Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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in a myriad of mishaps after the 1988 national title campaign, and he had already missed the 1987 season be- cause of academic travails. The star linebacker was sidelined in 1989 for disciplinary reasons. The fact that he stuck out two sea- son-long suspensions for different rea- sons made the two-time All-American quite the survivor, and now he is a highly successful entrepreneur in New Orleans. 8. NICK EDDY — The best game-break- ing back of the Ara Parseghian era (1964-74), he almost never had the chance to suit up for the Irish. Re- cruited by Joe Kuharich's staff in 1962, Eddy was dismissed from school after his freshman year for his involvement in breaking into a malfunctioning vending machine. He returned in 1964 and became an instant sensation with Parseghian and Co., finishing third in the Heisman Trophy balloting for the 1966 national champs. 7. JERIAN GRANT — Dismissed from school in December 2014 because of academic issues, Grant watched help- lessly from afar while the Irish fin- ished 15-17. Re-admitted last summer, Grant became Notre Dame's first first-team All-America since 2001 (Troy Murphy) — and the first Irish guard to achieve the feat since Austin Carr in 1971. He did this while helping Notre Dame to its first-ever conference title (ACC) and then the Elite 8, making it only the second Irish team to win three games in the NCAA Tournament. 6-5. RALPH GUGLIELMI AND JOE HEAP — On Dec. 6, 1953, Notre Dame capped head coach Frank Leahy's sixth and final unbeaten season (9-0-1) at Notre Dame with a 40-14 victory over SMU at home. Junior quarterback Guglielmi and classmate Joe Heap at halfback were starters on one of the greatest backfields in school history. After a victory dinner with Guglielmi's par- ents, the duo decided to do some cel- ebrating of their own. Heap reminded Guglielmi about the 1 a.m. curfew rule on weekends at the school back then, but the two didn't return on campus until around 3 a.m. "I said, 'Joe, what the hell differ- ence is an hour or two going to make?' Guglielmi said. "We just had com- pleted an undefeated season … they'll understand." The two were not only busted for their tardiness but the Prefect of Dis- cipline informed them they would be kicked out the remainder of the semes- ter (through February), lose all their academic credits from the fall ad have 24 hours to pack their bags and depart the campus. "I was livid," Guglielmi said. "Joe and I both talked about transferring to Michigan State. [Spartans head coach] Duffy Daugherty had heard about our suspensions and contacted us." A Notre Dame benefactor and Gug- lielmi's mother quelled the decision. However, Guglielmi had to take 12 credit hours in the summer and an astounding 20 during the 1954 football season to compensate for the missed semester and graduate with his class in the spring of '55. Guglielmi is in the College Football