Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2026 9 UNDER THE DOME Nick Eddy: 1944-2025 Notre Dame lost a legend when former Fighting Irish running back Nick Eddy passed away at the age of 81 on Dec. 31, 2025. Eddy — who was born in Dunsmuir, Calif., and raised in Tracy, Calif. — was the most recent Irish running back to be honored as a unanimous All-American until Jeremiyah Love achieved that honor for the Irish this past season. He was an integral part of Notre Dame's success from 1964-66. "Timing is so much in life," said Eddy, who was recruited by one of Notre Dame's least successful coaches, Joe Kuharich. After Kuharich abruptly resigned weeks after the signing period, Eddy ended up spending his freshman season in 1963 under interim coach Hugh De- vore, though freshmen were ineligible to play varsity ball during that era. He then spent three seasons under legendary head coach Ara Parseghian, which included a near miss at a championship in 1964 and a consensus national title in 1966. "To be there when Ara Parseghian came in and kind of lit the fire and put the glare back on the Dome was probably the biggest thrill of all during my time at Notre Dame," Eddy said. "The fact that we did win the championship was probably icing on the cake." Eddy was the leading rusher for the Irish in both 1965 (572 yards) and 1966 (553). He was a unanimous All-America selection in '66 and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, behind Florida quarterback Steve Spurrier and Purdue signal-caller Bob Griese. It was the highest finish for an Irish running back until the 2025 season, when Love came in third. In Eddy's three varsity seasons, Notre Dame achieved a stellar 25-3-2 record. Over the course of his storied career in South Bend, he amassed 1,615 rushing yards while adding 44 receptions for 708 yards. However, he didn't get a chance to play in the biggest game of the Irish's 1966 national title run — No. 1 Notre Dame's 10-10 standoff with No. 2 Michigan State, perhaps the most famous game in sports in the last 60 years. Eddy had suffered a shoulder injury a couple of weeks earlier in a 40-0 rout of Pittsburgh, and reinjured it the next week against Duke. "That was one of the first games that was ever nationally televised," Eddy said of the matchup with Michigan State. "If I could have played in that game and had a decent game, I might have had a shot of winning the Heisman. Those are the types of things you look back on and ask, 'What if?' But it certainly didn't take away from the Notre Dame experience." Eddy spent six seasons in the NFL with the Detroit Lions (1967-72) before a knee injury ended his career prematurely. After retiring from professional football, he worked in sales and also volunteered coaching high school football and track. He went on to earn a master's degree and spent many years as a special education teacher in Modesto, Calif. Eddy married his wife, Jean, on Oct. 16, 1965, on a rare bye week during football season. He was a devoted father of four and a proud grandfather to nine. He is sur- vived by Jean, their children, and their grandchildren. — Eric Hansen Eddy was an integral part of Notre Dame's suc- cess from 1964-66 and the most recent Irish running back to be honored as a unanimous All-American until Jeremiyah Love achieved that honor for the Irish this past season. FILE PHOTO NCAA RULING GIVES JASON ONYE A SIXTH SEASON On Jan. 19, the NCAA informed Jason Onye that his petition was successful in get- ting a sixth year of college eligibility. In one fell swoop, the Irish addressed their biggest lingering offseason need with a player with proven production, one who personifies the culture head coach Marcus Freeman believes fuels Notre Dame's title dreams. Onye — a 6-foot-5, 302-pound defensive tackle from North Providence, R.I. — played in all 12 games during the 2025 campaign after missing all but the first five of the 16 the Irish played in 2024, in a season that ended in Atlanta in the College Football Playoff national championship game. He saw action in 13 con- tests in 2023, but played in only one game in 2022 and none in 2021. Onye was at his best in 2025 after close friend and fellow defensive tackle Gabe Ru- bio went down with what turned out to be a season-ending left elbow injury in Game 6 against North Carolina State Oct. 11. Onye finished the season with a career-high 26 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, with 4 QB hur- ries. Seventeen of those 26 came in the last half of the season. His season film grade from Pro Football Focus was a career-best 77.8, and his 354 game snaps in 2025 were more than his previous four seasons combined. Onye will be penciled in as a starter in 2026 on a defensive line that lost heavy rotational players in Rubio and Jared Dawson to expired eligibility, and Donovan Hinish to a medical retirement. — Eric Hansen NOTRE DAME SETS DATE FOR 2026 BLUE-GOLD GAME The Notre Dame football program has an- nounced the date for this year's spring game. The 2026 Blue-Gold Game will take place April 25 at 2 p.m. ET. Peacock will have live broadcast coverage. For Notre Dame in particular, this year's Blue-Gold Game will arrive with much antici- pation given that almost every one of the play- ers from the 2026 recruiting class that finished No. 2 in the nation is an early enrollee. Spring games are opportunities for younger players and/or those buried on the depth chart to break out, so there could be some depth chart posturing and positioning at stake at Notre Dame Stadium at the end of April. This will also be the first time fans get to see the Fighting Irish on the gridiron in person since the end of November, when they cruised to a 49-20 win at Stanford Nov. 29. — Tyler Horka