Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 FEBRUARY 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Kasey Choma — Lacrosse USA Lacrosse Magazine named the junior midfielder from Manorville, N.Y., to its 2022 Preseason All-America team. She scored 45 goals during the 2021 season. She tallied at least five in three games, netted a hat trick in a staggering eight contests and poured in a career- high six goals against Virginia Tech on April 21. Choma and Notre Dame open the 2022 season on Feb. 11 at home against Central Michigan. Sammi Fisher — Soccer The graduate student from Simi Valley, Calif., didn't closer her Notre Dame career with a national championship, but everything she did in an Irish uniform allowed her to be se- lected No. 19 overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft. She will be staying close by to play for the Chicago Red Stars. Fisher had a team-high 13 goals during Notre Dame's impressive 14-6-2 season that ended with a narrow 3-2 loss to No. 2 Arkansas in the Sweet 16. Andrew Machovec — Fencing The senior from East Rockaway, N.Y., led Notre Dame with 13 individual wins in a string of five Notre Dame victories at the Elite Invita- tional in Columbus, Ohio, in early December. The Notre Dame men's team improved to 12-0 with the victories. Machovec improved to 32-3 this season and 100-18 in his career. Machovec was the individual men's foil runner- up at the 2021 NCAA Championships. He lost to Notre Dame teammate Marcello Olivares. Landon Slaggert — Hockey The sophomore forward from South Bend was named to the U.S. National Junior Team. He became the seventh Notre Dame player in program history to take part in two World Junior Champion- ships. Slaggert scored a goal against Slovakia in the prelimi- nary round before the com- petition was shut down citing COVID concerns. Slaggert had five goals and five assists for the Irish through the first 17 games this season. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE BY TYLER HORKA It wasn't shocking in the slightest when Kyren Williams announced he's forgoing his senior season at Notre Dame to enter the 2022 NFL Draft. Running backs have short shelf lives with the amount of hits they take, and even one less game of taking such blows could go a long way in Williams' professional future. The Fiesta Bowl also wasn't worth Williams potentially suffering a draft-altering injury. As it stands, he's in prime position to get selected at a favorable spot. Pro Football Focus rated Williams as the No. 5 running back in the upcoming draft class. He was looped in with some elite company. Michigan State's Kenneth Walker III topped the list followed by Iowa State's Breece Hall, UCLA's Zach Charbonnet, Texas A&M's Isaiah Spiller and Williams. Walker finished second nationally with 1,636 rushing yards, while Hall ranked seventh with 1,472. Charbonnet, Spiller and Williams all rushed for at least 1,000 yards as well. Williams would be the fifth running back drafted out of Notre Dame since 2000 joining Julius Jones ('04), Theo Riddick ('13), C.J. Prosise ('16) and Dexter Williams ('19). Riddick and Williams were both sixth-round selections. Prosise went in the third round, and Jones went in the second. Depending on how he performs at the combine, Williams could fall anywhere in that range. It's unlikely he'll go any higher than the third round. Notre Dame has not had a running back picked in the first round since Jerome Bettis went 10th overall in 1993. Fellow tailback Reggie Brooks was picked with the 45th overall selection in the second round of that same draft. PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS' TOP FIVE RUNNING BACKS FOR THE 2022 NFL DRAFT Rk. Player, School 1. Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State 2. Breece Hall, Iowa State 3. Zach Charbonnet, UCLA 4. Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M 5. Kyren Williams, Notre Dame CHARTING THE IRISH THREE FORMER NOTRE DAME PLAYERS EARN PRO BOWL STATUS No college football program has produced more NFL players than Notre Dame. Naturally, the Irish regularly rank high on the list of schools with former players earning Pro Bowl bids, too. Three former Golden Domers received an invitation to this year's Pro Bowl: Indianapolis Colts offen- sive lineman Quenton Nelson, Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Zack Martin and Minnesota Vikings defensive back Harrison Smith. Only four schools — Ohio State, Oklahoma, California and Florida State — had more than three players selected to the Pro Bowl. Notre Dame was one of six schools to have three former players picked to play in the game. Nelson has made the Pro Bowl all four years he has been in the league. Martin is making his seventh appearance in the eight years he has called Dallas his NFL home. Smith has played for the Vikings in all 10 of his professional seasons, and this is his sixth Pro Bowl appearance. Nelson made the cut in spite of missing several games at the beginning of the season recovering from an injury sustained during preseason training camp. Martin missed the season opener while in the NFL's health and safety protocols after a positive COVID test. Smith missed two games this season while on the Vikings COVID list. When on the field, the Irish alumni are some of the best players at their respective positions. Nelson has helped paved the way for Colts running back Jonathan Taylor to have an MVP-type season. Martin has helped block up front for the Cowboys' talented tailback duo of Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott while also keeping quarterback Dak Prescott upright in the pocket in his first season back from a major leg injury. Smith only had one interception through 13 games, but he hit the 100-tackle mark for just the second time in his career. — Tyler Horka Junior running back Kyren Williams chose to forgo his senior season at Notre Dame to enter the 2022 NFL Draft. He's essentially a lock to get selected, which would make him the fifth running back drafted out of Notre Dame since 2000. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER COLLEGES WITH MOST FORMER PLAYERS IN THE PRO BOWL Rk. School Number of Players 1. Ohio State 6 2. Oklahoma 5 3. California 4 Florida State 4 5. Alabama 3 LSU 3 Iowa 3 Mississippi State 3 Notre Dame 3 Texas 3