Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1489469
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2023 9 UNDER THE DOME 1 Men's college basketball player in the country was averaging at least 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds, while shooting better than 50.0 percent overall, 40.0 percent from three-point range and 85.0 percent from the free throw line as of Dec. 30: Notre Dame's Nate Laszewski. The graduate student forward was averaging career highs in points (14.3) and rebounds (7.7, seventh in the ACC) per game, while shooting 54.4 per- cent from the field, 40.4 percent on three-pointers (10th in the ACC) and 87.2 percent from the charity stripe (third in the ACC). 2 Former Notre Dame women's basketball players — Ruth Riley Hunter and Sheila (McMillen) Keller — will be inducted into the Indiana Basket- ball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2023 this spring. 3 Fighting Irish football assistant coaches were named finalists for their position group's Coach of the Year award by FootballScoop.com. Special teams coordinator Brian Mason, running backs coach Deland McCollough and tight ends coach Gerad Parker were among the finalists for their respec- tive position groups. FootballScoop.com started revealing the winners one at a time over New Year's weekend. On Jan. 1, Mason was announced as the Special Teams Coordinator of the Year. Coaches must be nominated by a fellow coach to be eligible for the award, and each winner is selected by prior winners of that category. Winners will be honored at the American Football Coaches Association convention in January at Charlotte, N.C. 4 Signees in Notre Dame's 2023 football recruiting class hail from Texas — the most from one state in this year's class. It's also the most from the Lone Star State since at least 2000. Notre Dame had previously welcomed three Texas recruits on three different occasions over the previous 23 recruiting cycles (2000, 2013 and 2014). In all, this Notre Dame recruiting class comes from 14 different states. Seven states provided two recruits — Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Mas- sachusetts, North Carolina, California and Virginia — and six provided one each. 4th Was where ESPN ranked Notre Dame sophomore point guard Olivia Miles among the top 25 women's college basketball players in the country in late December. The rankings were determined by a panel of 18 broad- casters, analysts and writers who cover the sport for the media outlet. "Miles has unequivocally staked her claim as one of the best talents in col- lege basketball. She's a do-it-all player for Notre Dame, with an ability to impact a contest through multiple facets of the game. She is one of just two players in the country averag- ing at least 15.0 points, 7.0 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. The conductor for the No. 5 Fighting Irish, Miles plays with a style and a sense of ease that forces observers to hang onto her every dribble." 21 Of Notre Dame's 24 signees during NCAA football's early signing period Dec. 21-23 were listed as a four-star prospect by at least one recruiting service, per Fighting Irish media relations. That is the most for the Irish dating back to 2002, when star data became reliably available. The 3.875-star average the group accumulated is the second highest for Notre Dame since 2002 (3.913 in 2013). The Irish have now signed 38 four-star student-athletes the past two re- cruiting classes — the most over a two-year stretch since the program inked 33 in 2013 and 2014. It also is the first time in program history the team signed top-300 players at every position. For good measure, the class boasts a core grade point average of 3.46. 43 Points allowed by the Fighting Irish men's basketball team in a 16-point win over Jacksonville Dec. 27. It was the fewest points allowed by Notre Dame since a 90-42 victory over Chicago State on Nov. 29, 2014. 62 Career games played at Notre Dame for graduate student safety Houston Griffith, a school record. He was tied with defensive line- man Kurt Hinish (2017-21) at 61 games entering the Gator Bowl. 79.2 Was the Fighting Irish's blue chip per- centage —the number of four- and five- star recruits divided by the number of total recruits in a cycle — for their 2023 football recruiting class after the early signing period Dec. 21-23. Nineteen of Notre Dame's 24 signees were considered four-star recruits by the On3 Consen- sus — a complete and equally weighted industry- generated average that uses all four major re- cruiting media companies — giving Notre Dame its best blue chip percentage since 2013. That year, the Irish landed two five-stars — including linebacker Jaylon Smith — and 18 four-stars in its 23-man haul for a blue chip percentage of 86.9. 108 Consensus All-Americans for Notre Dame football, with junior tight end Michael Mayer and senior defensive end ISAIAH FOSKEY the latest to join that club following the 2022 season. Mayer was a first-team pick by three of the five selectors — Sporting News, the Associ- ated Press and Walter Camp Football Foun- dation. The Football Writers Association of America and American Football Coaches Asso- ciation named him to their respective second teams. Three of five first-team nominations at tight end locks in consensus status. Fos- key, though, achieved it with just two first- team selections: the AFCA and Walter Camp. Three of the four defensive linemen on the consensus team were unanimous picks and Foskey earned the fourth spot because he had the most first-team selections of the other players that ap- peared on each of the five All-America teams. Notre Dame had three other players appear on at least one of the five All-America teams: sophomore left tackle Joe Alt (first- team AP, second-team AFCA, Sporting News, FWAA and Walter Camp), graduate student guard Jarrett Patterson (second-team AFCA) and graduate student long snapper Michael Vinson (first-team AFCA). ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER