Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1489469
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2023 13 110 Years Ago: Feb. 2, 1913 Edward Walter Kraucuinas was born in Chicago. In later years his last name would be shortened to "Krause," but eventually he would be better known as "Moose" or "Mr. Notre Dame." Recruited by Knute Rockne to play football at Notre Dame, Krause was a freshman on the 1930 national champions and later received All- America accolades as a tackle. He earned even greater renown in basketball as a three-time All-American who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976. A line coach for Frank Leahy, he helped Notre Dame capture national titles in 1943, 1946 and 1947, and went 3-0 as the acting coach when Leahy took ill. An intelligence officer in the South Pacific dur- ing World War II, Krause returned to the campus as a football assistant and as the basketball head coach from 1946-51. On March 22, 1949, he was named the school's athletics director, where he served for the next 32 years. 35 Years Ago: Feb. 11, 1988 Despite losing the final three games of the 1987 season and producing a 43-36-1 record the past seven years, Notre Dame signed the na- tion's No. 1-ranked recruiting class for the second straight season with a 23-man haul (although two would later not get admitted). The crown jewel was tight end and Parade Na- tional Player of the Year Derek Brown, prompting head coach Lou Holtz to shift two-year starting tight end Andy Heck to left tackle that spring. Speed also highlighted the class with six running back/athlete recruits who also were champion sprinters, including Raghib "Rocket" Ismail from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Rodney Culver from Detroit. Holtz also announced the promotion of outside linebackers coach Barry Alvarez to defensive co- ordinator, plus the hiring of three new assistants: Joe Moore (offensive tackles/tight ends), John Palermo (defensive line) and Chuck Heater (de- fensive backs). 30 Years Ago: Feb. 3, 1993 National Player of the Year and quarterback Ron Powlus signed with Notre Dame to form the "Dream Backfield" that included fellow USA Today first-team All-American tailback Randy Kinder, Parade All-American tailback Robert Farmer and fullback Robert Farmer, Ohio's "Mr. Football." The 22-man class was ranked No. 2 nation- ally by SuperPrep and No. 3 by Tom Lemming, although questions arose about how drop-back passer Powlus would fit into head coach Lou Holtz's ground-oriented offense. "I can hear it already — 'We aren't using his talents and abilities … we aren't doing this, we aren't doing that,'" Holtz said on National Sign- ing Day, a comment that would prove prophetic. 15 Years Ago: Feb. 6, 2008 Only at Notre Dame can you suffer the most defeats in one season in school history — 3-9 in 2007 — yet follow with one of the top two recruiting classes (along with Alabama). Third-year head coach Charlie Weis' haul in- cluded three five-star prospects in quarterback Dayne Crist, wide receiver Michael Floyd and tight end Kyle Rudolph. Equally noteworthy was that 12 of the 23 players included top defensive prospects such as linemen Ethan Johnson, Sean Cwynar and Kapron Lewis-Moore, linebackers Darius Fleming and Steve Filer, and defensive backs Robert Blanton and Jamoris Slaughter. "This is the type of day where everyone has got to feel good and say, 'God, what a good day!'" Weis said on National Signing Day. "And I think we all needed that — especially me." 10 Years Ago: Feb. 6, 2013 On the heels of playing in the BCS National Championship Game, a 42-14 loss to Alabama, Notre Dame signed its first top-five recruiting class in five years, headlined by five-star line- backer Jaylon Smith. The defense also inked five- stars in the secondary with Max Redfield and along the line with Eddie Vanderdoes. The 24-man harvest included five-star running Greg Bryant, complemented by fellow Floridian Tarean Folston; speedster Will Fuller at wideout; and an elite quintet along the offensive line in Hunter Bivin, Steve Elmer, Mike McGlinchey, Co- lin McGovern and John Montelus. Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: February UNDER THE DOME Tight end Derek Brown, the Parade National Player of the Year, headlined Notre Dame's No. 1-ranked recruiting class in 1988. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS