New Jersey Remains Fertile Recruiting Territory For Notre Dame
The verbal commitment from highly prized rover Shayne Simon continues a Notre Dame tradition of landing top linebackers from New Jersey.
Several years ago in our rankings of all-time top states in Notre Dame football recruiting history, New Jersey cracked the top 10 — with its strength coming at linebacker.
The most prominent was Ned Bolcar (1986-89), but chronologically over the past 50 years included multiple-year starters: Larry Schumacher (East Orange, 1967-69), Darrell “Flash” Gordon (Hillside 1985-88) and Carlo Calabrese (Verona, 2010-13). Devon McDonald (Paterson, 1989-92) arrived as an outside linebacker before moving down to end, particular excelling there as a senior for the 10-1-1 Irish in 1992.
Simon joins fellow Garden State defensive linemen Justin Ademilola and Jayson Ademilola (Jersey City, St. Peter’s Prep) in the 2018 haul after not landing anyone from the state in 2016 and 2017.
New Jersey will be quite prominent for the 2017 Fighting Irish on the field with a new starting quarterback in junior Brandon Wimbush (Hackensack), All-American candidate Quenton Nelson (Holmdel) at guard, and senior defensive end Andrew Trumbetti (Demarest), whose 63 career tackles are the most among returning Irish linemen.
Per our research, a total of 120 players from New Jersey have played for the Irish. Had there been a few more offensive linemen like Nelson, it would be one of the few states that could have formed a full Notre Dame all-star team on offense and defense.
Here is our top 15 from New Jersey, with the hope that Wimbush, Trumbetti and the 2018 trio of defensive recruits can join them in the future.
1. Joe Theisman (South River, 1968-70)
The Heisman runner-up his senior year and College Football Hall of Fame inductee was a supreme field general, a future Super Bowl champ and he also became the first Notre Dame QB to rush for more than 1,000 yards during his career.
2. Jim White (Edgewater, 1942-43)
Joins Theismann as the lone consensus All-Americans from the state, while starring on the 1943 national champs. Old-timers remember him as one of the meanest players ever to suit up at Notre Dame. He finished 9th in the Heisman voting as a senior. Only Mike McCoy in 1969 (6th) and Ross Browner in 1977 (5th) had a higher finish among Notre Dame linemen.
3. Ned Bolcar (Phillipsburg, 1986-89)
Two-time captain of the 1988-89 units that won a school record 23 straight games, the inside linebacker epitomized toughness and guile while earning second-team All-America honors from the AP in 1987 and second team from the UPI in 1989. In between, he rotated with All-American Mike Stonebreaker for the 1988 national champs.
4. John “Pep” Panelli (Morristown, 1945-48)
A starter at fullback and on defense his last two seasons for the 1940s dynasty, Panelli rushed for 692 yards his senior year for the unbeaten Irish while averaging a ridiculous 7.5 yards per carry between the tackles. He was the NFL’s No. 12 pick after his senior year.
5. Frank Tripucka (Bloomfield, 1945-48)
Classmate of Panelli started only his senior at quarterback while working behind Heisman winner John Lujack the previous two seasons. He had such a prominent pro career that Peyton Manning called him to ask if he may don his No. 18 with the Denver Broncos after it had been retired in Tripucka’s honor. He was the NFL's No. 9 pick in 1949, the highest of a Notre Dame player from the state.
6. George “Boo” Williams (Willingboro, 1987-88, 1990)
Overshadowed by classmate Chris Zorich on the defensive line, he and Zorich became game-changers as starting sophomores for the 1988 national champs with their dominance along the line of scrimmage. His tackle totals weren’t as high as Zorich’s, but Williams facilitated the linebackers greatly with his work up front.
7t. Irv Smith (Brown Mills, 1989-92) and Anthony Fasano (Verona, 2002-05)
This is The Garden State’s contribution to Tight End U. Despite playing in the shadow of another first-round tight end, Derek Brown, his first three years, Smith’s name also was called in the first round. Fasano, still in the NFL, was a second-round selection after his senior campaign, when he caught 47 passes on a top-10 ranked team, giving him 92 for his career.
9. Theo Riddick (Manville, 2009-12)
After an up-and-down first three years, he became the standard by which every Brian Kelly running back hereafter will be measured as a runner, receiver and blocker. During the Cinderella campaign in 2012 that took the Irish to the BCS Championship game, Riddick led the team in rushing with 917 yards, averaged more than 10 yards on his 35 catches and was proficient as a blocker.
10. Dick Lynch (Bound Brook, 1955-57)
Known primarily for his touchdown sweep on fourth down in the titanic 7-0 upset of Oklahoma in 1957, Lynch was also a stellar defensive back who would make All-Pro and record 37 career interceptions in the NFL.
11. Quenton Nelson (Holmdel, 2014-17)
Already a third-team All-American as a junior, the captain elect could become the top guard in the nation this year and a potential first-round selection next spring. A strong senior year would move him higher up this list.
12. Bob Scarpitto (Rahway, 1958-60)
Unheralded during a down era, Scarpitto was a multi-purpose player on offense, defense and special teams before a strong pro career in which he was named 2nd-team on the All-Time AFL unit. He led the Irish in scoring his last two seasons with 13 touchdowns, and his team high 15 catches as a junior averaged 20 yards.
13t. Brandon Hoyte (Parlin, 2002-05) and Phil Sheridan (Rutherford, 1963-65)
Both served as captains Inside linebacker Hoyte was a co-captain with QB Brady Quinn during the 2005 season in which the Irish finished in the AP Top 10 for the first time in 12 years. He recorded 82 stops, 15.5 for loss (six sacks), to finish with 287 in his career.
Sheridan started at receiver during the 1964 renaissance in Ara Parseghian’s first season and served as the team’s sole captain in 1965.
15. Hugh Devore (Newark, 1931-33)
Like Hoyte and Sheridan, he was a captain. Later he served as an interim coach twice at Notre Dame (1945 and 1963). Extra credit for assembling one of the best recruiting classes in school history in 1963 to set up a wonderful start to the Parseghian era.
Honorable mention includes defensive ends Ryan Roberts (Lawnside, 1999-2002) and Kyle Budinscak (Birdgewater, 2001-2004). Halfback Aubrey Lewis (Montclair 1955-57) also was one of the nation’s top track men, while Duval Kamara (Hoboken, 2007-10) temporarily held the Notre Dame record for catches by a freshman (32).
Finally, cornerbacks Tom Longo (Lyndhurst, 1963-65) and Bennett Jackson (Hazlet, 2010-13) become vital starters their last two seasons. Former QB Longo was part of the renaissance under Parseghian, and former wideout Jackson excelled during the 12-0 regular season that earned him a captaincy in 2013.
With only Rutgers as an in-state threat, New Jersey has been and should continue to remain a solid “base” area for Notre Dame in the Northeast.
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