South Bend, Indiana often has found itself at the epicenter of college football because of Notre Dame. Seldom, however, is it a hotbed of high school football talent.
So when Clay High School junior wide receiver Daniel Smith pledged his verbal commitment to the 2010 Notre Dame recruiting class on Jan. 26, it marked the first time in 23 years that someone from a South Bend Community Public School Corporation product did the deed.
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Smith became the second verbal commitment for the 2010 class this week.
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South Bend’s city sister, Mishawaka, also has produced some recent talent, most notably from Penn High School. They include former offensive line standout Mike Rosenthal (1995-98) and current Irish freshman center Braxston Cave.
Special teams in particular have benefited the Irish with local products from Catholic High Schools. They’ve included kickers Chuck Male (1978-79) and kicker/punter D.J. Fitzpatrick (2002-05) from Mishawaka Marian, and punter Jim Sexton (1988-91) from South Bend St. Joseph’s. Another St. Joe product was long-snapper and four-year starter Kevin Kelly (1981-84), the son of long-time Irish linebackers coach George Kelly (1969-85).
Can Smith become the best or most famous South Bend product ever to play for the Irish football program? If so, he would have to beat out this top 5:
5) Fred “Dippy” Evans – The 1940-42 running back paced Frank Leahy’s first Irish squad (1941) in rushing with 490 yards en route to an unbeaten season. The 24th overall pick in the 1943 NFL Draft, his nickname came from taking injections of Novocain prior to practice to hide an injury from Leahy that was incurred in off-the-field antics. Consequently, he was said to appear “dippy” in the practices.
While playing for the Chicago Bears in 1948, he became the first – and still lone – player in NFL history to return two fumbles for touchdowns in the same game.
4) Joe Kuharich – Although he had an infamous tenure as Notre Dame’s head coach from 1959-62, producing a 17-23 record, he was a stellar offensive guard for the Irish from 1935-37. Head coach Elmer Layden, one of Notre Dame’s legendary Four Horsemen and a College Football Hall of Fame enshrinee, rated him as one the best and smartest players he had ever coached.
3) Frank E. Hering – Notre Dame's captain and coach in 1898, and later a longtime president of the school's Alumni Association, Hering Awards were a staple of Notre Dame football well into the 1980s. They were earned by players who displayed the most improvement in spring practice.
Yet Hering’s greatest claim to fame is he is often referred to as "The Father of Mother's Day" because he helped inspire Americans to once a year set aside a day to honor mothers.
2) Pat Filley – Not only was he Notre Dame’s second two-time captain in history (1943-44, but he also was a two-time All-America guard – even though he was the smallest player in the starting lineup (5-foot-8, 175). He never played pro ball, but he excelled for the 1943 national champs that played the toughest schedule in college football history (defeated the teams that finished Nos. 2,3,4, 9, 11 and 13).
1) Anthony Johnson – A relatively unheralded prospect as part of Lou Holtz’s first recruiting class at Notre Dame in 1986, the South Bend John Adams High product was a consistent mainstay in the backfield for the power-based attack that won a school-record 23 straight games in 1988-89. A stellar blocker, he also scored the most touchdowns during the Holtz era (35).
Although Johnson didn’t post jaw-dropping numbers while rushing for 1,641 career yards, he was the money man in short-yardage situations and epitomized the Holtz mandate of toughness and BYOB (Be Your Own Blocker) in the backfield. The second-round NFL draft pick had an 11-year NFL career and serves as the team chaplain for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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