Tag: Jim Flanigan

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.

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.

Check it out: College football 1989 recruiting throwback

A lot happening here…

As any Notre Dame fan has likely seen in the last few months former football great [autotag]Jerome Bettis[/autotag] was back on campus this past semester taking the necessary classes to finish his degree.  The story of a Pro Football Hall of Famer returning to get his college degree at 50 years old caught the attention of several media outlets as it was fun to see The Bus back at Notre Dame.

This past weekend Bettis graduated from Notre Dame alongside the rest of the class of 2022.

For those unfamiliar, Tom Lemming is essentially to college recruiting what Mel Kiper, Jr. is to the NFL draft.  Before it was anywhere near as popular, he was the one going coast-to-coast evaluating players and talent long before the star-ratings were even in place.

On Wednesday, Lemming tweeted quite the throwback in honor of Bettis graduating from the University of Notre Dame.

How is that for a throwback?

Bettis with a flat top you could balance a glass of water on, [autotag]Jim Flanigan[/autotag] looking like the All-American boy, and future Ohio State and Minnesota Vikings standout Robert Smith in there as well.

As for the 2000 Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke that was also part of that class, consider this fun fact:

Bettis rushed for 8462 yards, 41 touchdowns, pulled in another 1,075 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions all as a pro BEFORE Weinke began his Heisman Trophy winning season in 2000.

How [autotag]Drew Brees[/autotag] didn’t win that Heisman Trophy is still beyond me but I thought you’d enjoy that pull from Lemming.

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