Part II: An All-Ara Parseghian Team
Attempting to assemble an “All-Ara Parseghian Team” during his 11 seasons from 1964-74 can be like trying to count the stars in the sky on a clear night. So many options, so many stalwarts, so many overachievers — one could argue a second team could just be as good as the first.
But we’ll use the following criteria: 1) body of work/production, 2) impact toward a national title or contention and 3) number of years played.
Quarterback: Tom Clements
How can it not be John Huarte (1964), Parseghian’s lone Heisman winner who led the Irish to a dramatic 9-1 season in the first year after a 2-7 finish a year earlier?
How can it not be Joe Theismann, the 1970 Heisman runner-up? His 2,605 yards passing that season were a single-season school record for 29 years, and he added 406 yards rushing. He ended his career with a 24-11 upset of No. 1 Texas in the 1971 Cotton Bowl for a No. 2 finish.
How can it not be Terry Hanratty, who made the cover of Time magazine while helping the Irish to the 1966 national title as a sophomore?
You can’t go wrong with any of them. Yet Clements (1972-74) had a combination of everything, highlighted by revered leadership. He was Parseghian’s lone three-year starter (an injured Hanratty was replaced by Coley O’Brien in 1966 and Theismann in 1968), had the most victories (29), was the MVP in a national title tilt while completing the most famous pass in Notre Dame history (1973 Sugar Bowl versus Alabama), finished fourth in the 1974 Heisman balloting, and was a threat as a passer and runner, with his 1,070 yards on the ground second only to Tony Rice (1987-89) among Irish QBs.
Fullback/Halfback: Wayne Bullock & Nick Eddy
Before Notre Dame ever rode Jerome “The Bus” Bettis, it traveled well with Wayne “The Train” Bullock. His 948 yards rushing in 1974 and 831 for the 1973 national champs ranked 1-2 as the best single-season outputs by a back during the Era of Ara. His 1,892 yards rushing were the most amassed by a back under Parseghian, as were his 24 rushing TDs.
Eddy (1964-66) finished third in the 1966 Heisman Trophy balloting, and had the second most yards on the ground under Parseghian (1,615) while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. He also was a dynamic receiver, averaging 15.7 yards on his 45 career catches, and returned two kickoffs for TDs as a senior.
Larry Conjar’s (1965-66) tenacious blocking and productive running made him into a second-round pick at fullback. Rocky Bleier (1965-67) was only a 16th-round pick, but the 1967 Irish captain became one of the best underdog stories in NFL history.
Halfback Bob Gladieux (1966-68) scored the most TDs overall (26) during the Parseghian era.
Receivers: Jim Seymour & Tom Gatewood
Until the advent of “Air Weis” with quarterback Brady Quinn and receivers Jeff Samardzija, Rhema McKnight and Maurice Stovall, Gatewood (1969-71) and Seymour (1966-68) dominated the Notre Dame receiving marks for 35 years.
Gatewood finished with 157 catches while Seymour had 138. Both led the team in receptions all three years they played (freshmen were not eligible in their era).
Gatewood’s 79 catches in 1970 (including the bowl) weren’t eclipsed until 2009, by Golden Tate. Seymour’s 276 yards receiving against Rose-Bowl winner Purdue in his 1966 debut has not been rivaled in one game.
Jack Snow (1964) and Pete Demmerle (1972-74) also were standouts, with Snow finishing 5th in the 1964 Heisman balloting and Demmerle earning consensus All-America notice as a senior. Snow probably was the best, and a strong NFL career would back that argument. Unfortunately, he played only one season under Parseghian.
Tight End: Dave Casper
A captain and All-America for the 1973 national champs, Casper is considered one of the greatest tight ends in football history. He actually started at offensive tackle in 1971-72 because the Irish were short on candidates there but were well-manned at tight end with Mike Creaney.
In 1972, Casper started at offensive tackle one week against Michigan State while also playing part-time at defensive tackle — and the next week versus Pitt he started in place of injured split end Willie Townsend. After Creaney’s graduation, Casper returned permanently to tight end, where he earned All-America notice
Creaney merits special mention because the three-year starter’s 46 career catches averaged a remarkable 19.3 yards.
Offensive Line: George Kunz and Bob Kuechenberg at tackle, Dick Arrington and Tom Regner at guard, and George Goeddeke at center.
Right tackle Kunz (1966-68) was the No. 2 pick in the 1969 NFL Draft, behind O.J.
Simpson, and was an eight-time Pro Bowl pick. Kuechenberg started at defensive end his last two years at Notre Dame in 1967-68, but was the starting right tackle as a sophomore for the 1966 national champs when Kunz was injured. Like Kunz, he had a phenomenal NFL career with six Pro Bowl appearances — as a guard.
Regner started on defense as a sophomore but became an All-America guard in 1966 and a first-round pick in 1967. Arrington, an All-American in wresting and football, started on both offense and defense in 1965, sharing time with Regner on the defensive side.
Goeddeke, Notre Dame’s colorful “Mr. Clean” provided levity in the locker room and was the starting center three straight years (1964-66).
One of the remarkable ascents was by tackle Paul Seiler (1964-66), who didn’t start until his senior year yet became the 12th pick in the 1967 NFL Draft. Tackle Steve Sylvester (1972-74) was on three Super Bowl champions in the pros.
Defensive Line: Walt Patulski and Ross Browner the ends, with Kevin Hardy and Alan Page the tackles.
Patulski, the 1971 Lombardi Award winner, is the most recent Irish player to be selected No. 1 overall by the NFL, while Browner’s profound impact as a freshman for the 1973 national champs began a career that made him Notre Dame’s most productive defensive lineman ever.
Hardy, the No. 7 pick in the 1968 NFL Draft, was a three-time All-America selection, and also played basketball and baseball at Notre Dame. Although Page was an end at Notre Dame, he played tackle in the pros, so we’ll shift him there because he is one of only five Irish players to make both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame (joining Wayne Millner, George Connor, Paul Hornung and Tim Brown).
It was difficult to omit Steve Niehaus, the No. 2 pick in the 1976 NFL Draft. He was a starter at tackle in the first game of his freshman year, yet was quick enough to star at end, out of need, as a junior in 1974. However, knee injuries limited Niehaus to only the first four games in both 1972 and 1973.
Notre Dame was “Defensive Line U.” during this era under Joe Yonto, who also coached All-Americans Pete Duranko, Mike McCoy, Mike Kadish, Greg Marx and Mike Fanning during the Parseghian years.
Linebackers: Jim Lynch, Bob Olson and Greg Collins
Captain of the 1966 national champs, Lynch was the recipient of the Maxwell Award that year, a rarity for a defensive player, and he is in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Olson led the Irish in tackles three straight years (1967-69) and his 369 stops were the most in the Parseghian era. He also was the lone two-time captain (1968-69) during the head coach’s reign.
Collins was the leading tackler for the 1973 national champs with 133, and had 144 a year later as a co-captain with Clements (not including both bowl wins versus 11-0 Alabama).
Jim Carroll had 140 stops for the 1964 Cinderella squad, John Pergine (1965-67) holds the career record for interceptions by a linebacker (9), and Drew Mahalic was a three-year starter from 1972-74.
Defensive Backs: Tom Schoen, Clarence Ellis, Mike Townsend and Luther Bradley
Schoen was a two-time All-America pick at safety (1966-67) after converting from quarterback.
Ellis (1969-71), a first-round pick at cornerback, was a two-time All-America selection who still holds the school career record for passes broken up (32) to go with his 13 career interceptions. He also was the Defensive MVP in the 1971 Cotton Bowl win over No. 1 Texas – and set up a score by catching a 37-yard pass as a receiver.
As a cornerback, Townsend led the nation in interceptions in 1972 with 10 (still a single-season Notre Dame record), and the next year as a free safety he was a tri-captain and a first-team All-America selection for the 1973 national champs.
Similar to classmate Browner, Bradley’s 1973 freshman year is the gold standard for first-year Irish players as he led the squad in interceptions (6) and passes broken up (11), playing his best game against USC while helping end the Trojans’ 23-game unbeaten streak.
Specialists: Kicker Bob Thomas, punter Brian Doherty and return man Nick Rassas
Three-year starters from 1971-73, Thomas was the kicker while Doherty punted. Thomas, who had an 11-year NFL career, kicked the game-winning field goal against Alabama in the 1973 Sugar Bowl matchup for the national title, with Doherty the holder.
Walk-on safety Rassas was not only an All-America in the defensive backfield, but he also led the nation in punt returns in 1965 with a 19.1 average and three touchdowns.