Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 PRESEASON 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Freshman Offensive Lineman Joey Tanona Medically Retires One of Notre Dame's freshman offensive linemen has seen his playing career end before his first fall semester on campus. Guard Joey Tanona has medically retired and is no longer on the roster, head coach Marcus Freeman announced Aug. 5 following the first practice of preseason camp. Tanona suffered a concussion during a car accident this winter that Freeman described in April as "a pretty bad one." He did not participate in spring practice. He even had to miss class during his first semester because of the severity of the head injury, offensive line coach Harry Hiestand said in the spring. The effects of the crash and concussion have continued to linger to the point where playing football isn't feasible. "After his accident in the wintertime, he kept trying to come back," Freeman. "Mentally and physically, he was not in a place where he was ready to play football. He decided to medically retire. He will still be here to get his degree. "That's the greatest thing about this place. We can guarantee one thing — that at some point, the game of football is going to be over. But you have a chance to get a degree from this university and you have a chance to be successful. He's in good spirits." Tanona (6-5, 284 pounds) was a January enrollee and a four-star recruit in Notre Dame's 2022 class. The Zionsville, Ind., native was the No. 5 prospect in in Indiana and the No. 144 overall player nationally per the On3 Consensus. He was the Irish's first 2022 commitment and chose them in July 2020 over LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State, among others. Putting Tanona on medi- cal scholarship means Notre Dame is down to the 85- man maximum. The Irish had been at 86 scholarship players since the spring. They have 15 scholarship offensive linemen without him. Four are freshmen: guard Billy Schrauth, inte- rior lineman Ashton Craig, tackle Ty Chan and tackle Aamil Wagner. Medical disqualification rules out Tanona from play- ing at Notre Dame, but not elsewhere. If he wants to re- sume his playing career and gets medical clearance to do so, he will have to trans- fer to another program. — Patrick Engel JIM LYNCH, 1945-2022 Former Notre Dame linebacker and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Jim Lynch passed away in July 22 at the age of 76. Ly n c h w a s t h e captain of the Irish's 1966 national cham- pionship team. That s e a s o n , h e w a s named a unanimous A l l - A m e r i ca n a n d won the Maxwell Award, which is given to the top player in college football regardless of position. He made a team-high 106 tackles in 1966, helping Notre Dame go 9-0-1. The Irish were ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 for six straight weeks to close the regular season. Lynch played for Notre Dame from 1963- 66. He spent his first season on the sideline, not allowed to see the field per NCAA rules prohibiting freshmen from playing on the var- sity team. The Irish went 2-7 under interim head coach Hugh Devore. They hired Ara Parseghian ahead of the 1964 season. Notre Dame went 9-1, with Lynch as one of its start- ing linebackers until his season ended after six games due to injury. Before the 1964 season, Lynch joined a vol- unteer student group that spent the summer in Peru working with natives. As a junior, Lynch led Notre Dame in tackles (108) and helped the Irish go 7-2-1. He was the team's sole captain as a senior and won the Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation. He was also recognized as an Academic All-American. "I am often asked who was the best player to coach and Jim Lynch always comes to mind," Parseghian once said. "He was All-America in every sense — talented, hard-nosed and honest." The Kansas City Chiefs selected Lynch in the second round (No. 47 overall) of the 1967 NFL Draft. He spent his entire 11-year pro career with them and was a starter on the 1969 team that won the Super Bowl. He made 4 tackles in that game. He was a two-time second-team All-AFL selection and an AFL All-Star in 1968. He ended his NFL career with 17 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries. Lynch was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992. He is also enshrined in the Chiefs Hall of Fame. Lynch attended Central Catholic High School in his hometown of Lima, Ohio before coming to Notre Dame. He is survived by his wife, Georgia, daughters Megan and Kara, son Jake and nine grandchildren. — Patrick Engel NBC PICKS IRISH FOOTBALL ANNOUNCERS FOR 2022 NBC has settled on its new TV crew for Notre Dame football broadcasts this fall. Jac Collinsworth will be the play-by-play announcer and Jason Garrett the color analyst, according to an Aug. 14 report from The New York Post's Andrew Marchand. NBC made the official announcement one day later. Those two are replacing Mike Tirico and Drew Brees, who spent one season together on Notre Dame broadcasts. Tirico, who has called every Notre Dame home game for NBC since 2017, was named the NBC Sunday Night Football play-by-play announcer in April. That move signaled a likely end to his Notre Dame duties. Brees and NBC parted ways in May after one year, opening the color analyst spot too. Collinsworth is a 2017 Notre Dame graduate who has hosted the halftime and postgame shows for NBC's Irish coverage since 2020. He will also keep his role as a co-host of Football Night In America, the lead-in show to Sunday Night Football. Garrett, a Princeton grad, played quarterback in the NFL from 1989-2004 and began a coaching ca- reer in 2005. He was the Dallas Cowboys head coach from 2010-19 and the New York Giants offensive coordinator from 2020-21. After his November 2021 dismissal from the Giants, he signed on with NBC to be part of its spring 2022 United States Football League broadcasts with Collinsworth. Garrett also is replacing Brees on Football Night In America, NBC announced in June. Garrett, 56, will be the fourth Notre Dame color analyst in as many seasons. Brees replaced Pro Foot- ball Hall Of Fame coach Tony Dungy, who held the role in 2020. Former Boston College and 20-year pro quarterback Doug Flutie was the color commentator from 2014-19. — Patrick Engel FILE PHOTO Head injuries stemming from an offseason car crash have forced Tanona to retire from football. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER