Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? nior varsity behind Clements, but assis- tant coach Paul Shoults, who recruited Mahalic, had a chat with him prior to the start of spring practice in 1972. "He said, 'Here's the depth chart: You can start out about 11th-string quarterback, or you can give it a go at linebacker and you could start out third team with a chance to move up quickly if you play well and learn,'" Mahalic recalled with a laugh. "I thought about it for about an hour." At 6-4 and nearly 220 pounds, Ma- halic was viewed as ideal at linebacker — and surprised even himself by start- ing as a sophomore and playing the most minutes of anyone at the position (287:31) while recording 77 tackles and making a game-changing 56-yard in- terception return for a touchdown in a victory versus Pitt. That ended up being Parseghian's worst season at Notre Dame, 8-3, with a loss at No. 1 USC (45-23) to end the reg- ular season and a 40-6 stomping at the hands of two-time defending national champ Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Mahalic said that was not an impetus to Notre Dame's national title march the following year. "It was a thrill and an honor to step on the field every game. You didn't need extraneous sources of motiva- tion," he said. "The No. 1 football tradi- tion of all time … if that can't motivate you, there's nothing inside you." GLORY DAYS During his junior year, Mahalic made the cover of Sports Illustrated in a gang-tackle photo of USC's Anthony Davis while ending the Trojans' 23- game unbeaten streak. The midseason 23-14 victory was also the first time in seven years the Irish vanquished USC. "We all kind of knew that if we could beat USC there wasn't going to be anybody that was going to beat us," said Mahalic, who finished the season with 59 stops. In the 24-23 victory versus No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to clinch the national title, Mahalic helped turn the Tide (pun intended) by grabbing a fumble in mid-air and returning it to the Alabama 12 to set up a temporary 21-17 Irish lead. During a taxing 10-2 campaign in Parseghian's final season (1974), Ma- halic finished his career with another upset of an 11-0 Alabama team, this time in the Orange Bowl (13-11). In his final season in blue and gold, he racked up 117 tackles. A third-round pick (69th overall) the following spring, Mahalic played at San Diego and Philadelphia for five years before moving forward in his life. "Other than the money, it was a step down from Notre Dame," Mahalic said of his NFL days. "It didn't feel as good, you didn't play for the same rea- sons, you could tell the purpose was not an academic, nurturing, learning environment. Winning was important at Notre Dame, but it wasn't the only thing. "It's a lifetime goal to play at the highest level and I was fortunate to do that, but the experience wasn't close to the enriching experience at Notre Dame." And beyond. ✦