Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME ✦ GIMME FIVE The selection of Notre Dame offen- sive tackle Zack Martin in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft marked the third straight year Notre Dame had an open- ing-round selection. Since the start of the NFL Draft in 1936, the only two times Notre Dame has had more than three straight years of a first-round pick were four in a row from 1967-70 and then four straight again from 1991-94. Head coach Brian Kelly's four first- round picks now put him in sixth place among Irish head coaches for most first- round players coached while with the Fighting Irish. Here are the top five Notre Dame head coaches who instructed — at least one full season — a starter who became a first-round NFL (not AFL or other leagues) selection. We include players such as Tim Brown for both Gerry Faust (1984-85) and Lou Holtz (1986-87), and players such as Steve Niehaus, Ross Browner, Luther Bradley and Ken MacAfee for both Ara Parseghian and Dan Devine. Coach (Years) First-Round Picks 1. Frank Leahy (1941-43, 1946-53) 19 2. Ara Parseghian (1964-74) 16 3. Lou Holtz (1986-96) 12 4. Dan Devine (1975-80) 8 5. Gerry Faust (1981-85) 5 SI.COM PICKS NOTRE DAME NO. 12 Prior to the start of spring, Notre Dame was generally ranked by in early 2014 pro- jections between 15th and 20th. The 15 spring practices from March 3 through April 12 did not alter those view- points much, but Sports Illustrated's web- site, SI.com, did have the Fighting Irish coming in the highest at No. 12. Since 1994, Notre Dame has finished in the Associated Press top 10 only twice: No. 9 in 2005 with a 9-3 record following a 34-20 loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, and No. 4 in 2012 after head coach Brian Kelly's top-ranked 12-0 Fighting Irish were crushed 42-14 by Alabama in the BCS Na- tional Championship Game in Miami. Last year it finished 20th in the AP and 24th in the coaches' poll following a 9-4 campaign capped with a 29-16 victory versus Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl. Among three of the more prominent na- tional college football web sites, here are their post-spring rankings: CBSSports.com: 20 — The four Notre Dame opponents ahead of it are defending national champ Florida State at No. 3, Stan- ford (10), USC (16) and Arizona State (17). ESPN.com: 17 — The three ahead of Notre Dame are the Seminoles at No. 1, the Stanford Cardinal at No. 11 and the North Carolina Tar Heels at No. 16. Those are the three games in October for the Fighting Irish, with the Cardinal (Oct. 4) and Tar Heels (Oct. 11) at home and FSU (Oct. 18) on the road. Notre Dame has a bye week Oct. 25. SI.com: 12 — Florida State (1) and Stan- ford (4) are both ahead of the Irish, with USC (14), Arizona State (20) and North Carolina (23) not far behind. MOVING? Let our customer service department know your new address! CALL US 1-800-421-7751