Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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irish in the pros On the first play of the final drive of the first half, Manning tossed a 20-yard pass to Rudolph, then capped the possession with a three-yard flip to the tight end for a score. Rudolph, who arrived in Hawaii a day late, missing the Wednesday practice, had no idea he'd be the focal point of the offense. "I was looking to compete, have a good time and hopefully catch a few balls," he said. For his performance, Rudolph was also awarded the GMC vehicle of his choosing. NFL Notes • San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh showed his softer side before squaring off against the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3 in New Orleans. He insisted that six inactive players, including former Irish defensive tackle Ian Williams, dress and take the field for pregame warm-ups. "That was kind of like my Super Bowl right there," Williams, an undrafted 6-1, 305-pound nose tackle who played in three regular-season games, totaling three tackles in his second season, told 49ers.com. Williams, along with rookie linebacker and fellow ND product Darius Fleming, who did not see the field this season for San Francisco after tearing his ACL in a May practice, watched their team nearly complete an exhilarating comeback, but Baltimore held on for a 34-31 victory. • Vikings rookie safety Harrison Smith put together a detailed list of goals heading into the 2012 season, including averaging out the statistics from every first-year safety to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since 2002 (none was taken in the opening round in 2011). Those before him averaged 11.94 starts, 67.65 tackles, 5.53 pass defenses, 2.22 interceptions, 0.65 fumbles forced, 0.18 touchdowns and 0.62 sacks. Smith finished the regular season with 16 starts, 104 tackles, 11 pass defensed, three interceptions, one forced fumble, one sack and two touchdowns. He added another start, five stops and one pass defended in the Vikings' 24-10 loss at Green Bay in an NFC wild card playoff game. • Third-year Seattle Seahawks receiver Golden Tate went into this season hoping to break out as one of the league's top playmakers. In his first two years combined, he caught 56 passes for 609 yards and three touchdowns. In 2012, he made 45 receptions for 688 yards and seven scores for the 10-6 Seahawks, which lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. Tate contributed five grabs for 132 yards in Seattle's two playoff contests. • Center John Sullivan, who started 16 games for Minnesota this season and was named an alternate to the Pro Bowl, will be out three to four months after having surgery in early February to repair a microfracture in his left knee. ✦ NBA Notes Through Feb. 11 • Ben Hansbrough (Played at Notre Dame from 2008-11), G, Indiana Pacers: Has appeared in 18 games off the bench for the Pacers … Was averaging 7.8 minutes, 1.9 points and 0.7 assists per contest. • Luke Harangody (2006-10), PF, Fort Wayne Mad Ants (NBDL): Waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers in late-November and signed in late-December with the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Mad Ants of the NBA Developmental League … Named D-League Player of the Month after averaging 21.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game while leading the Mad Ants to an 8-4 record in January. • Luke Zeller (2005-09), PF, Phoenix Suns: Appeared in 16 games for the Suns … Was averaging 3.6 minutes, 1.2 points and 0.6 rebounds per game.