Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2024 13 35 Years Ago: Feb. 8, 1989 After winning the national championship one month earlier, Notre Dame signed its third consecutive No. 1-ranked recruiting class. The 25-man harvest was headlined by the nation's top quarterback Rick Mirer, a local product from nearby Goshen, Ind. Three line prospects — Junior Bryant, Chet Lacheta and Stuart Tyner — were named to the USA Today first- or second-team All- America unit, and a half-dozen linebacker prospects were inked, including California's Erik Simien, Washington's Demetrius DuBose and Iowa's Brian Ratigan. Despite signing elite running backs Ricky Watters and Tony Brooks in 1987 and six more All-American running backs in 1988 — featur- ing Raghib "Rocket" Ismail — this class still reeled in another All-American in New York's Dorsey Levens and Oklahoma's Reggie Brooks, the overshadowed younger brother of Tony. "Speed is what we won with, and speed is what we're going to continue to win with," Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Vinny Cer- rato said. 25 Years Ago: Feb. 5, 1999 Notre Dame's Board of Trustees unanimously voted not to join the Big Ten. Earlier, the Notre Dame Faculty Senate had voted 25-4 in favor of joining the Big Ten to have access to the CIC, an academic consortium of the 11 conference schools and the University of Chicago. The move kept the storied Irish football program as an independent, while most of the other Notre Dame sports competed in the Big East. "Notre Dame has a core identity, and at the core of these characteristics — Catholic, private, inde- pendent," Notre Dame president Rev. Edward A. "Monk" Malloy said. "… Given those realities, we have to ask ourselves the fundamental question: Does this core identity of Notre Dame as Catholic, private and independent seem a match for an association of universities — even a splendid association of great universities — that are uniformly secular, predominantly state institutions and with a long heritage of conference affiliation? "Our answer, in the final analysis, is no." 15 Years Ago: Feb. 4, 2009 One of the five or six more drab recruiting seasons at Notre Dame in the last 40 years ends dramati- cally when National Defensive Player of the Year Manti Te'o on National Signing Day stunned the nation by selecting the Irish over USC head coach Pete Carroll's juggernaut. The Hawaiian linebacker had made his official visit to Notre Dame during the shocking 24-23 loss at home to 2-8 Syracuse in freezing weather, and the next week the Irish were pummeled 38-3 at USC to finish the regular season 6-6. Fourth-year head coach Charlie Weis' status appeared to be in limbo for several days after a 3-9 record was followed by two 6-6 regular seasons, and no recruits were added since December to the final 18-man haul. When Te'o announced for the Irish on National Signing Day via ESPNU, the Irish staff let loose with unbridled screaming and rapture. "I want to help build a dynasty instead of just joining one," Te'o explained to the Honolulu Advertiser after his announcement. "That was a big pull for me. … I always stuck up for people who couldn't stick up for themselves. I always pick on the bullies." The announcement by Te'o provides a major boost for a class that finished as low as No. 24 (Scout. com) and no higher than No. 14 (ESPN.com). The Irish didn't sign a quarterback and only brought in one defensive lineman (Tyler Stockton), but its strength is at linebacker (Te'o, Carlo Calabrese, Dan Fox and Zeke Motta) and running back (Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick). A couple of Indiana natives — tight end Tyler Eifert and offensive lineman Zack Martin — were more under the radar. UNDER THE DOME Indiana native Rick Mirer, who was rated as the top quarterback in the country, headlined the Fighting Irish's third consecutive No. 1-ranked recruiting class in 1989. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME Anniversaries In Notre Dame History: February DID YOU KNOW... Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? ALL addresses are cross-referenced with the USPS National Change of Address database. It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP. Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT always include periodical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. You should call your local post office to verify your delivery address? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule. AVOID COSTLY DELAYS & REPLACEMENTS! Blue & Gold Illustrated Customer Service: 1–800–421–7751 We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws all postal address changes must be completed by you.