SEATTLE, Wash. – My editor, Lou Somogyi, wrote a story in the middle of last season titled “Instant Impact.”
The gist of the piece was that with freshmen starters Jimmy Clausen, Robert Hughes, Duval Kamara, Brian Smith, Kerry Neal and others making an immediate statistical mark, that 2007 was the “Year of the Freshman.”
The premise was great, and not far off base, but with all due respect to my boss, it looks like Mr. Somogyi was one year premature in his assessment.
With another great performance during a 33-7 win at Washington Saturday, it is becoming clearer that 2008 is not only the “Year of the Freshman,” but this group might also be the best freshman class ever assembled at Notre Dame as far as production in the first year.
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Floyd set the Notre Dame mark for receiving touchdowns by a freshman with his 5th of the season against Washington.
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Five regular-season games still remain, but the contributions these frosh have already made can’t be overstated. Ten freshmen have played, and at least six have made a noticeable impact on the team’s turnaround.
Here are a few of note:
- Wide receiver Michael Floyd tied for the team lead in receptions Saturday with his four-catch, 107-yard, one-touchdown performance. He has already broken the freshman single-season receiving record for touchdowns with five, and he will also shatter the catch and yardage marks this season.
- Tight end Kyle Rudolph will own every receiving record for a freshman tight end. He is already the first freshman in 11 years to catch a touchdown pass and the first in 20 years to catch a TD in consecutive weeks.
- Cornerback Robert Blanton is only the fifth freshman in Notre Dame history to return an interception for a touchdown. He also has 15 tackles.
- Linebacker Darius Fleming entered the Washington game as the team leader in special-teams appearances with 109 and recorded a sack on defense.
- Ethan Johnson shared a sack Saturday and has been steady on the defensive line while taking on a starting role.
- Trevor Robinson played almost the entire game at left offensive guard against Washington and more than held his own.
Not to take anything away from the previous Notre Dame recruiting classes, but this group shares the talent, poise and unmistakable bond unlike any other in Irish history. Charlie Weis sure sees it.
“I’ve never seen in my four years here a class as close,” he said. “They’re a really tight-knit group and they’re a good bunch of kids. I really like them.”
Freshmen didn’t become eligible until 1972, and Notre Dame has fielded plenty of fine rookie classes since then.
- Ross Browner and Luther Bradley helped anchor an Irish defense in 1973 that surrendered only 89 points all season en route to a national title. Browner had 68 tackles, 15 for loss, and Bradley recorded six interceptions with 11 passes broken up.
- Raghib “Rocket” Ismail was one of several freshmen to make an impact on the 1988 national title team. Ismail averaged 27.6 yards on his 12 receptions and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. Tight end Derek Brown, drop end Arnold Ale and fullback Rodney Culver were also important members of that team.
- Freshman running backs Randy Kinder, Marc Edwards and Robert Farmer contributed to a running attack that helped lead the Irish to an 11-1 season and a No. 2 final ranking in 1993. Bert Berry became a starter at linebacker.
Those are a few notable members of some terrific Notre Dame freshman classes over the years. But none of them stand up to the 2008 group as far as volume, balance and impact.
The roots of the current Irish frosh were fortified during the trials of a 3-9 record last season. It would have been easy to grow apart and decommit – especially with everyone from coaches to classmates reminding them how the grass would be greener elsewhere.
But with the exception of one (Omar Hunter), they didn’t budge. The words that were meant to pry the group apart served as glue instead, and that says something about the character of this class.
“You knew you had a really special group because they were getting hammered every day,” Weis said of this class sticking together through last season. “They were getting hammered everywhere they went – by their peers, in school, in the grocery store, and certainly by every other college in America. So that’s one of the reasons why you know they are special.”
The last line in Somogyi’s story says, “It’s unlikely any Notre Dame freshman ever again will have the impact Ross Browner and Luther Bradley did in 1973.” Maybe not in terms of a title, but through improvement and impact, Michael Floyd is offering fodder for debate.
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