#24
First Team: Frank Carideo (1928-30)
The quarterback position was much different during Knute Rockne’s era and prior to the advent of the T-formation in the early 1940s. However, the role of leadership didn’t change and, next to George Gipp, Carideo may have been Rockne’s most identifiable individual athlete.
While helping propel Notre Dame to unbeaten national title runs in 1929 and 1930, Rockne’s last two seasons, Carideo earned unanimous first-team All-America notice at quarterback, ultimately leading to his enshrinement into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.
Carideo led the Irish to two national titles with undefeated seasons in 1929 and 1930.
He is one of 16 players in Notre Dame’s illustrious history to receive consensus All-America notice in two different seasons — and the only one under Rockne.
Second Team: Mark Green (1985-88)
Several times we’ve noted players who could make the “All-Underrated” squad at Notre Dame, with fullback Anthony Johnson (who wore No. 22) the most recent. Johnson’s backfield partner from 1986-88, Mark Green, could just as easily be the tailback.
He led the Irish in rushing each of Lou Holtz’s first two seasons (1986-87), averaging 5.9 yards per carry as a junior while totaling 861 yards on the ground. Then as a tri-captain senior for the 1988 national champs, he added 646 yards and seven scores. His 1,977 yards rushing still rank among the top 15 on the school’s career chart.
He was neither as flashy or the game-breaker as Ricky Watters was, nor the powerful runner that Tony Brooks was. But when Lou Holtz suspended both Watters and Brooks for the 1988 showdown at 10-0 and No. 2 USC, solace could be taken in the fact that the backfield would be in extremely capable hands with Tony Rice, Johnson and Green — with Green scoring twice in the 27-10 victory.
Watters even was shifted to flanker for the 1988 season because Green, at the time, was a better option as far as consistency.
Third Team: Joe “Small Wonder” Howard (1981-84)
The least heralded member of Gerry Faust’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class in 1981 — the one that featured a record 13 Parade All-Americans — Howard exploded onto the scene in the second half of his freshman year with 17 catches for 463 yards (27.2 average), highlighted by a school-record 96-yard scoring pass against Georgia Tech. Howard’s freshman year numbers were eerily similar to 1979 Michigan freshman Anthony Carter (17 catches, 462 yards in 1979), a future Hall of Famer.
Howard finished his career with 85 receptions that averaged 19.6 yards.
When injuries and suspensions left the 1983-84 basketball squad without a point guard, Howard filled in as the starter in February and helped Digger Phelps’ squad advance to the championship game of the NIT. He was voted Most Inspirational by his teammates. (Freshman David Rivers was recruited the next year to take over at point guard.)
Honorable Mention & Notes:Harvey Brown (1921-23) received second-team All-America notice as a senior guard.
Al Samuel was the second-leading rusher for Ara Parseghian’s final Notre Dame team in 1974, gaining 525 yards, and also the third-leading receiver with 14 catches. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry during his career.
#25
First Team: Raghib “Rocket” Ismail (1988-90)
The most electrifying Notre Dame player ever when the ball was in his hands. Consider the “Five Rs” during his three seasons at Notre Dame before turning pro.
Record
Notre Dame won the first 23 games in Ismail’s career, a school standard.
The Irish were 33-4 (.892) in Ismail’s three seasons, but consider this about the 9-3 campaign in 1990 when he finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting to Brigham Young’s Ty Detmer (Ismail did win the Walter Camp Award): In that year’s loss to Stanford, Ismail did not play because of an injury. In the second defeat, versus Penn State, Notre Dame held a 21-7 halftime lead when Ismail played. When he was sidelined with an injury in the second half, the Irish lost, 24-21.
In the third loss, to No. 1 Colorado in the Orange Bowl, Ismail returned a punt 91 yards for a TD in the final minute, but the potential game-winner was negated by a clipping call, one of the more debated calls in the program’s history.
Returns
Ismail’s six returns for touchdowns tie Tim Brown and Allen Rossum for the most at Notre Dame – and that’s without a senior season. The two kickoff returns for scores (88 and 92 yards) at Michigan in 1989 during the No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown marked the first time anyone returned a kickoff for a TD against the Wolverines in 32 years. Just as defining was his 94-yard romp off a kickoff in the 29-20 victory over hated Miami in 1990. (Ismail also rushed for 100 yards on 13 carries in that contest.)
The Irish were 33-4 (.892) in Ismail's three seasons at Notre Dame.
Receiving
Although he enrolled as a running back and had no experience as a wideout, Ismail’s 71 career receptions at Notre Dame averaged a school record 22.0 yards. In the memorable 31-30 victory over No. 1 Miami in 1988, the freshman caught four passes for 97 yards, setting up two touchdowns with crucial grabs.
Rushing
When Notre Dame’s 23-game winning streak was snapped at Miami in 1989, Lou Holtz apologized to Ismail for not getting him more involved in the game (he had four carries for 29 yards after rushing for 84 yards on nine carries the previous week at Penn State). Holtz then inserted Ismail at tailback in the 1990 Orange Bowl against No. 1 Colorado, and the Rocket Man was named the MVP with 16 carries for 108 yards, highlighted by a 35-yard touchdown, in the 21-6 Irish victory.
Not including that Orange Bowl, Ismail’s 131 career carries averaged 7.7 yards. The school record is 7.6 by Reggie Brooks because 150 attempts are required to be recognized.
Remarkable
Of all of Ismail’s numbers, none is as mind boggling than the fact that his 17 career touchdowns at Notre Dame (bowl games excluded) averaged 61.7 yards. What other player in NCAA annals who lined up on offense and scored a minimum of 10 career touchdowns can rival that figure? Even 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown’s 22 career touchdowns averaged “only” 41.5 yards.
Second Team: Al Hunter (1973, 1975-76)
There’s something about the jersey No. 25 at Notre Dame that correlates with speed. When he enrolled in 1973, Hunter was considered the fastest recruit ever to suit up for the Irish because he had been timed at 9.3 seconds in the 100-yard dash.
His 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the epic 24-23 victory over Alabama in the 1973 Sugar Bowl helped win Notre Dame the national title.
In 1976, Hunter made history when he became the first Notre Dame back to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing in his career, finishing with 1,058.
Third Team: Dick Lynch (1955-57)
Immortalized for his fourth-quarter touchdown sweep on fourth down in the 7-0 victory at Oklahoma, thus snapping the Sooners’ NCAA record 47-game winning streak, Lynch was actually more esteemed for his defensive prowess.
During an eight-year career with the New York Giants, Lynch twice led the NFL in interceptions and recorded 37 in his career en route to All-Pro honors. The long-time color commentator for Giants games, Lynch passed away last September from leukemia.
Honorable Mention & Notes:Randy Kinder (1993-96) and Tony Driver (1997-2000) were two other state sprint champions who donned No. 25.
In a relatively quiet manner, Kinder totaled 2,295 yards rushing and 5.7 yards per carry at Notre Dame, ranking among the top 10 rushers. But because he was considered too much of a “lane runner,” he wasn’t drafted by the NFL but did play three years in the league as a defensive back.
Conversely, after Driver began his Notre Dame career at running back, he shifted to safety and became a sixth-round pick.
Earl Brown (1936-38) was an All-America end for the 1938 squad that started 8-0 before losing the national title in the season finale, a 13-0 setback at USC.
Defensive back Jim Smithberger (1965-67) started for the 1966 national champs and received second-team All-America notice from The Sporting News the following year.
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