Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/81334
Top Of The Class Jeni Houser • So., Volleyball The 6-2 sophomore is the only Notre Dame player to make the preseason All-Big East volleyball team this fall. Houser made the all-conference list at the end of her freshman year as well, after leading the Irish with 320 kills and 3.47 points per set. She started this year with a team-high 17 kills in Notre Dame’s season-opening loss to No. 1 UCLA. The Irish are picked to finish third in the Big East this year. Jake Kildoo • So., Cross Country Kildoo represented Notre Dame at the junior men’s cross country championship for North America, Central America and the Caribbean this spring. Kildoo finished in fifth place at the USA Championships while covering eight kilometers in 25:05. That earned him a trip to Trinidad to race with some of the top young distance runners in the western hemisphere. Michaela Mabrey • Fr., Women’s Basketball The freshman guard added another international gold medal (the seventh since 2008) to Notre Dame’s roster last month at the U-18 FIBA Americas Championship. She started in four of Team USA’s five games at the Puerto Rico-based tournament. Mabrey averaged 12.8 points and 4.8 assists during the tournament, including scoring 14 against Brazil in the final game. McKenzie Brown • Sr. Women’s Lacrosse Brown was one of three members of the Irish lacrosse team to make the Academic Squad on Aug. 25. The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association selected 173 upperclassmen to its list for the past year. Brown, along with graduated senior Kelly Driscoll and classmate Adele Bruggeman, was one of 27 on the list that played in the NCAA Tournament. Say It Ain’t So, Joe Notre Dame’s opener against Navy couldn’t come soon enough after two of the greatest players in Fighting Irish history made headlines during the week about the current state of the program. While 1982-85 running back Allen Pinkett made most of the news by opining that Notre Dame needed more of a “criminal” element on its football roster (see page 8), 1974-78 quarterback Joe Montana made unflattering statements about head coach Brian Kelly and the decision to start sophomore Everett Golson at quarterback. When asked on an ESPN.com chat about Notre Dame’s quarterback situation, Montana responded: “Kelly can’t figure out what he wants. Every one of his QBs that he has, he claims is his next star, but he doesn’t last long with him. [Golson is] probably the least talented thrower that they have, so maybe they’re looking to run the ball with him.” To some, the comment came across as sour grapes. Montana’s son, Nate, after a stint at Pasadena Community College, was on the Notre Dame roster in 2010 and competed with freshman Tommy Rees for the No. 2 spot behind Dayne Crist. After a solid spring, Nate Montana was awarded a football scholarship. Nate saw first-half action in the 28‑24 loss to Michigan when Crist was sidelined with a vision issue. He completed 8 of 17 passes for 104 yards with an interception and ran four times for 23 yards, but the Irish failed to score. Later in the season, Rees took over as the starter when Crist suffered a season-ending injury. Nate transferred to Football Championship Subdivision school Montana, where he also was a backup, for the 2011 season, and he is currently enrolled at West Virginia Wesleyan College. To others, Montana’s statement about Golson’s skills as a passer were off base because the 6-0, 185-pound sophomore had passed for 11,634 yards during his career at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) High, with his 151 touchdown passes ranking as the sixth most in U.S. high school history. Kelly didn’t take the bait when he was asked if he had a response to the elder Montana’s comment. “Joe Montana is an icon and he’s entitled to his opinion about our football team,” Kelly said. “I think that’s probably all I’d say about that.” Four Captains Elected After selecting game captains in 2010 and naming Harrison Smith as the lone team captain with game captains elected in 2011, head coach Brian Kelly and his staff announced on Aug. 27 a four-man crew. Seniors Tyler Eifert and Zack Martin will represent the offense and fifth-year senior Kapron Lewis-Moore and Manti Te’o the defense as team captains this season. “There are a number of other seniors that could easily be in that position and I think that’s what I’m most excited about,” Kelly said. “We’ve got great leadership not only amongst our seniors but our veteran football players, and it has set a great model for our younger players to follow.” Returning first-team Walter Camp All-American Eifert needs 39 catches this year to become the school’s all-time tight end receptions leader. Te’o is 76 tackles short from joining Bob Crable (521) and Bob Golic (479) as the only players in Irish annals to record at least 400 tackles. Martin has started every game each of the last two seasons while grading out both times as the top Notre Dame offensive lineman. Lewis-Moore needs 60 tackles to join Chris Zorich and Trevor Laws as the lone Irish defensive linemen since 1981 to record 200 career tackles.