Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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THREE IRISH ON 2012 HALL OF FAME BALLOT UNDER THE DOME ball Foundation (NFF) announced a group of 76 players and eight coaches who are on this year's ballot for induction into the College Foot- ball Hall of Fame. The Football Bowl Series Hall of On Feb. 28, the National Foot- Fame Class will be announced May 15. Generally, about 12 to 15 players and one or two coaches make the cut. Three of the candidates this year starred on national title teams from Notre Dame: the late wide re- ceiver Jim Seymour (1966-68), offen- sive tackle/tight end Dave Casper (1971-73) and receiver/running back/return man Raghib "Rocket" Ismail (1988-90). Since induction began in 1951, 43 former Notre Dame players and six former coaches have been honored as Hall of Fame enshrines, more than any other institution. Its most recent inductees are Tim Brown (2009), Lou Holtz (2008) and Chris Zorich (2007). Which Notre Dame player has the best chance in 2012? Our guess is: Camp Award winner and Heisman Trophy runner-up to BYU's Ty Det- mer was one of the most electrifying players in the sport's history. Ismail and Joe Heap (1952-54) are 1. Raghib Ismail College football's 1990 Walter only 19 catches as a senior tight end and tri-captain on Notre Dame's 1973 national championship team. That doesn't include the three grabs for 75 yards in the 24-23 Sugar Bowl win over Alabama, highlighted by a su- perb 30-yard catch in traffic that set up the game-winning field goal. But Casper was an offensive tackle Raghib "Rocket" Ismail (1988-90) is one of only two Notre Dame players to amass more than 1,000 career rushing yards and 1,000 career receiving yards. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND 138 passes for 2,113 yards (15.3 yards per catch) and 16 touchdowns. His numbers have been getting dwarfed by today's pass-happy offenses, with Michael Floyd, Jeff Samardzija, Rhema McKnight and Golden Tate all eclipsing him in recent years. 3. Dave Casper The record books show him with his first two varsity seasons (fresh- men were ineligible during his time) because of his blocking prowess. In his junior year, Casper also lined up on the defensive line in short yard- age situations — and then started at split end versus Pitt when starter Willie Townsend was injured. His head coach at Notre Dame, Ara Par- seghian, classified Casper as perhaps the greatest athlete he ever coached. a player must have been named a first-team All-American by an NCAA recognized source, must not have played a college game in at least 10 years and can no longer be playing in the pros. To be eligible for the College Hall, "I looked at Ireland tours from many companies, including the alumni tour, since I'm a Notre Dame grad. I checked out your reputation and quality. I liked the value and all the things included. That's why we chose Prime Tours." the only two Notre Dame players to amass more than 1,000 career rush- ing yards and 1,000 career receiving yards. Ismail's 1,015 yards rushing averaged 7.7 yards a pop and didn't even include the 108 in the 1990 Or- ange Bowl victory versus No. 1 Colo- rado (back then bowl stats weren't counted in career stats). His 22.0 yards per catch also is a Notre Dame career record. Ismail also had more than 1,000 Notre Dame - Navy in Ireland at $100 off! $100 off with this ad: Ireland Spiritual or Magical Ireland. Both tours are Aug. 26-Sep. 2 and feature a castle stay, game tickets and much more, starting at $1873 plus air. Call 877-259-5554 or see all the details at www.GoPrimeTours.Com. yards in return yardage — scoring six times — to complete the unique hat trick. was never a consensus All-Ameri- can, but he was named to at least one first-team All-America unit in each of his three varsity seasons. Considered a freak in his time 2. Jim Seymour Seymour, who died March 29, 2011, www.GoPrimeTours.com with his combination of range (6-4, 205) and speed, Seymour grabbed www.BLUEANDGOLD.com APRIL 2012 11 Taking Custom Groups to Ireland Since 1998