By The Numbers: 3-4

#3
First Team: Joe Montana (1975, 1977-78)
Number 3 has had plenty of Notre Dame luminaries, but Montana is football royalty. Three other Irish QBs who wore 3 were drafted by the NFL among the first three picks (George Izo and Rick Mirer No. 2 in 1960 and 1993, respectively, and Ralph Guglielmi No. 3 in 1955), whereas Montana didn’t go until the third round. Also, Montana’s 4,121 career yards passing at Notre Dame were nearly eclipsed in one season by Brady Quinn.

But this isn’t about stats or honors. Montana was the fourth team quarterback on the junior varsity as a 1974 freshman, completed only 42 percent of his 66 passes as a sophomore – with twice as many interceptions (8) than TDs (4) – sat out his junior year with a separated shoulder – and began his senior year on the third team.

Montana's heroics at Notre Dame include seven come-from-behind victories.

After rescuing Notre Dame from defeat in Game 3 by rallying the Irish from a 24-14 fourth-quarter deficit at Purdue, he sparked the 1977 national title run, combining both championship leadership with a Horatio Alger rags-to-riches storyline.

Seven times during his career he spearheaded a spectacular rally, culminating with the 35-34 win versus Houston in the 1979 Cotton Bowl.

And just in case the late Rev. James Riehle is still wondering…Montana did fine since leaving Notre Dame.

Second Team: Ralph Guglielmi (1951-54)
Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001, Guglielmi was 26-3-1 (.883) as Notre Dame’s quarterback under Frank Leahy and Terry Brennan, and also paced the 1953 and 1954 teams in interceptions with five in both years.

Because Montana never made first-team All-America (honorable mention AP was his highest award in college), Guglielmi is the lone Notre Dame player who donned No. 3 in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Third Team: Rick Mirer (1989-92)
The No. 2 pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, Mirer was on the cover of Sports Illustrated after his first start, a 28-24 comeback win over Michigan in the opener of his sophomore season. He helped direct victories against six teams ranked in the top 10 and was also 3-0 as the starter against USC, yet his most famous play was finding his fourth option, Reggie Brooks, in the end zone to defeat Penn State, 17-16, in the 1992 “Snow Bowl.”

Honorable Mention & Notes: This is easily the most prominent number for Irish quarterbacks.

George Izo and Daryle Lamonica donned No. 3 from 1958-62. Izo was the No. 2 pick in the 1960 NFL Draft, and Lamonica had a prolific career as “The Mad Bomber” with the Oakland Raiders. They could have flourished under Frank Leahy or Ara Parseghian, but instead struggled with floundering Irish teams. Timing is everything.

Coley O’Brien (1966-68) helped finish the 1966 national title run by rallying the Irish from a 10-0 deficit at No. 2 Michigan State when Terry Hanratty was injured and then shredding Pac 8 champion USC’s defense the following week in a 51-0 rout.

Ron Powlus (1994-97), the quarterbacks coach for Charlie Weis, was oft maligned because of over-the-top expectations on the outside, but the four-year starter had his share of stellar moments.

The late Harry Oliver (1978-81) was a vital component during Notre Dame’s 9-0-1 start in 1980. He drilled 18 of his 23 field-goal attempts that season, highlighted by the 51-yard game-winner as time expired against that year’s Rose Bowl champion, Michigan.

Darius Walker (2004-06) holds the Notre Dame freshman record for yards rushing (786) and then eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark twice under Charlie Weis. He is the best non-quarterback to don No. 3 – although Michael Floyd will challenge him for that distinction in the next few years.

#4
First Team: Adam Walsh (1922-24)
C – Adam Walsh (1922-24) – The captain of Knute Rockne’s first national champs and ringleader of the famed Seven Mules (1924), he is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. Noted for his toughness, Walsh played most of the 1924 Army game (The “Outlined against a blue-gray October sky…” contest) with two broken hands but still intercepted a pass and made the majority of tackles in the hard-fought 13-7 victory.

He also was the NFL Coach of the Year in 1945 when he led the Cleveland Rams to the NFL title, and was appointed by two different presidents as U.S. Marshal for district of Maine.

When Sports Illustrated asked us a few years ago to put together the all-time Notre Dame team, Walsh was tabbed as our center.

Second Team: Bert Metzger (1928-30)
Single-digit numbers for linemen were commonplace in the 1920s under Metzger, and 5-9, 145-pound guard Metzger had a career that mirrored Walsh’s. He was an All-America selection for a national title team (1930) and also is in the Hall of Fame.

Third Team: Ryan Grant (2001-04) & Lee Becton (1991-94)
These tailbacks had almost identical careers, with Becton rushing for 1,044 yards (at 6.4 yards per pop) during the 11-1 campaign in 1993 (not including 138 more yards as the Cotton Bowl MVP), while Grant totaled 1,085 yards as a sophomore for the 10-3 Irish squad under first-year head coach Tyrone Willingham.

Grant finished with 2,220 yards rushing in his career, while Becton had 2,029. Both were slowed by injuries later in their careers, but thrived when given the opportunity.

Neither was a speed merchant (Lou Holtz even told Becton he’s too slow to pull a hamstring), but they maximized their effectiveness.

Honorable Mention & Notes: Four who donned 4 were tough to omit from the top 3.

Frank Dancewicz (1943-45) may be the most overshadowed quarterback in Notre Dame history because he played in between Heisman winners Angelo Bertelli and John Lujack – but do you realize he was the No. 1 pick in the 1946 NFL Draft?

Kickers Chuck Male (1978-79) and Mike Johnston (1980-83) had stellar careers. Male’s four field goals, then a Notre Dame record, beat Michigan 12-10 in 1979, while Johnston was an extraordinary 19 of 22 on his field-goal attempts in 1982, getting a game ball in a 23-17 win over Michigan and knocking through the game winner with 11 seconds left in a 16-14 defeat of Miami.

USA Today Defensive Player of the Year Kory Minor (1995-98) was a four-year starter who recorded 43.5 tackles for loss, second to the peerless Ross Browner’s 77 on the school career chart.