Top Ten Greatest Notre Dame Fighting Irish

A two-time Captain (1980, 1981) and consensus All-American (1980, 1981), Crable owns every important tackle record at Notre Dame. His standard of 521 career total tackles may never be broken. He also set the single-season mark with 187 stops in 1979 and the single-game record with 26 tackles against Clemson that same season. Those 26 stops also tied an NCAA record. Crable went on to be drafted with the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.

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After being shifted from linebacker to nose guard, Zorich excelled along the D-line and helped lead the Irish to an unbeaten National Championship as a sophomore in 1988. He received some All-America recognition that season and went on to become a consensus All-America pick the next two seasons in South Bend (1989, 1990). He was named the UPI National Lineman of the Year as a junior and won the Lombardi Award and Orange Bowl MVP award as a senior. Zorich was drafted in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.

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It is very difficult to remove the illustrious pro career Bettis had from the equation. A rare blend of size, power and quickness, Bettis is a once-in-a-lifetime type of talent. Aside from his NFL Rookie of the Year award, his six Pro Bowls, his Super Bowl championship and finishing as the NFL's fifth-leading rusher of all-time, Bettis got his start bowling over opponents in South Bend. He had only 337 career college carries for 1,912 yards, but he was good enough to be drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. "The Bus" will be a Hall of Famer in the NFL one day soon.

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A Notre Dame legacy, Brooks was originally recruited to play defensive back but was converted to running back for the 1991 season. His talent was on display immediately and eventually led to one of the best single seasons an Irish running back has ever had. In 1992, Brooks rushed for 1,343 yards — good for second-best in school history — averaging over 8.0 yards per carry and scoring 13 TDs. Brooks was named to the All-America team and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was selected in the second round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins.

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Few players have ever been on three All-America teams, but MacAfee did just that when he landed on a few first-teams in 1975 before becoming a two-time consensus selection in 1976 and 1977. An academic All-American in 1977 as well, MacAfee earned the Walter Camp Award and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting. Notre Dame went 38-9 in his time in South Bend, and he helped lead the Irish to the 1977 National Championship. He finished with 128 receptions for 1,759 yards and 15 touchdowns. MacAfee was inducted into the NCAA Football Hall of Fame in 1997. He was the seventh overall pick in the 1978 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

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As a sophomore, Rice got onto the field due to injuries and helped lead the Irish to an 8-4 mark and their first Top 25 ranking in nearly a decade. It was the building block needed to compete for a national title in 1988. With a loaded roster around him, Rice led the Irish to a perfect 12-0 record and the 1988 National Championship over West Virginia. As an encore, Rice won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting and was an All-American following his 12-1 senior season. That one loss coming against Miami in the de facto national title elimination regular-season finale. Rice went 24-1 in his two full seasons as the starter. The Irish champion never made it into the NFL but played professionally in the CFL and the World League.

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Raghib "Rocket" Ismail was one clipping penalty away from leading Notre Dame to two National Championships. The 91-yard return TD in the 1990 title contest against Colorado was called back, and Ismail was left with only the 1988 National Championship on his resume. In 1990, Ishmail finished second in the Heisman voting to Ty Detmer and claimed the Walter Camp Award. He finished with 537 rushing yards, 699 receiving yards, 151 punt return yards and 336 kick return yards, totaling 1,723 all-purpose yards, which is still the fourth-best season in school history. There may not have been an Irish player with more "wow" factor than the Rocket. After a brief two-year Grey Cup MVP stint in Toronto in the CFL, Ishmail went on to a very productive eight-year NFL career.

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"Touchdown Timmy" is the last Notre Dame player to claim the most coveted trophy in all of sports, the Heisman Trophy, which Brown earned in 1987. One of the most versatile players ever to play the game, Brown caught 39 passes for 846 yards (21.7 yards per catch), ran the ball 34 times for 144 yards, returned 23 kicks for 456 yards and returned 34 punts for 401 yards. All told, he posted 1,847 all-purpose yards (second all-time in school history to himself — he had 1,937 yards in 1986) and seven touchdowns — including three punt return TDs. His 2,493 career receiving yards were an all-time Notre Dame record. Brown was widely considered the most dangerous player in college football and was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 1988 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. Brown went to nine Pro Bowls and is one of the most prolific receivers in NFL history. He was inducted into the NCAA Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

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One of the most decorated defensive linemen in NCAA history, Browner was a four-year starter in South Bend. He was a unanimous All-America selection as both a junior and senior. In 1976, Browner was named the Outland Trophy winner as well as the UPI National Lineman of the Year. He followed that up in 1977 with a second UPI Lineman of the Year award to go with a Lombardi Award and the Maxwell Award, given to the nation's top player. Browner finished fifth in the Heisman balloting that season and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999. Notre Dame had a 39-7 record during his career, including National Championships in 1973 and 1977. He posted a school-record 340 tackles (at the time) and was selected with the 8th overall pick in the 1978 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Montana was not allowed to play as a freshman in 1974, but flashed his late-game heroics early on in his sophomore season when he rallied the Irish against North Carolina in Chapel Hill — tossing for 129 yards and scoring 14 points in 1:02 of game time. He led a 20-point comeback the next week against Air Force, and the career of arguably the greatest fourth-quarter QB ever to play was in full force. After sitting out a year due to a seperated shoulder, Montana once again led a historic comeback in game three of the 1977 season. He started the next nine games — winning all of them — and led the Irish to the 1977 National Championship with a win over No. 1 Texas. In 1978, Montana pushed the Irish to a second straight Cotton Bowl win and a 9-3 overall record his final season. The "Chicken Soup Game" win over Houston in his final college game has become a legendary tale that was only a precursor of things to come for Golden Joe, Comeback Joe, Joe Cool and The Golden Great. Montana was a third-round pick by the 49ers in the 1979 NFL Draft and went on to win all four of his Super Bowl appearances — claiming three Super Bowl MVP trophies. He could be the greatest QB ever to play the game.

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