Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2026 15 45 Years Ago: Feb. 13, 1981 After only two months on the job, first-year head coach Gerry Faust took the college football-recruiting world by storm by signing what was rated the consensus No. 1 class in the country. The 27-man haul featured an unheard of 13 Parade All-Americans. Alphabetically, the 13 Parade All-Americans were: tight end Mark Bavaro, fullback Mark Brooks, tight end Robbie Finnegan, defensive line- man Mike Gann, defensive lineman Mike Golic, safety Joe Johnson, quarterback Ken Karcher, linebacker Mike Larkin, flanker Van Pearcy, defensive lineman Tony Piccin, linebacker Tom Roggeman, tailback Chris Smith and offensive lineman Larry Williams. Brooks and Larkin both played for Faust at Cincinnati Moeller High. The nation's top recruiting maven at the time, Joe Terranova, said one Eastern legend who knows quarterbacks said Karcher could be "the next Joe Willie [Namath]," while Terranova said that Smith "may be the only player in America to compare favorably with [Georgia superstar] Herschel Walker [from a pure strength standpoint]." Williams was rated as the best offensive lineman in the state of Cali- fornia, while Jay Underwood and Mike Kiernan were elected Linemen of the Year in their respective states of Virginia and Kentucky. "The incoming linemen have such enormous size that if they hold out their left arm they may well be mistaken for a railroad crossing," Terranova wrote. All in all, it may be the greatest class in college football history on paper. 40 Years Ago: Feb. 12, 1986 Unlike five years earlier, the first recruiting class under new head coach Lou Holtz arrived with a little less fanfare. Ten of the 22-man haul were from the Chicago area, with five alone coming from St. Laurence High. The three top recruits from that high school were linemen Paul Glonek, Jeff Pearson and Mike Harazin, while another offensive lineman, Tim Grunhard, was not as highly ranked. The fifth, running back/athlete Stan Smagala, was reluctantly accepted by Holtz only because predecessor Gerry Faust already had promised him a scholarship. (Grunhard and Smagala would become three-year starters and future pros.) The Irish also signed local product Anthony Johnson, a running back/linebacker from South Bend John Adams. Headlining the top-15 caliber class were Chicago defensive lineman Chris Zorich, the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year, and Woodruff, S.C., quarter- back Tony Rice, an option wizard and Parade All-American. The Irish also tapped into Louisiana by inking linebackers Michael Stonebreaker and Rod West. 20 Years Ago: Feb. 1, 2006 In his first full season as a recruiter, head coach Charlie Weis and his staff landed what he termed "a killer class" that was ranked as high as No. 3 by Tom Lemming. The 28-man class was the highest in volume since the 30 in 1987, and was allowed because running back James Aldridge, wide receiver George West and offensive guard Chris Stewart were the first football early enrollees at Notre Dame and were applied to the previous year's record-low 15-man haul. Despite the numbers, the Irish fell short along the defensive line, but the six-man offensive line haul was deemed the best in the land, led by five-star tackle Sam Young, who edged out quarterback Tim Tebow as Florida's Gato- rade Player of the Year. 15 Years Ago: Feb. 28, 2011 Forward Tim Abromaitis hit a career-high 9 three-pointers — one shy of the school record set by Kyle McAlarney against North Carolina in 2008 — and guard Ben Hansbrough contributed 7 treys among a school-record 20 for the No. 8-ranked Notre Dame men's basketball team in its 93-72 win over No. 19 Villanova. The victory ensured a double bye in the Big East Tournament for the Fighting Irish and wrapped up a 17-0 season at home, making them the only Big East team to go un- beaten at home during the 2010-11 campaign. "I was telling Abro, 'Did you know we hit 16 threes, combined?' He was like, 'What?"' said Hans- brough, who also had 10 assists and 5 steals. "That was a decent little shoot- ing night. I think that's just part of our mental preparation and guys getting in the gym and working on their shots. We shot the ball incredible tonight." Notre Dame (24-5, 13-4 Big East) finished 20 of 32 on three-pointers. The previ- ous Irish record for three-pointers was 19 against South Dakota on Dec. 2, 2008. 10 Years Ago: Feb. 27, 2016 The No. 2-ranked Fighting Irish women's basketball squad defeated Boston College 70-58 for its 21st straight victory to finish off an undefeated confer- ence season en route to its third straight regular-season ACC title. Notre Dame (28-1, 16-0 ACC) extended its streak of five straight conference titles, dating back to their time in the Big East, and improved to 54-1 in the ACC since joining the league in 2013, including postseason play. The only other ACC team to lose just one league game over a three-year span was Duke from 2002-04. "It's been amazing, the run that we've had," head coach Muffet McGraw said. "No matter who graduates, we can keep our tradition going." The Irish senior class of Hannah Huffman, Michaela Mabrey and Madison Cable led Notre Dame to a 136-7 record (.951 win percentage) in its four-year run, including four outright regular-season conference titles (the last three in the ACC). UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: February ✦ 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. ✦ Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT include periodical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. ✦ It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule! To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP and verify your delivery address with your local post office. DID YOU KNOW ... Ben Hansbrough scored 30 points, dished out 10 assists and had 5 steals to help Notre Dame crush Villanova 93-72 on Feb. 28, 2011. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND