Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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88 MARCH 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED IRISH ECHOES JIM LEFEBVRE BY JIM LEFEBVRE T he 1988 Notre Dame defense per- formed under the direction of two coaches who subsequently were voted into the College Football Hall of Fame — head coach Lou Holtz and as- sociate head coach and defensive coor- dinator Barry Alvarez. Now, two members of that defense have reached the Hall of Fame them- selves, with Irish linebacker Michael Stonebreaker among the 2023 Hall of Fame class of inductees, joining nose tackle Chris Zorich, who received the honor in 2007. From the '88 of- fense, sophomore wide receiver Raghib "Rocket" Ismail reached the Hall in 2019. On the season, the '88 Irish defense held eight of 12 opponents to 17 points or fewer and in six of those games, op- ponents scored 11 or fewer points. Stone- breaker recorded 104 tackles, second on the team, out of his Notre Dame career total of 220. Stonebreaker was a 1988 consensus All-American selection and finished third in the balloting for the But- kus Award as the nation's top linebacker. S to n e b rea ke r, fe l l ow l i n e ba c ke r Wes Pritchett and defensive end Frank Stams, jokesters all, became known as the "Three Amigos" after the popular movie of the time. The three referred to themselves as "knuckleheads," a term Alvarez used in reminiscing about his Notre Dame years as he received the 2020 Rockne Living Legend Award from the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. Stonebreaker first encountered Pritch- ett and Stams during his Notre Dame recruiting visit, but the veterans weren't sure of what to make of the newcomer. He shot back snappy responses to some of their jokes but seemed to ignore oth- ers. Pritchett wondered if Stonebreaker was being arrogant. "Then I found out he was deaf in one ear," Pritchett recalled. "I felt bad." The three would tend to steer clear of Holtz and his stern discipline, finding refuge in the office of Alvarez, some- thing of a "good cop." On occasion, Alvarez would have a sandwich deliv- ered for lunch, only to find it half-eaten by Pritchett or Stams. Invariably they would leave a note thanking Alvarez for their lunch — and sign Stonebreaker's name to it. Stonebreaker recalls Alvarez as a coach the Amigos could joke with, un- like Holtz. "But we respected him; there was a fine line there," he said. And make no mistake, during games the three were focused, intense de- fenders. Stams was a relentless pass rusher, Pritchett could clog the middle and Stonebreaker would fly to the ball. Along with consensus All-American Zorich up front and other standouts like Darrell "Flash" Gordon at end, Stan Smagala at cornerback and Pat Terrell at safety, it was a formidable unit. Defensive football came naturally to Stonebreaker — whose father, Steve, was a seven-year NFL player. Steve was one of the last stars to come out of the University of Detroit and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, played in the 1964 NFL championship game for the Baltimore Colts and was an original New Orleans Saint, taken in the 1967 expansion draft. Mike starred at John Curtis Christian School in River Ridge, La., before coming to Notre Dame. Stonebreaker's 104 tackles helped anchor the 1988 Irish defense that held eight of 12 opponents to 17 points or fewer en route to the national championship. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Michael Stonebreaker: 1988 National Champion, Now A Hall Of Famer 1988 NOTRE DAME DEFENSIVE STARTERS DE Frank Stams LT George Williams NT Chris Zorich RT Jeff Alm DE Flash Gordon LB Wes Pritchett LB Michael Stonebreaker CB Todd Lyght CB Stan Smagala SS George Streeter FS Pat Terrell College Football Hall of Fame members in bold