Notre Dame's Top Classes: No. 2

The class ratings were based on 1) impact on the program through production, championship contention and talent level of other classes around them, 2) balance at the various positions and 3) overall depth through the number of major producers.

THE 1990 RECRUITING CLASS

Players Signed: 23, and only two transferred

Record at Notre Dame from 1991-93: 31-5-1 (.851), with a 39-28 victory over 10-1 and No. 3-ranked Florida in the 1992 Sugar Bowl, a 28-3 triumph against 12-0 and No. 4-ranked Texas A&M in the 1993 Cotton Bowl, and a 24-21 conquest of the 10-1 and No. 7-ranked Aggies in the 1994 Cotton Bowl.

Final AP Rankings: No. 13 (1991), No. 4 (1992) and No. 2 (1993)

LEADERS IN THE LINEUP

Quarterback: Kevin McDougal

Fullbacks: Jerome Bettis, Dean Lytle

Tailbacks: Jeff Burris (part time), Lytle

Receivers: Lake Dawson, Clint Johnson

Tight End: Oscar McBride

Offensive Line: Aaron Taylor, Tim Ruddy, Mike McGlinn

Defensive Line: Bryant Young, Jim Flanigan, Oliver Gibson, Brian Hamilton

Linebacker: Pete Bercich, Anthony Peterson

Defensive Backs: Burris, Tom Carter, Greg Lane, John Covington, Willie Clark, LeShane Saddler

IMPACT

• This group strung together a 17-game winning streak in 1992-93, highlighted by the victory over No. 1-ranked Florida State in ‘93.

• This class propelled three consecutive major bowl victories, an unprecedented achievement in school annals.

• Among the 21 players who stayed, 14 played in the NFL. When in history has any college football class had such an astounding success ratio?

• A school-record five players from this class were drafted in the first round: Bettis, Carter, Young, Taylor and Burris. Two of them (Bettis and Carter) were tabbed after their junior seasons. The previous record for most first-round picks in a Notre Dame class was four by our No. 7-rated haul in 1963: Alan Page, Kevin Hardy, Paul Seiler and Tom Regner.

• Besides the five first-round picks, this group also had one taken in the second (Ruddy), three in the third (Clark, Dawson and Flanigan) and one in the fourth (Gibson). That’s 10 players selected in the first four rounds!

This class carried the Irish to the No. 2 finish in ‘93 behind Florida State, a squad Notre Dame defeated in November. But when the 10-0 Irish lost 41-39 the ensuing week to Boston College, the campaign to award FSU head coach Bobby Bowden his first national title gathered momentum.

BALANCE

All this class needed was two more offensive linemen and you could have assembled a full offense and defense with the ability to contend for a national title on its own.

The defense was a full unit, led by the Front Four of Young, Flanigan, Gibson and Hamilton. Young became a four-time Pro Bowl pick, while Flanigan, Gibson and Hamilton were productive regulars and two- or three-year starters.

It was a Front Four that rivaled the harvest from our No. 5-rated class in 1968 (Walt Patulski, Mike Kadish, Greg Marx and Fred Swendsen) and 1963 (Alan Page, Kevin Hardy, Tom Regner and Tom Rhoads).

At linebacker, the 1990 recruiting assembly lined up the three-man crew of Peterson, Bercich and Covington.

The 211-pound Covington (a fifth-round pick) eventually shifted to the secondary, but he started at outside linebacker as a sophomore in 1991. Peterson and Bercich both had seven-year careers in the NFL.

The secondary featured first-round picks Burris and Carter, plus Lane (a two-year starter and three-year regular) and Clark. Burris and Carter had 10 interceptions apiece during their Irish careers. Clark ran into some academic problems later in his career that sidelined him, but he still was a third-round draft pick.

Offensively, the balance was almost as deep. Taylor was a three-year starter, the 1993 recipient of the Lombardi Award and one of the best leaders Notre Dame ever had. Ruddy, who scored 1,490 on his SAT (out of 1,600), became a two-year starter at center and later was an iron horse for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. The one other lineman in the class, tackleMcGlinn, was a regular as a senior and also moonlighted at tight end.

The No. 1 tight end in ’93 was McBride, who toiled most of his career behind first-round picks Derek Brown and Irv Smith. Still, McBride went on to play two seasons in the NFL.

The wideouts included the sure-handed Dawson and burner Johnson. Dawson snared 80 passes during his Irish career for a notable 17.5 yards per catch. Johnson, who latched on to 10 passes as a senior, returned two kickoffs for scores.

There was no tailback in this class, but defensive back Burris scored six touchdowns there as a senior in a dual role that saw him inserted in goal-line situations.

Picking up the slack in the backfield was “The Bus” — Bettis — whose sophomore and junior campaigns at fullback produced 1,797 yards rushing, a remarkable 5.6 yards per carry, 32 catches that averaged 13.4 yards, and 32 TDs. The six-time Pro Bowl pick rushed for 13,662 yards in the NFL and was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last August.

Quarterback McDougal, unlike the majority of his classmates, never played in the NFL. All he did was become the career pass efficiency leader at Notre Dame. After serving as Rick Mirer’s understudy for three seasons, McDougal enjoyed a stellar senior campaign in ‘93, completing 61.6 percent of his passes for 1,541 yards. In the 27-23 victory at Michigan when the Wolverines were nine-point favorites, he was 12-of-21 for 208 yards and added TD jaunts of 43 and 11 yards.

When Notre Dame fell behind 38-17 against Boston College in 1993, McDougal led a spectacular rally that temporarily put the Irish ahead 39-38, before losing on the game’s final play. In that contest, he completed 18-of-28 for 261 yards and two scores, highlighted by the temporary go-ahead TD to Dawson on fourth down.

DEPTH

The most astonishing fact about this class is all 21 who didn’t transfer started at least once on offense or defense. Never has any class at Notre Dame had such quality depth.

SUMMARY

Every area on offense and defense had at least one impact or future NFL player. The only time Notre Dame won at least 10 games three years in a row and three straight major bowls was from 1991-93, led by this haul.

The lone hole in this class is it didn’t win a national title, but it probably should have at least had a split in 1993 with Florida State, who it defeated in November.

Once this class graduated after the ‘93 campaign, the program began its decline, finishing 6-5-1 the next season. The greatness of a class is often revealed not only in what it accomplished, but what followed after its departure.

In the quarter century-plus since February 1990, Notre Dame hasn’t come close to recruiting and developing a class that had this unit’s combination of powerful impact, balance and depth.