73 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 73 for New Orleans

73 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 73 for New Orleans

The New Orleans Saints will kick off their 2023 regular season against the Tennessee Titans at home in the Caesars Superdome on Sept. 10, which is now 73 days away. We’ll be counting down the days until kickoff by looking back on every Saints player who wore the corresponding jersey number.

In other words, it’s Jahri Evans Day. The six-time Pro Bowl right guard earned a spot on the Hall of Fame’s All-2010s Team as well as four spots on the All-Pro first team, and it’s led to some strong arguments in his favor now that he’s eligible for Hall of Fame induction. He’s by far the biggest name to ever wear No. 73 for the Saints, but here’s the full list from Pro Football Reference:

75 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 75 for New Orleans

75 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 75 for New Orleans

The New Orleans Saints will kick off their 2023 regular season against the Tennessee Titans at home in the Caesars Superdome on Sept. 10, which is now 75 days away.

We’ll be counting down the days until kickoff by looking back on every Saints player who wore the corresponding jersey number.

Who stands out in No. 75? Defensive end Bruce Clark (1982-1988) was a key player for the Saints in his day, having won a Pro Bowl nod in 1984. Lately it’s been used by left guard Andrus Peat (2014-2023) who has been selected for three Pro Bowls as an alternate. Peat’s own position coach Doug Marrone wore No. 75 in his single game appearance for the Saints back in 1989. Here’s the full list from Pro Football Reference:

76 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 76 for New Orleans

76 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 76 for New Orleans

The New Orleans Saints will kick off their 2023 regular season against the Tennessee Titans at home in the Caesars Superdome on Sept. 10, which is now 76 days away.

We’ll be counting down the days until kickoff by looking back on every Saints player who wore the corresponding jersey number.

Some of the biggest names to have worn No. 76 for the Saints include center Jonathan Goodwin (2006-2010) and defensive lineman Akiem Hicks (2012-2015), though more-seasoned fans may recall defensive tackle Dave Rowe (1967-1970) and offensive tackle Don Morrison (1971-1977) from the franchise’s early days. Here’s the full list from Pro Football Reference:

Notre Dame football: 80 days until 2023 kickoff

80 to go!

In 80 days the 2023 Notre Dame football season will kickoff.  What the Irish end up being remains to be seen but with Sam Hartman at quarterback and plenty over changes on the coaching staff, eyes will be all over the Irish when they kickoff against Navy in late August.

80 days.

80 is also the amount of yards we saw Notre Dame go on their last possession of 2022.  You know, the one right after Tommy Rees made perhaps the single worst play-call of his career?

Notre Dame led the Gator Bowl 38-31 with 7:42 to play and was driving.  Actually, was bullying South Carolina up-front.  So Rees called a pass, only to have it returned for a touchdown by South Carolina.  It was Tyler Buchner’s second pick-six of the contest and all-time coaching blunder.

To Rees and Buchner’s credit they both bounced back and delivered a big-time drive when it was most necessary.  They did so by not over-complicating things.

Of the 80 yards Notre Dame went that final drive, 47 of the first 52 were on the ground.  Facing a third-and-seven at the South Carolina 16, Rees came back with one of his better play calls, having Buchner roll right then throw back to the left, finding tight end Mitchell Evans for an easy pass-and-catch and the game-winning score.

Little did we know that’d be the last play (besides taking one knee) Tommy Rees would call and Tyler Buchner would make at Notre Dame.  Logan Diggs, who was huge that entire game will be gone as well.

All the losses yet there is more excitement for this Notre Dame offense in 2023 than there has been in quite some time.

Check out video from ground level of that game-winning touchdown pass below as well as some of the best photos from that rather crazy Gator Bowl win.

My favorite part is Blake Fisher coming in towards the end to silence the South Carolina fans.

80 days!

Notre Dame football just 83 days away

Under 12 weeks til kickoff!

Notre Dame football returns in 83 days as the Irish are set to open the 2023 season abroad, taking on Navy in Dublin, Ireland.

As we like to do, we’re counting things down as we get set for the long-awaited return of Notre Dame football. Will the Irish be a threat to crash the College Football Playoff party in 2023? Time will tell but with the addition of transfer quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag], expectations are high in South Bend.

With today being day 83 in the countdown it’s a proper day to look back at the Notre Dame with a couple of the best receivers the program has ever know.  Of course I’m talking about [autotag]Jeff Samardzija[/autotag] and [autotag]Chase Claypool[/autotag].

Looking back, it’s easy to make a case that Samardzija was the best player on the successful 2005 and 2006 teams while Claypool fit Samardzija’s track record a bit, taking time to develop on campus but having an outstanding final two years.

Check out the best pictures of both Samardzija and Claypool during their  times at Notre Dame below!

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100 days until Notre Dame-Navy in Ireland

100 to go!

Today is the last day that you’ll have woken up and there will be triple digits days left until college football fully returns.   Week Zero is highlighted by Notre Dame and Navy in Dublin, Ireland this year and it’s now just 100 days away.

We’ll be counting down the days until kickoff all summer long sometimes various and entirely random number connections throughout.

In honor of it being 100 days we thought a good way to mark the occasion would be to look back at [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag]’s time at Notre Dame.

Why?  Well he did have 100 career wins as Notre Dame’s head football coach which trailed only Knute Rockne when he left the program following the 1996 season.

Holtz of course guided Notre Dame to the 1988 national championship and hopefully before too much longer he’ll not be the last coach to lead the Irish to a title.  We all know about the title but here are a handful of other notes from Holtz’s time at Notre Dame to look back on as we countdown the days to the season opener.

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Complete list of Packers Wire’s ‘Unpacking Future Packers’ draft preview series for 2023

Entire countdown of Packers Wire’s 2023 draft preview series, Unpacking Future Packers, from Brennen Rupp.

Packers Wire draft analyst Brennen Rupp is previewing the 2023 NFL draft with his special countdown series called “Unpacking Future Packers.” The series will highlight the skillsets of 100 different prospects and provide their individual fit with the Packers.

Last year, Quay Walker, Devonte Wyatt, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure all made the top 100 countdown.

The Unpacking Future Packers is a countdown of 100 prospects that could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The entire countdown will be linked in order here.

100: LSU DL Jaquelin Roy
99: Michigan State TE Daniel Barker
98: Michigan DL Mazi Smith
97: Oklahoma RB Eric Gray
96: Purdue TE Payne Durham
95: Wisconsin DL Keeanu Benton
94: Illinois DB Sydney Brown
93: Purdue WR Charlie Jones
92: Miami TE Will Mallory
91: Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
90: Pitt OT Carter Warren
89: Maryland WR Rakim Jarrett
88: Pitt RB Israel Abanikanda
87: Utah OL Braeden Daniels
86: Wisconsin C Joe Tippmann
85: Miss. State DL Cameron Young
84: Tennessee WR Jalin Hyatt
83: Cal DB Daniel Scott
82: Virginia WR Dontayvion Wicks
81: Virginia Tech DB Chamarri Conner
80: Alabama TE Cameron Latu
79: Oklahoma State S Jason Taylor II
78: Cincinnati WR Tyler Scott
77: Iowa State OLB Will McDonald IV
76: Penn State WR Parker Washington
75: Oregon State CB Rejzohn Wright

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Notre Dame football returns in 83 Jeff Samardzija days

Who is your favorite Notre Dame wide receiver of all-time?

We’re under 12 weeks officially until Notre Dame football returns by kicking off the 2022 season under the lights at Ohio State.

As often as we can we’re taking a daily look at something that has to do with the number of days remaining as we count down until what should be one heckuva show between the Irish and Buckeyes to kick off the year.

With today being 83 days until the season begins we look back at one of the best, if not the best, receivers to ever play at Notre Dame, Jeff Samardzija.

Samardzija hauled in 179 receptions for 2,593 yards and 27 touchdowns during his time in South Bend.  He left holding the program record for most receiving touchdowns which has since been passed by Michael Floyd.

Take a look at a few of the best pictures from Samardzija’s time at Notre Dame below:

Notre Dame football countdown: 86 Derek Brown days

When you think of Notre Dame tight ends who is the first player that comes to mind?

Notre Dame has always been strong at tight end but you could argue the Fighting Irish went from being strong at the position to simply being the best at it in the early 1990’s with a huge part of that being because of Derek Brown.

A few greats like [autotag]Dave Casper[/autotag], [autotag]Ken McAfee[/autotag], and [autotag]Mark Bavaro[/autotag] came before Brown but he was the first domino that led to a slew of Notre Dame tight ends being drafted ever since.

Brown played at Notre Dame from 1988 through 1991 and caught three touchdown passes during the championship season of ’88.  In all, he’d catch 62 passes with the Irish for 899 yards and eight total touchdowns before becoming the 14th overall pick in the 1992 NFL draft by the New York Giants.

Previous to Brown being drafted, three Notre Dame tight ends had been selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft all-time.  Starting with Brown in ’92, eight Notre Dame tight ends have had their names called in the first two rounds since, including Irv Smith who was selected in the first round one year later.

In April of 2013, Her Loyal Sons caught up with Brown where he shared how he ultimately chose Notre Dame.

“One Saturday morning during the winter of my senior year of high school I popped in this video tape that I had that was called “Wake up the Echoes.” No one was home and I started watching it and the video gave me goose bumps and at that moment I thought, ‘Screw it. I’m going to Notre Dame.’”

Brown went on to play in the NFL from 1992-1999 with the Giants, Jaguars, Raiders, and Cardinals and caught 43 passes during that time.

Check out a few photos of Brown’s football career below!

Notre Dame football 1992 and 1993 – a look back

Who was your first favorite Notre Dame squad?

Who is your favorite team in all of sports and what year did you become a fan?  Perhaps there was a year your fandom became an obsession?

That was the case for me in the early-90s with Notre Dame football as I know I have been a fan for as long as I can remember but my first memories of watching the Irish came in the 1992 season that saw a 10-1-1 conclusion led by my first set of favorites in [autotag]Rick Mirer[/autotag], [autotag]Jerome Bettis[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Brooks[/autotag], [autotag]Bryant Young[/autotag], [autotag]Jim Flanigan[/autotag], and plenty of others.

A year later we know what happened as the Irish, led by quarterback Kevin McDougal, had wins over No. 3 Michigan and No.1 Florida State in starting the year 10-0 before being upset in the regular season finale by Boston College.  I don’t care what the final polls say, I saw the 1993 “Game of the Century” against Florida State and despite it coming down to the final play, anybody who watched that game saw Notre Dame beat the daylights out of Florida State that afternoon.  Seriously, if All-American [autotag]Jeff Burris[/autotag] turns one of his several passes defended in that game into an interception then the Irish win by two or more scores.

Instead, Bobby Bowden received his lifetime achievement award from the Associated Press and his fellow coaches.

Notre Dame was the best team in the country in 1993 and I’ll never come down from this hill no matter how hard my Florida State fans try to get me to.

Even with the heartbreak from that Boston College game of ’93, I can’t help but be grateful of catching onto Notre Dame football when I did because had I been just a couple years younger I don’t know if things would have been quite the same.

Over those two years Notre Dame went 21-2-1, won a pair of Cotton Bowls over Texas A&M, and it was the last two years of the Fighting Irish being the “it” thing in college football under [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] as things were never quite the same for him in South Bend after ’93.

With there being 93/92 days until the season kicks off this fall (Thursday and Friday), here is a look back at a few photos from the 1992 and 1993 seasons that I’ll always remember from my youth.