking 25 here, (should be 50 at least.)

Here are the consensus All-Americans :

Eddie Anderson E 1921
Dick Arrington G 1965
Ed Beinor T 1938
Angelo Bertelli QB 1943
Art (Bud) Boeringer C 1926
Luther Bradley DB 1977
Tim Brown FL 1987
Ross Browner DE 1976-77
Jeff Burris CB 1993
Jack Cannon G 1929
Frank Carideo QB 1929-30
Dave Casper TE 1973
George Connor T 1946-47
Bob Crable LB 1980-81
Jim Crowley HB 1924
Pete Demmerle SE 1974
Gerry DiNardo G 1974
Larry DiNardo G 1970
Gus Dorais QB 1913
Bob Dove E 1941-42
Al Ecuyer G 1957
Nick Eddy HB 1966
Clarence Ellis DB 1971
Vagas Ferrguson HB 1979
Pat Filley G 1943
Bill Fischer G 1947-48
Tom Gatewood E 1970
George Gipp HB 1920
Bob Golic LB 1978
Jerry Groom C 1950
Ralph Guglielmi QB 1954
Terry Hanratty QB 1968
Leon Hart E 1948-49
Paul Hornug HB 1955
John Huarte QB 1964
Dave Huffman C 1978
Art Hunter T 1953
Raghib Ismail F 1990
Mirko Jurkovic G 1991
George Kunz T 1968
Joe Kurth T 1932
John Lattner QB 1952-53
Elmer Layden FB 1924
John Lujack QB 1946-47
Todd Lyght CB 1989-90
Jim Lynch LB 1966
Ken MacAfee TE 1976-77
Greg Marx DT 1972
Mike McCoy DT 1969
Creighton Miller HB 1943
Wayne Millner E 1935
Steve Niehaus T 1975
Alan Page DE 1966
Walt Patulski DE 1971
Nick Rassas DB 1965
Tom Regner G 1966
Jack Robinson C 1934
Frank Rydzewski C 1917
Jeff Samardzija WR 2005
Tom Schoen DB 1967
Marchy Schwartz HB 1930-31
John Scully C 1980
Emil Sitko FB 1948-49
Jaylon Smith LB 2015
John Smith G 1927
Jack Snow E 1964
Frank Stams DE 1988
Ronnie Stanley OT 2015
Monty Stickles E 1959
Michael Stonebreaker LB 1988,90
Harry Stuhldreher QB 1924
Chuck Sweeney E 1937
Aaron Taylor G/T 1992-93
Bobby Taylor CB 1994
Manti Te'o LB 2011,12
Mike Townsend DB 1973
Shane Walton CB 2002
Jim White T 1943
Bob Williams QB 1949
Tommy Yarr, C 1931
John Yonakor E 1943
Chris Zorich DT 1989-90

Among the first 127 Notre Dame football teams, #127, the team for 2015 was the first with two consensus All-Americans as classmates on the same team.
 
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Bogtrotter07

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And by number?

And by number?

Here is a trivia question that is bound to get a conversation stirred up!

What jersey number has produced the most Notre Dame All Americans?
 

BGIF

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Here is a trivia question that is bound to get a conversation stirred up!

What jersey number has produced the most Notre Dame All Americans?

#75.

I think Aaron Taylor was the last to wear it as an AA 20 some seasons ago.
 

dshans

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Shyte!

And I thought that I had too much time on my hands!
 

kmoose

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Tim Brown, Michael Floyd, Golden Tate have to be up there for WR's.

I'm not sure I have Floyd or Tate in my top 50, let alone my top 25. I would say they are some of the best receivers in ND's history, but considering that ND threw the ball like 3 times a game before Weis showed up, that's not really saying all that much.

Dave Casper is an all time great, and he had 21 catches for his entire ND CAREER. (He was a tackle mostly, only moving to TE in 1973, where he was the Offensive MVP of the team)
 

kmoose

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Remember, we are talking 25 here, (should be 50 at least.)

Here are the consensus All-Americans :

Eddie Anderson E 1921
Dick Arrington G 1965
Ed Beinor T 1938
Angelo Bertelli QB 1943
Art (Bud) Boeringer C 1926
Luther Bradley DB 1977
Tim Brown FL 1987
Ross Browner DE 1976-77
Jeff Burris CB 1993
Jack Cannon G 1929
Frank Carideo QB 1929-30
Dave Casper TE 1973
George Connor T 1946-47
Bob Crable LB 1980-81
Jim Crowley HB 1924
Pete Demmerle SE 1974
Gerry DiNardo G 1974
Larry DiNardo G 1970
Gus Dorais QB 1913
Bob Dove E 1941-42
Al Ecuyer G 1957
Nick Eddy HB 1966
Clarence Ellis DB 1971
Vagas Ferrguson HB 1979
Pat Filley G 1943
Bill Fischer G 1947-48
Tom Gatewood E 1970
George Gipp HB 1920
Bob Golic LB 1978
Jerry Groom C 1950
Ralph Guglielmi QB 1954
Terry Hanratty QB 1968
Leon Hart E 1948-49
Paul Hornug HB 1955
John Huarte QB 1964
Dave Huffman C 1978
Art Hunter T 1953
Raghib Ismail F 1990
Mirko Jurkovic G 1991
George Kunz T 1968
Joe Kurth T 1932
John Lattner QB 1952-53
Elmer Layden FB 1924
John Lujack QB 1946-47
Todd Lyght CB 1989-90
Jim Lynch LB 1966
Ken MacAfee TE 1976-77
Greg Marx DT 1972
Mike McCoy DT 1969
Creighton Miller HB 1943
Wayne Millner E 1935
Steve Niehaus T 1975
Alan Page DE 1966
Walt Patulski DE 1971
Nick Rassas DB 1965
Tom Regner G 1966
Jack Robinson C 1934
Frank Rydzewski C 1917
Jeff Samardzija WR 2005
Tom Schoen DB 1967
Marchy Schwartz HB 1930-31
John Scully C 1980
Emil Sitko FB 1948-49
Jaylon Smith LB 2015
John Smith G 1927
Jack Snow E 1964
Frank Stams DE 1988
Ronnie Stanley OT 2015
Monty Stickles E 1959
Michael Stonebreaker LB 1988,90
Harry Stuhldreher QB 1924
Chuck Sweeney E 1937
Aaron Taylor G/T 1992-93
Bobby Taylor CB 1994
Manti Te'o LB 2011,12
Mike Townsend DB 1973
Shane Walton CB 2002
Jim White T 1943
Bob Williams QB 1949
Tommy Yarr, C 1931
John Yonakor E 1943
Chris Zorich DT 1989-90

Among the first 127 Notre Dame football teams, #127, the team for 2015 was the first with two consensus All-Americans as classmates on the same team.

What about Todd Lyght and Chris Zorich in 1989?
 

BGIF

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#OL U is close with #TE U but in each case the players wore a variety of numbers at the same position over the years due to rule changes such as numbers by position and the current rule allowing more than one player to have the same number as long as their not on the field at the same time.
 
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