Tag: Jerome Bettis

Notre Dame Football: Will Irish Locker Room Get Awkward Next Year?

An interesting locker room conversation coming soon to Notre Dame…

I can’t be the only guy that grew up debating with friends which of our dad’s would win in a fight.

With recent additions to Notre Dame’s roster, I can’t help but wonder if that discussion is going to come up in the Fighting Irish locker room a year from now.

Except it won’t be so much a fight being discussed, but instead a time when one daddy bus made another’s dad essentially road kill.

Kennedy Urlacher joined Notre Dame as a member of the 2024 recruiting class and is participating in spring practice this year as he enrolled early.  He’s of course the son of legendary Chicago Bears running back Brian Urlacher.

A short time ago Jerome Bettis, Jr. announced his commitment to Notre Dame as the wide receiver is now a part of the outstanding 2025 recruiting class for the Irish.

That simply got me thinking: How long until the elder Bettis’ run over the Hall of Fame linebacker gets brought up?

It was the winter of 2005 in what wound up being the start of a streak that saw the Steelers win out, something they had to do just to make the playoffs.

They’d then go onto a Super Bowl, their fifth in franchise history, when they beat the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.  Urlacher and the Bears would make it to the big game but fall to the Colts the following season.

Just some fun to help get us a day closer to kickoff…

 

A third crystal ball pick goes in for Notre Dame to land a 2025 legacy recruit

The Irish are trending in the right way for “Bus” Jr.

Notre Dame football was already trending to add 2025 wide receiver [autotag]Jerome Bettis Jr.[/autotag], but the momentum is gaining for the Irish to add the legacy recruit.

We all know his father, “The Bus” was a fixture of the Irish offense during the 1991 and 1992 seasons, setting record 23 total touchdowns during his sophomore year. His son doesn’t play the same position, but at 6-foot, 1-inch and 190-pounds, Jr. is a very solid receiver prospect.

Bettis Jr. is ranked as the No. 88 player at his position and 575th overall according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and recently Anna Adams has joined Steve Wiltfong and Tom Loy in crystal ball projecting him to play where his father did, in South Bend.

Notre Dame has dominated recruiting former Irish players and former NFL stars sons. It looks like that will continue with Bettis Jr.

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Notre Dame Football: 51 Jerome Bettis Photos as ‘The Bus’ Turns 51

Happy birthday to the BUS!

Jerome Bettis is one of the first Notre Dame players I remember watching and rooting for on Saturdays before he ultimately went to the NFL where he starred for the Rams before turning into a Hall of Fame-caliber player for his accomplishments with the Steelers.

“The Bus” is celebrating his 51st birthday today and what better way to celebrate the former Notre Dame star and recent Notre Dame graduate than by looking at him through the years?

Look back now at “The Bus” through the years from when it left its depot in Detroit to where it’s parked now, in Canton, Ohio.

Notre Dame in the Super Bowl: The Bus Makes Last Stop

18 years ago today The Bus made its final stop

The Super Bowl is the biggest single day sporting event in the world and is coming up this Sunday.  History of the game shows plenty of Notre Dame connections to it as plenty of Super Bowl heroes once wore blue and gold.

The one we look at today played his final NFL game 18 years ago today in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan.

We’re talking about former Notre Dame great and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis.  “The Bus” made his final playing stop in Super Bowl XL as he helped the Wild Card Pittsburgh Steelers through the AFC playoffs and into their first Super Bowl appearance in a decade.

Bettis didn’t have a huge game in his finale, but it was enough to get the job done.  He ran for 43 yards on 14 carries, with a long of 12 on the day.  It wasn’t a huge performance by the high standards Bettis set but it was enough to help the Steelers to a 21-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks and to their fifth Super Bowl title in franchise history.

Take a look back at some of the photos of Notre Dame and Pittsburgh Steelers legend Jerome Bettis and his one trip to the Super Bowl which happened 18 years ago today.

Notre Dame Football: Happy birthday to Irish great Reggie Brooks!

REGGIE BROOKS CAUGHT IT FOR A TWO-POINTER!

hen you look at the long history of Notre Dame football you’ll be hard-pressed to find a player responsible for a pair of more memorable plays than Reggie Brooks.  Brooks followed his older brother Tony’s lead and enrolled at Notre Dame in 1989.  Originally a defensive back, the younger Brooks transitioned to tailback back for his junior season in 1991.  That move resulted in Lou Holtz and the Irish getting one of the best years from a running back in program history.

Brooks didn’t make a major impact in 1991, rushing just 18 times all year.  He made the most of those opportunities though as he ran for 122 yards (6.7 ypc) and a pair of touchdowns.  The next year he soared and became forever entrenched in Notre Dame lore for two incredible plays (and for having a monster year).

The first came on a touchdown run against Michigan that Brooks broke at least five tackles during before being knocked out just before crossing the goal line.

That run came early in the year and helped set the tone for what would become a massive season.  Brooks totaled 1,343 rushing yards that year while scoring 13 times on the ground and catching one pass for a 24-yard score.  It was another reception he had that didn’t count as a reception in the box score, but is still remembered as clear as day by any Notre Dame or Penn State fan that watched it.

I tried my hardest but couldn’t find the outstanding Tony Roberts call of this sequence online.

A week later Brooks overcame a stomach bug to rush for 227 yards and three touchdowns at USC.  His two memorable scoring plays earlier in the year paired with that performance in front of a national audience helped him to finish fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.  Not bad for someone who shared a backfield with some guy named Bettis, huh?

Brooks, [autotag]Rick Mirer[/autotag] and [autotag]Jerome Bettis[/autotag] were the first real stars at Notre Dame that I remember watching.  I know I watched games before that but those three were the first few that I grew an attachment to as a young fan.

Brooks would go on to be drafted by the Washington Redskins and played three years for them before finishing his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Today he celebrates turning 52 so happy birthday to Reggie.

I might not have been able to find a clip of it but after writing this first thing this morning I promise you I’ll be yelling “REGGIE BROOKS! REGGIE BROOKS CAUGHT IT FOR A TWO-POINTER!” in my head all afternoon.

Happy birthday, 40!

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Enjoy a handful of pictures of Brooks career at Notre Dame and in the NFL below.

Notre Dame running back Audric Estime responds to The Bus comparisons

“Baby Bus” might be overtaking “The Bus” statistically later this year

[autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] has a long history of very good running backs coming through South Bend, and currently [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] is one of those.

The junior has rushed for 901 yards on 146 carries, scoring 12 touchdowns while adding in 13 receptions for 109 yards. Over 1,000 yards from scrimmage for the second year in-a-row will get plenty of attention, enough that many have been calling Estime “Baby Bus,” referring to former Irish great [autotag]Jerome Bettis[/autotag].

Statistically, they are extremely similar, Estime should overtake Bettis’ career total yardage mark later this year. The current Irish star back recently joined [autotag]Jim Rome[/autotag] on his show and discussed his thoughts on the nickname along with his relationship with Bettis. Take a watch for yourself below.

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Jerome Bettis explains how to get Najee Harris more involved in Pittsburgh’s offense this season

Steelers legend Jerome Bettis shared his thoughts on how Pittsburgh can get Najee Harris more involved in an exclusive interview

The Pittsburgh Steelers split their first four games of the season.  During that stretch, two receivers and a tight end have accounted for all four offensive touchdowns, while the running backs had yet to find the end zone. 

Najee Harris, who tallied seven touchdowns in each of the past two years, posted his best yards per attempt (4.3) in those four games, but had yet to really get going. 

Still, Jerome Bettis, perhaps the franchise’s premier running back, isn’t concerned. He’s a big fan of No. 22. 

“The Bus” recently spoke with USA TODAY Sports’ Mackenzie Salmon, host of Sports Seriously, and was frank with his assessment of the team, especially Najee. 

“He’s supremely talented from a physical perspective,” said Bettis. “He has the ability to jump over you, he can go around, he can go through you.”

Bettis is looking for a little better offensive line play to get their go-to back rolling. 

“It’s just about giving him a little bit of space to operate,” said Bettis. 

Within the interview, the legendary Steeler also selects between Mike Tomlin and Bill Belichick, and discusses the current state of the running back position across the NFL.

Check out the interview by clicking on the video link above. 

Notre Dame football: Epic father-son recruiting brief

When the past meets the present…

If you have followed college football recruiting for longer than the last decade, you’re likely aware of the name Tom Lemming.  Those who follow it somewhat closely already know the name, but for those that don’t, consider him the college equivalent of Mel Kiper, Jr. to the NFL draft.  Lemming has been crossing the nation for decades following and covering the college football recruiting scene for longer than it’s been generating web hits.

Lemming was at Notre Dame for the Blue-Gold game recently because it was a big weekend for the Irish and their recruiting efforts. While there he recorded a very short video that for Notre Dame fans of a certain age accomplishes two things:
  1. Through the roof nostalgia, my goodness.
  2. Makes us feel old.
Take a look at the video below:

 

Lemming notes they were All-Americans in 1989 before joining Notre Dame’s 1990 recruiting class. Of those three, two won Super Bowls and wound up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The other only played in the NFL for a decade and was once the cover boy for an issue of Sports Illustrated.
Marcus Freeman and company locked down a commitment from the younger of the Young’s. Perhaps the Mini Bus and the younger Flanigan will not be far behind.
Unrelated: You better believe one of the very first pro football jerseys I ever had was a Bears No. 99 with FLANIGAN on the back.
Also – be sure to check out a handful of photos of Bettis, Flanigan and Young during their playing days at Notre Dame below.

Ben Roethlisberger, Jerome Bettis claiming Patriots cheated in 2004 AFC title game sounds like sour grapes

This was so weak from two Steelers legends.

The New England Patriots’ dynasty earlier this century is well and truly over. But that isn’t stopping some of the teams they stomped on over the years from throwing out their gripes.

In a new podcast episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, the former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback reminisced with old teammate Jerome Bettis about their glory days together. After a humorous sequence about who cost who a trip to Super Bowl 39, Roethlisberger veered the conversation to an all-too-predictable place. He claimed that the Patriots cheated during the 2004 AFC title game.

Bettis, of course, agreed with the sentiment. But this is how losers of a big game almost always feel:

Look, I’m not going to discount the Patriots’ reputation for apparently cheating. “Spygate” and “Deflategate” were big deals for a team that sat at the top of the NFL for roughly 20 years. But the Patriots flat-out smacked the Steelers in that AFC title game. A 41-27 final score is not nearly indicative of how much better New England was. The way Roethlisberger and Bettis seemingly describe it is that the Steelers were maybe a few plays here or there from shifting the tide. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Their claim here feels like sour grapes because they didn’t get a chance at the Super Bowl. But maybe we’d all be in denial if we lost that kind of golden opportunity.

Notre Dame-Ohio State: Guest picker ideas for ‘College GameDay’

Who should be the guest picker on Gameday?

It’ll be one of those weekends in South Bend that kids across the Midwest grow up dreaming about. The Irish are at home taking on a marquee opponent in a game big enough to attract ESPN’s “College Gameday.”

You can say what you want about the rest of the show, but one thing they certainly knock out of the park is the picks segment. Lee Corso putting on the headgear is a staple of college football Saturdays; he’ll do so for the 401st time this weekend.

But who will be the celebrity guest picker as the show heads to Notre Dame?

We put together a handful of ideas for the folks at ESPN.