Tag: st viator

Notre Dame football photo from 1897 found

Nice look into the football program’s early history.

With many people back celebrating Christmas with their families this year, the possibilities to pass time were endless.

One common activity is to dig into family history and discover something you hadn’t seen or known before. Maybe you rediscover something you hadn’t seen in a long time or are reminded of something you had forgotten about. Check out what happened with Kevin Clark, a senior writer and podcaster for The Ringer:

1897 was the second of Frank Hering’s three years as Notre Dame coach and the first of three years in which Jack Mullen served as captain. Notre Dame went 4-1-1 that season, beginning with a scoreless tie against Rush Medical and a 4-0 win over DePauw. A 62-0 win over the Chicago Dental Infirmary was followed by a 34-5 road loss to Chicago. The season wrapped up with a 60-0 victory over the now-defunct St. Viator and a 34-6 win in the rain against the program now known as Michigan State.

NFL Combine: Kmet Well Aware of Hometown Bears Need at Tight End

As the Chicago Bears enter 2020 the need at the position is as obvious as it gets and the Notre Dame product is well-aware of his hometown team’s hole at the position.

The Chicago Bears have a good amount of needs headed into the 2020 NFL Draft with tight end being a massive one.  In the offense they’re trying to run, modeled off of that from Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs, the importance of a tight end can’t be understated.

However, the Bears have struck out on the position in recent years paying a boatload of money to former Philadelphia Eagle Trey Burton and spending a second round pick on Adam Shaheen who has done practically nothing in three seasons.  As they enter 2020 the need at the position is as obvious as it gets and the Notre Dame product is well-aware of his hometown team’s hole at the position.

“I’ve definitely looked at it” is what Kmet said Tuesday at the combine when asked about the Bears issues at the position.

“Obviously it would be a great opportunity to play in Chicago and the hometown and all of that. That would be a lot of fun” Kmet added.

Notre Dame used to be a hot-bed for talent for the Chicago Bears as 22 different former Fighting Irish players have been drafted by the Bears over the years.

Dave Duerson, Jim Flanigan, Mike Gandy and some guy named Johnny Lujack immediately come to mind.

When asked his favorite NFL team growing up, Kmet let his fondness for the orange and blue in Chicago be known:

“The Bears. The hometown.”

Kmet helped guide St. Viator High School in Chicago suburb Arlington Heights, Illinois to a state championship in baseball his senior year.  Tom Thayer and Chris Zorich are a couple of the Chicago locals to go on to Notre Dame before ending up with the Bears, a list Kmet could potentially join.

Personally I’d hope for Kmet to be a Bear, been a while since a Notre Dame player was brought in and expected to be a difference-maker on my favorite NFL team.  I’m guessing Kmet would be happier to sneak into the back end of the first round (Bears first pick is 43rd overall) and find a more consistently good franchise and bigger paycheck that comes along with it.