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July 28, 2009
By The Numbers: 97-99
by
LOU SOMOGYI
Senior Editor
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One of our discoveries in this survey is that football players seldom wore numbers 90 and higher until the late 1960s. We suspect that once the athletes didn’t have to play both offense and defense — starting in 1964 — the numbers from 90 and up began to open up more liberally.
#97
First Team: Bryant Young (1990-93)
One of the top five “first guy off the bus” figures. Lou Holtz defined that person as someone whose mere physical presence and glare makes the opponent pay a laundry bill for soiling himself. The four-time Pro Bowl pick was Notre Dame’s best defensive player in the NFL since Alan Page in the 1970s.
A three-year starter, Young’s impact at Notre Dame was valued not so much by statistics (although he did record 176 career tackles 40.5 for losses, including 18.5 sacks) but by how he dominated the line of scrimmage to free up teammates. His leadership also was second to none — and hopefully will benefit the 2009 outfit with his role as a graduate assistant along the defensive line.
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Weaver started 41 games during his career at Notre Dame.
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Second Team: Pat Kramer (1978-81)
Versatile performer at end and tackle, he started along the defensive front as a sophomore and junior before a shoulder injury derailed his career. As a junior on the 1980 team that played No. 1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and did not permit a touchdown for a school-record 23 consecutive quarters, Kramer recorded 53 tackles (fifth on team), 12 for lost yardage (second).
#98
First Team: Anthony Weaver (1998-2001)
A difficult choice between two second-round NFL picks at defensive tackle: Weaver or Trevor Laws (2004-07). We consulted with BGI recruiting writer/analyst Jason Sapp, who also played along the Irish defensive line from 2000-03 and had a chance to compete and work against both players. A slight edge was given to Weaver.
Whereas Laws redshirted as a freshman, Weaver broke into the starting lineup within the first couple of weeks of fall camp and started as a true freshman in the 1998 opener versus defending co-national champ Michigan. He forced a fumble in that game that set up a touchdown and helped break open a 36-20 Notre Dame victory. After leading the team in tackles for lost yardage (6), Weaver was named first-team Freshman All-America.
Quick enough to play end but strong enough to line up at tackle, Weaver started 41 games and had a sensational senior year with 21 tackles for lost yardage, including seven sacks. For his efforts he was named Notre Dame’s MVP and a second-team All-American by ABC Sports Online.
Second Team: Trevor Laws (2004-07)
After recording 112 tackles his first three seasons, Laws totaled a remarkable 112 (eight for lost yardage, with four sacks) during the 3-9 train wreck that marred his senior year. It was one short of Steve Niehaus’ school-record 113 for a defensive lineman, set in 1975. Like Weaver, Laws was named the team MVP at the end of the season. Unlike Weaver, he received no postseason All-America notice for his sensational individual effort.
One of the reasons why an edge was given to Weaver was because he made 13 more tackles for lost yardage in his senior year while playing in more competitive contests. During the 2007 campaign, the Irish were getting blown out in so many games, the chances were better to rack up a higher tackle total because the opposition was mainly trying to run out the clock in the majority of games. Still, a triple-digit tackle total in one season by a lineman might never again be seen at Notre Dame, and seldom anywhere.
Third Team: Bob Thomas (1971-73)
The Chief Justice in Illinois for three years (2005-08), Thomas also is in the Academic All-America Hall of Fame. Notre Dame faithful best remember him as the kicker whose 19-yard field goal with 4:26 provided the winning points in the 24-23 national championship showdown against Alabama in the 1973 Sugar Bowl. Thomas also played 11 years in the NFL.
Honorable Mention & Notes: Pete Chryplewicz’s (1993-96) 27 catches for 331 yards and four TDs in Lou Holtz’s final season made him the first Irish tight end to pace the team in catches since Mark Bavaro 12 years earlier.
#99
First Team: Joe Unis (1976-78)
Prior to the 1978 showdown versus No. 1 Texas at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, backup kicker Joe Unis told starter Dave Reeve of a dream he had where he had to be called in to replace an injured Reeve and kick the game winner in his hometown. That never came to fruition, as the Irish easily routed the Longhorns, 38-10, to capture the national title.
But the following year, after Reeve graduated and walk-on Chuck Male replaced Unis as the starter during the season, Unis had to be the starter in the Cotton Bowl (versus Houston) when an injury prevented Male from kicking. Unis missed his first extra point, and the Irish attempted two-pointers on their next three TDs. Notre Dame rallied from a 34-12 fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game at 34 as time elapsed when Joe Montana found Kris Haines for the TD.
Now it was up to Unis to kick the game-winner in frigid conditions. He made the attempt — only to have it waved off because of an Irish penalty. He then made the second one from 25 yards to finish Notre Dame’s greatest comeback victory ever.
“If you don’t dream, things don’t come true,” Unis said.
Second Team: Troy Ridgley (1988-91)
A top linebacker recruit in 1988, Ridgley moved to the defensive line the following year and received his first career start in the Orange Bowl against No. 1 Colorado. Ridgley responded with nine tackles in the 21-6 victory, highlighted by a stop at the one-yard line on a fake field-goal attempt by the Buffaloes when the game was still scoreless.
Ridgley finished with 73 career tackles, but myriad off-the-field issues prevented him from graduating at (the main reason he dropped to second team in this survey). He did play in the NFL and received his degree from Florida, but has still expressed deep fondness for the Irish.
Honorable Mention & Notes: Hopefully the pattern won’t continue with current sophomore Brandon Newman, but 99 has been a jinx for Irish defensive line prospects for the past 20 years (including Ridgley’s unceremonious exit from the school for discipline issues).
Cliff Stroud (1992-95) was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Pennsylvania, but wrecked his knee as an Irish freshman and required reconstructive surgery. He was never able to get his football career off the ground thereafter.
Jason Ching (1996-99) was a Parade and USA Today first team All-America…maybe the state of Hawaii’s most decorated prospect until Mani Te’o. But major knee problems and illness hampered his progress and allowed him to make only 10 career tackles.
Jason Sapp (2000-03) arrived as a USA Today honorable mention pick and as a cousin of All-Pro Warren Sapp. He too wrecked his knee during preseason drills in his freshman year and underwent reconstructive surgery. Today, he has become a valued member of Blue & Gold Illustrated’s staff as its chief recruiting writer and analyst.
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