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Notre Dame 2020 Freshman Numbers

Seven of Notre Dame’s 17 scholarship freshmen enrolled in January and already had their jersey numbers assigned for the lone spring practice held March 5.

The other 10 were official issued their numbers for the first preseason practice Aug. 12. Here is a review of all 17, from lowest number to highest:

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Notre Dame freshmen cornerbacks Caleb Offord (21) and Ramon Henderson (11)
Freshmen cornerbacks Caleb Offord (21) and Ramon Henderson (11) will attempt to aid the 2020 secondary. (Mike Miller)

QB Drew Pyne — No. 10

Best To Wear It: Quarterback Brady Quinn (2003-06) holds virtually every career Irish passing mark and twice finished among the top four in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Best QB To Wear It: Quinn.

CB Ramon Henderson — No. 11

Best To Wear It: A toss-up between lineman Noble Kizer (1922-24) and current Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees (2010-13), who wore it his last three seasons.

As a player, Kizer was a two-year starter for the “Seven Mules,” the line that blocked for the famed Four Horsemen and won Notre Dame’s first consensus national title in 1924. As a coach, he thrived at Purdue in the 1930s before suddenly passing away.

Rees started 31 games at quarterback (23-8) and saved several others in a relief role during a 12-0 regular season run in 2012. Will he too some day be a head coach like Kizer?

Best DB To Wear It: Mike Layden (1933-35) played for his brother at Notre Dame, former Four Horsemen Elmer.

WR Jordan Johnson — No. 15

Best To Wear It: Free safety Pat Terrell (1986-89) immortalized himself against No. 1 Miami in 1988 en route to the national title and became a second-round pick.

Best WR To Wear It: Steve Juzwik’s 18 catches as a senior for the unbeaten 1941 Irish averaged 17.1 yards.

DE Jordan Botelho — No. 17

Best To Wear It: Jim Morse was captain of the 1956 team and averaged 21.2 yards on his 52 career catches. He also underwrote the installation of Notre Dame’s FieldTurf in 2014.

Best DE To Wear It: Unable to find linemen who wore this number.

CB Caleb Offord — No. 21

Best To Wear It: Second-round pick Bobby Taylor (1992-94) was a second-round pick as a junior.Overall, he had the edge over 2002-05 wideout and third-round pick Maurice Stovall.

Best CB To Wear It: Taylor again.

RB Chris Tyree — No. 25

Best To Wear It: Raghib “Rocket” Ismail (1988-90) was electrifying as they came and was enshrined last year into the College Football Hall of Fame. More on this number later in the week.

Best RB To Wear It: Although Ismail also played some running back, Al Hunter in 1976 became the first Notre Dame running back to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in a season. Slight edge over Randy Kinder (1993-96).

CB Clarence Lewis — No. 26

Best To Wear It: Dom Vairo was the captain of head coach Layden’s first Notre Dame team in 1934.

Best CB To Wear It: Ray “Bucky” Dahman (1925-27) starred for Knute Rockne as an all-purpose player on offense, defense and special teams.Also need to include Tom Lopienski (1972-75), while Greg Davis (1987-90) was a safety.

LS Alex Peitsch — No. 44

Best To Wear It: College Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Thom Gatewood (1969-71) gets the nod over a group that includes running backs Eric Penick (1972-74) and Marc Edwards(1993-96), plus defensive end Justin Tuck (2001-04).

Best LS To Wear It: Hard to say because it’s not a typical number for a long snapper.

OT Michael Carmody — No. 68

Best To Wear It: We’ll call this a tie between four-year starter and Super Bowl winner Ryan Harris (2003-06) and two-time captain/first-round pick Mike McGlinchey (2013-17).

Best OT To Wear It: The aforementioned two, but let’s not forget College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Dave Casper (1971-73), who started two years at tackle before becoming a tri-captain for the national champs and wearing No. 86 at tight end.

OT Tosh Baker — No. 79

Best To Wear It: Mike Rosenthal (1995-98) earned several starts as a freshman before becoming an All-American as a senior.

Best OT To Wear It: Rosenthal.

WR Jay Brunelle — No. 81

Best To Wear It: Help!

George Connor (1946-47), Alan Page (1964-66) and Tim Brown (1984-87) all are in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, while Ken MacAfee(1974-77) won the Walter Camp Award for the national champs and is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Connor and Page were part of multiple national titles.

Best WR To Wear It: Brown.

WR Xavier Watts — No. 82 (he was No. 21 in the spring)

Best To Wear It: Leon Hart was the 1949 Heisman Trophy recipient, No. 1 NFL Draft pick and never lost a game in four years at Notre Dame.

Best WR To Wear It: Hart technically was an end, as was John Yonaker (1941-43), and Mark Bavaro a tight end.

But as a “wideout,” Kris Haines (1975-78) had a productive career while averaging 21.5 yards per catch, none as his famous as the diving touchdown as time elapsed in the 1979 Cotton Bowl win over Houston.

TE Kevin Bauman — No. 84

Best To Wear It: Jack Elder (1927-29) needs to be mentioned, but first-round pick Irv Smith (1989-92) and second-round selection Cole Kmet (2017-19) might be easier to remember.

Best TE To Wear It: Smith and Kmet.

TE Michael Mayer — No. 87

Best To Wear It: Wideout Lake Dawson (1990-93) was a regular as a freshman and became a third-round pick

Best TE To Wear It: Jabari Holloway (1997-2000) started 37 games and was a fourth-round pick.

NG Aiden Keanaaina — No. 92

Best To Wear It: Lineman Joe Gramke (1978-81) had 128 career tackles.

Best NG To Wear It: Bryan Flannery started earlier in his career before becoming a quality backup to Hall of Famer Chris Zorich his final two seasons.

DE Alexander Ehrensberger — No. 98

Best To Wear It: Defensive linemen Anthony Weaver (1998-2001) and Trevor Laws (2003-07) were both second-round picks. Honorable mention to 1971-73 kicker Bob Thomas.

Best DE To Wear It: Weaver played on the edge some in a 3-4.

DT Rylie Mills — No. 99

Best To Wear It: Four-year starter Jerry Tillery (2015-18) earned second-team All-America notice as a senior for the College Football Playoff unit and became the first Irish defensive lineman in 22 years to get drafted in the first round.

Best DT To Wear It: Tillery.

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