Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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1,000‑yard hat trick. (Theo Riddick from 2009‑12 is the only other Notre Dame player to have more than 1,000 yards in each category of rushing, re‑ ceiving and returns, but he played four seasons.) Ismail was the consummate triple threat as a runner, receiver and return man — even more so than Tim Brown, who was enshrined in 2010. In Ismail's first two seasons, Notre Dame was 24‑1, highlighted by the 1988 national title and a school‑record 23‑game winning streak. In his final season, the Irish were 9‑3. They lost one of those games (Stan‑ ford) when Ismail couldn't play be‑ cause of an injury. In the second loss (Penn State), the Irish led at halftime 21‑7 while Ismail played, but lost in the second half (24‑21) when he was sidelined the entire time with an in‑ jury. In the third loss, to No. 1 Col‑ orado, his spectacular 91‑yard punt return in the final minute was called back because of a penalty flag for a debatable clipping penalty. 2. LUTHER BRADLEY (1973, 1975-77) The best all‑around defensive back ever to line up for Notre Dame, Brad‑ ley started all 46 games the Irish played during his career. He and class‑ mate/defensive end Ross Browner were two of the most dominant fresh‑ men in NCAA history. Bradley was big and strong enough to line up at strong safety as a fresh‑ man for the 1973 national champs, and he led that team in interceptions (six) and passes broken up (11). His per‑ formance against USC All‑American Lynn Swann — including two inter‑ ceptions, knocking Swann's helmet off on USC's first play and coming clear across the field to tip away a potential TD — was one of the greatest efforts ever by a Notre Dame defensive back. For the 1977 national champs, Brad‑ ley played at cornerback and earned consensus All‑America notice. He also received some first‑team All‑America recognition as a junior in 1976 and as a sophomore in 1975. Bradley might be the lone defensive back in college football history to start for one national title winner at safety and another at corner. His 17 interceptions, highlighted by the fourth‑quarter, game‑changing 99‑ yard TD return at Purdue in 1975, re‑ mains the school standard — yet he's not even been nominated. Crowded Field Among the 75 nominees on this year's College Football Hall of Fame ballot, one might be sur- prised that some of the biggest names the sport has known are still not in. Among them are Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth, Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch, SMU running back Eric Dickerson, Miami line- backer Ray Lewis and defensive tackle Warren Sapp, and Alabama linebacker Derrick Thomas. Among opponents on this year's ballot the Irish played regularly, they include: Michigan — Offensive tackle Jumbo Elliot and defensive lineman Mark Messner. Michigan State — Running backs Clinton Jones and Lorenzo White, and receiver Kirk Gibson. Penn State — Linebacker Shane Conlan, run- ning back D.J. Dozier and offensive guard Steve Wisniewski. Purdue — Receiver Larry Burton and defensive tackle Dave Butz. USC — Offensive tackle Tony Boselli, safety Mark Carrier and receiver Keyshawn Johnson.