Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? quarterbacks recruited in that class were Hanratty and Bob Belden — who would be on the Dallas Cowboys roster in 1969 and 1970 for head coach Tom Landry. "And the quarterback who came in with us that year with the most publicity was Mike Franger, from nearby Elkhart, Ind.," O'Brien said. " He was a Parade All‑American, the No. 1 quarterback in the nation, which was the biggest thing in recruiting back then." Franger eventually ended up playing basketball for the Irish, while O'Brien finished the fall of 1965 as the highest ranked quarterback by the Irish staff based on their practices with the prep team against the powerful Irish de‑ fense (freshmen would not be allowed to play in games until 1972). O'Brien had learned the system the fastest, but Hanratty's size and arm strength even‑ tually won him the job the following September. "It was a letdown, but I wasn't there just to play football," O'Brien said. "I was there to get an education, too, and I was in the right spot for that. But you never know what can happen. "You've seen it, especially with this year's team; guys dropping right and left. I wasn't thinking about that, but I was making sure I kept battling and kept thinking it might happen where I have to play." CAPITOL HILL Although he received some free agent invitations to the NFL after his 1969 graduation, O'Brien opted for law school and became a Double Domer with his Notre Dame degree, also spending a year in London as part of that program. During his law school days, he worked in the summers for senator Mike Mansfield and former sergeant‑ O'Brien (far right) today with his family — from left to right: wife Barbara, son Conor, and daughters Christin and Cara. PHOTO COURTESY O'BRIEN FAMILY