Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Under the Dome 6 By The Numbers Finalists named for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award, with Brian Kelly not among them. The finalists were James Franklin (Vanderbilt), Urban Meyer (Ohio State), Bill O'Brien (Penn State), David Shaw (Stanford), Bill Snyder (Kansas State) and Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M). It's unfathomable how Brian Kelly could win seven other national coach of the year honors — yet not even be among the top six when he led his team to a 12-0 regular season and No. 1 ranking despite not even appearing in the Associated Press preseason top 25. 7 National Coach of the Year awards received by Notre Dame's Brian Kelly this season: Home Depot, Football Writers Association of America/Eddie Robinson, Associated Press, Sporting News, Walter Camp, Bobby Bowden and finally the American Football Coaches' Assocation on Jan. 9. 9 Players from the state of Alabama who have seen at least one second of action at Notre Dame — among the nearly 2,800 who have played. The first scholarship recruit from the Yellowhammer State was defensive tackle Herman Hooten in 1968 (played in 1970-71), while fullback Rodney Morris (1980-82) represented the 1980s with walk-on split end Chet Hollister (1989, 1991). The 1990s featured USA Today firstteam All-American defensive lineman Melvin Dansby (1993, 1995-97), and the 1996 recruiting class had quarterback Eric Chappell (1997-98 before transferring) and offensive tackle Matt Brennan (1997-99). The most famous is Kellyton native Justin Tuck, who signed in 2001, has the most career sacks (24.5) at Notre Dame since 1982 and has been a Pro Bowl selection and two-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants. The 2003 class reeled in linebacker Mitchell Thomas (2004-06) and corner LaBrose "Spiderman" Hedgemon (2005), who eventually transferred. 24-1 Combined record of Notre Dame football (12-0) and basketball (12‑1) this season entering the month of January. That was the greatest 25-game start between the two sports since the 1973-74 school year, when the 11‑0 football team won the national title and the basketball team started 12-0 and moved up to No. 1 before finally losing. 68 USA Today first-team High School All-American selections Notre Dame has had since its start in 1982, with outside linebacker Jaylon Smith the most recent. The Fighting Irish easily had the ATTENTION IRISH FANS Packages are available for all Notre Dame home games during the 2013 season 2013 HOME GAMES Aug. 31 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 19 Nov. 2 Nov. 23 Temple Michigan State Oklahoma USC Navy B.Y.U ALL HOME GAME PACKAGES INCLUDE *Game Tickets endzone to the 40 yard line. *Two Night Hotel *Great Customer Service Please visit www.diamondtravel.com for complete details 1.602.870.9197 DIAMOND TRAVEL 25 YEARS IN BUSINESS