Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 MARCH 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Matthew Birzer — Track And Field The junior from Leadwood, Kan., set a new personal record in the high jump at the Meyo Invitational Feb. 3 in South Bend. His jump of 2.19 me- ters not only gave him a new career best, but also brought him into a tie for a first-place finish. With that showing, Birzer had won or tied for first in Notre Dame's last four track and field events. Sammi Fisher — Soccer The sophomore from Simi Valley, Calif., was selected for a roster spot on the U-19 Women's Na- tional Team. She was one of six midfielders to make the squad. During her freshmen year at Notre Dame, Fisher ap- peared in 20 games for the Fighting Irish. She registered seven points with three goals and one assist en route to earning All-ACC Fresh- man accolades. William Cumberland — Swim And Diving The freshman from Bristow, Va., scored two individual wins in Notre Dame's final regular-season meet Feb. 3 in South Bend. Cumberland, who is pri- marily a backstroker, took first place in both the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle to give the Fighting Irish two of their five individual wins in the meet. Notre Dame finished the regular season with a 9-2 record. Cale Morris — Hockey The sophomore goalie from Larkspur, Colo., was awarded the Big Ten's First Star Feb. 6 following a win and a tie in a two-game series with Penn State Feb. 2-3 in State College, Pa. In the 2-2 tie, during which the Irish captured the ex- tra point with a shootout victory, Morris re- corded a career-high 55 saves. The recognition was Morris' eighth Big Ten Star honor this season. Through 28 games, Morris had seen action in 25, registered a 1.68 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage. TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE Per the Notre Dame record books, departing junior running back Josh Adams' 1,430 rushing yards are recognized as the second most in one season for the Fighting Irish, behind Vagas Fer- guson's 1,437 in 1979. With no intended offense to Adams, this is unfair — and we will not stop beating the drum on this. That's because starting in 2002, bowl games were included in the season stats. How- ever, bowl games Notre Dame participated in from 1969-2000 are not. That is flat-out unjust, and easy to rectify by merely including the bowl-game stats retroac- tively. It's one thing to increase the number of regular-season games from 10 to 11 in 1974, or even to 12 permanently by 2006. However, there is no good reason to exclude bowl games prior to 2002, which is what has occurred. When one goes retroactively to include bowl games, here is what we believe should be ad- vertised as the top five single-season rushing marks. Player (Year) Rushing Yards (Per Carry) 1. Allen Pinkett (1983) 1,505 (5.4) 2. Reggie Brooks (1992) 1,458 (7.7) 3. Vagas Ferguson (1979) 1,437 (4.8) 4. Josh Adams (2017) 1,430 (6.9) 5. Autry Denson (1997) 1,369 (4.8) Ferguson's team was the only one not to play in a bowl after a 7-4 finish. Getting To Know … SENIOR FORWARD MARTINAS GEBEN Hometown: "Vilnius, Lithu- ania." High school: "St. Maria Goretti." Major: "Business." Favo r i te fo o d : " I l i ke chicken a lot." Favorite restaurant in South Bend: "Noodles & Company." Favorite music: "I don't even have an an- swer for that question. I listen to a little bit of everything." Favorite movie: "'Forrest Gump.'" Favorite TV show: "'The Office.'" Favorite part about playing for Notre Dame: "It's playing with a tight-knit group of guys. I love all my teammates and I'm having fun play- ing with them. We're all competitors … and we're able to have fun on the court as well. The coaching staff is great and I'm learning a lot." Who's the best player you've had to guard? "I think Caleb Swanigan last year on Purdue's squad. He was really difficult to guard. He was a very good two-way player, he was really strong down in the post and he could step out and shoot." CHARTING THE IRISH IRISH CAN STRENGTHEN CLAIM TO "O-LINE U" WITH 2018 NFL DRAFT Notre Dame's 2017 offensive line was anchored by potential first-round picks Mike McGlinchey at left tackle and Quenton Nelson at left guard. Both McGlinchey and Nelson have been identified in many mock drafts this off- season as two of the top eligible linemen for the 2018 NFL Draft. Over the past five drafts, Notre Dame ranks among the best nationally in terms of offensive linemen being selected in the first three rounds with a total of four. Tackle Zack Martin was selected No. 16 overall by the Cowboys in 2014, while guard Chris Watt was taken in the third round by the Chargers. Tackle Ronnie Stanley and center Nick Martin followed in 2016 with Stanley getting picked No. 6 overall by the Ravens and Martin No. 50 by the Texans. Only seven college programs have produced three or more picks in the first three rounds along the offensive line in the past five drafts (2013-17). MOST OFFENSIVE LINEMEN DRAFTED IN FIRST THREE ROUNDS (2013-17) Rk. Team Total Selections (First-Rounders) 1. Alabama 5 (3) 2. Notre Dame 4 (2) Texas A&M 4 (4) 4. Michigan 3 (1) Ohio State 3 (1) Oregon 3 (1) Wisconsin 3 (2) MOVING? Call us at 1-800-421-7751