Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2023 11 UNDER THE DOME Michael Stonebreaker added another accolade to an already lengthy list from his time as a Notre Dame football player. He's now a Hall of Famer. Stonebreaker, a linebacker for the Irish from 1986-90, has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation an- nounced Jan. 9. He is one of 22 members of the 2023 class, which includes players and coaches. At Notre Dame, Stonebreaker was a two-time All-American and won a national championship in 1988. He had 104 tackles in that championship season, finished third in the Butkus Award voting and was a consensus All- American. He missed the 1989 season due to injury but returned for 1990 and continued his ascent. In 1990, Stonebreaker had 95 tackles for a Notre Dame team that went 9-3 and lost to Colorado in the Orange Bowl. He helped seal three of the Irish's biggest wins that season. He snagged fourth-quarter interceptions in victories over No. 4 Michigan and No. 24 Michigan State. His fumble recovery in the fourth quarter all but clinched a 29-20 win over No. 2 Miami. He was named a unanimous All-American after the season. All told, Stonebreaker had 220 tackles, 5 interceptions and 8 passes broken up in his stellar college career. He came to Notre Dame from John Curtis High School in River Ridge, La. The Chicago Bears selected Stonebreaker in the ninth round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He played in 16 games as a rookie and made 8 tackles. He was a member of the Atlanta Falcons but did not appear in a game for them. He played two games for the New Orleans Saints in 1994. His final professional season was with the World League of American Football's Frankfurt Galaxy in 1995. Stonebreaker, 55, lives in New Orleans and owns N.O. Brew Coffee, a cold- drip coffee retailer. He is a member of Notre Dame's Next College Student Athlete Advisory Board. Notre Dame's most recent Hall of Fame inductee before Stonebreaker was 1990-93 offensive lineman Aaron Taylor, who was part of the 2019 class. This year was Stonebreaker's first on the ballot. Former Irish cornerback Todd Lyght (1987-90) was also on the 2023 ballot. Stonebreaker is the 55th former Notre Dame player or coach to be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, the most of any school. He will be in- ducted Dec. 5 in a ceremony at the NFF's annual awards dinner in Las Vegas. — Patrick Engel BLUE-GOLD GAME SET FOR APRIL 22 Notre Dame has set the date for its annual spring scrimmage in its usual late April window. The 2023 Blue-Gold Game will be held on Saturday, April 22 at Notre Dame Stadium and will be streamed on Peacock. Fighting Irish TV will have the game broadcast available to watch on demand after the scrimmage ends. Tickets for the game can be pur- chased at UND.com/BuyTickets or by calling 833-NDIRISH. Kickoff time, ad- ditional ticket information and more details about Blue-Gold Game week- end will be released at a later date. Last year's spring game kicked off at 1 p.m. ET. — Patrick Engel LONG SNAPPER ALEX PEITSCH SEEKING NEW LANDING SPOT The path to Alex Peitsch becoming Notre Dame's primary long snapper lengthened yet again. Three-year snapper Michael Vinson revealed Dec. 2 he will return for a sixth season in 2023 and, by extension, pushed Peitsch's timeline to succeed him back to 2024. Peitsch won't wait around, though. Peitsch, a rising senior, entered his name in the transfer portal Jan. 10. He will have three years of eligibility at his next stop. He did not play in a game this season and made his only appearance at Notre Dame as a freshman in 2020 during a win over South Florida. Notre Dame signed the 6-2, 220-pound Peitsch as a scholarship long snapper with intentions of fast-tracking him into the lineup. He arrived in 2020 from Washington (D.C.) St. John's College as the likely replacement for four-year starter John Shannon, a scholarship player who exhausted his eligibility after the 2019 season. Vinson, though, had other ideas. Then a walk-on, he beat out Peitsch for the job in 2020 and has not missed a game since. What looked like a possible two-year wait for Peitsch at the time Vinson claimed the job turned into three when Notre Dame gave Vinson a scholarship in December 2021 and invited him back for a fifth season. Vinson used the COVID-19 waiver to return for his sixth year. Peitsch ending 2020 fall camp as the runner-up to Vinson felt like a surprise at the time. He plays a position that is rarely allotted scholarships to give high school recruits. Long snappers who are recruited as scholarship players are usually Year 1 contributors. Peitsch had the profile of one. He was the No. 1-ranked long snapper by Kohl's Kicking and the No. 1 snapper in the 2020 On3 Consensus. — Patrick Engel FORMER NOTRE DAME LINEBACKER MICHAEL STONEBREAKER ELECTED TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME Stonebreaker, a two-time All-American with the Fighting Irish from 1986-90, is the 55th former Notre Dame player or coach to be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame — the most of any school. PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION