Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1324423
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JANUARY 2021 9 UNDER THE DOME 5 Outlets designated by the NCAA where if a college football player is selected first team by each, he would be classified as a unanimous All-American: Associated Press (AP), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF). Through Dec. 31, Notre Dame senior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was named to the first team by the AP, SN, FWAA and AFCA, with the WCFF still to go on Jan. 7. Ohio State and Oklahoma have the most unanimous All-America selections with 35 apiece, followed by Alabama and Notre Dame with 34 each. The most recent Notre Dame unanimous All-American was left guard Quenton Nelson in 2017. In 2018, cornerback Julian Love was first team on the initial four All-America teams released, but on the final one (AFCA) he was second team, thus barely missing out. 9 Finish for fifth-year se- nior quarterback IAN B O O K in the 2020 Heisman Trophy balloting. The winner will be revealed on Jan. 7. Book is only the fourth different Notre Dame quarterback in the last 50 years to even make the top 10. He joins national championship signal-callers Tom Cle- ments (No. 4 in 1974) and Tony Rice (No. 4 in 1989), along with Brady Quinn in 2005 (No. 4) and 2006 (No. 3). In the 22-year period from 1943-64, the Irish had four Heisman Trophy win- ners at the position: Angelo Bertelli (1943), John Lujack (1947), Paul Hor- nung (1956) and John Huarte (1964). Five others from 1949-70 finished in the top five: Bob Williams, Ralph Guglielmi, Terry Hanratty and Joe Theismann (No. 2 in 1970). 10 Fighting Irish alumni in the NFL who have scored touchdowns this year: running backs Josh Adams and C.J. Prosise (as a receiver), wide receivers Miles Boykin, Chase Claypool, Will Fuller and Equanimeous St. Brown, and tight ends Tyler Eifert, Cole Kmet, Kyle Rudolph and Durham Smythe. Now if there could just be some representation for Notre Dame with some- body throwing those touchdown passes. The last time 10 different Notre Dame alumni tallied touchdowns in one NFL season was 1996: quarterback Rick Mirer, running backs Jerome Bettis, Reggie Brooks and Ricky Watters, wide receivers Tim Brown, Lake Dawson, Raghib "Rocket" Ismail and Derrick Mayes, tight end Derek Brown, and cor- nerback Todd Lyght on an interception return. 16.5 Percent of Notre Dame undergraduate students who tested positive for the coronavirus during the fall semester that went from Aug. 10 through Nov. 20, per the university's COVID-19 dashboard that had data through Dec. 16. Among the 8,731 undergraduates en- rolled during that time, 1,438 contracted the virus. The second semester does not commence until Feb. 3 and the uni- versity plans to continue in-person learning through May 11, with no spring break. 788 Plays run by Notre Dame's offense through the ACC Championship Dec. 19 and prior to the College Foot- ball Playoff versus Alabama Jan. 1. Per Blue & Gold Illustrated football writer/analyst Patrick Engel, with spread sheets also from Sports Info Solutions, Football Outsiders, CollegeFootballData.com and Pro Football Focus, the Fighting Irish featured multiple tight ends — two to as many as four in a play — 407 times, or 51.7 percent. The breakdown is as follows: • 11 Personnel (one tight end) — 342 • 12 Personnel (two tight ends) — 318 • 13 Personnel (three tight ends) — 77 (second most nationally) • 14 Personnel (four tight ends) — 12 (eight touchdowns in those dozen plays led the country) • Two running backs — 26 • Zero tight ends — 3 Overall during the 10-1 season, freshman Michael Mayer had the most snaps among the tight ends with 489, followed by junior Tommy Tremble with 456 and senior Brock Wright with 329. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS