UNDER THE DOME
35 Years Ago: Feb. 13, 1981
After only two months on the job, first-year head coach Gerry
Faust takes the college football-recruiting world by storm by
signing what is rated the consensus No. 1 class in the country.
The 27-man haul features an unheard of 13 Parade All-Amer-
icans, which to this day nearly doubles the second most ever
signed.
Alphabetically, the 13 Parade All-Americans were: tight end
Mark Bavaro, fullback Mark Brooks, tight end Robbie Finnegan,
defensive lineman Mike Gann, defensive lineman Mike Golic,
safety Joe Johnson, quarterback Ken Karcher, linebacker Mike
Larkin, flanker Van Pearcy, defensive lineman Tony Piccin, line-
backer Tom Roggeman, tailback Chris Smith and offensive line-
man Larry Williams. Brooks and Larkin both played for Faust at
Cincinnati Moeller High.
The nation's top recruiting maven at the time, Joe Terranova,
said one Eastern legend who knows quarterbacks said Karcher
could be "the next Joe Willie [Namath]," while Terranova noted
that Smith "may be the only player in America to compare
Anniversaries In Notre Dame
Athletics History: February
In 1981, first-year Irish head coach
Gerry Faust landed 13 Parade All-
Americans while inking the nation's
consensus No. 1 recruiting class.
FILE PHOTO
