Notre Dame Freshman Tight Ends: Best Jersey Numbers
The 27 Notre Dame scholarship freshmen were issued their jersey numbers before they begin summer school this Monday
While the numbers are subject to change, we look at who some of the best were to don the ones issued to them. Today we feature the tight ends:
Tommy Tremble: No. 24
Best To Wear Number at Notre Dame: Frank Carideo (1928-30)
While helping propel Notre Dame to unbeaten national title runs in 1929 and 1930, Knute Rockne’s last two seasons, Carideo earned unanimous first-team All-America notice at quarterback, leading to his enshrinement into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. He is one of 16 players in Notre Dame’s history to receive consensus All-America notice in two different seasons — and the only one under Rockne.
Best Tight End To Wear No. 24: To Be Determined
Who wears No. 24 at tight end? Tremble will and did at Wesleyan High School in Johns Creek, Ga. He apparently is planning to continue that at Notre Dame, even though 24 seems confined exclusively to running backs, defensive backs — such as current Irish senior Nick Coleman — or receivers. Tremble does possess receiver-like speed, as his 4.63 time in the 40-yard was the best of any tight end in the country at The Opening Event. (He missed most of his senior year with an ankle injury.)
It does provide him the opportunity to become the best tight end at Notre Dame ever to wear it.
Honorable Mention: Joe “Small Wonder” Howard (1981-84) & Mark Green (1985-88)
Also a starting point guard as a junior for Digger Phelps’ Irish basketball team his junior year, Howard finished his career with 85 receptions that averaged 19.6 yards.
Green led the Irish in rushing in both of Lou Holtz’s first two seasons (1986-87). Then as a tri-captain senior for the 1988 national champs, he added 646 yards and seven scores and ecliped 2,000 yards on the ground in his career (when including bowl games).
George Takacs: No. 85
Best To Wear Number at Notre Dame: Walt Patulski (1969-71)
Three-year starting defensive end and 1971 recipient of the Lombardi Award is also the most recent Notre Dame player taken No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. Patulski’s 40 tackles for lost yardage were an Irish career record until the enrollment of Ross Browner the year after Patulski graduated.
Best Tight End To Wear No. 85: Jim Mutscheller (1949-51), Tony Hunter (1982-84) & Troy Niklas (2011-13)
Mutscheller was technically listed as an “end” in his era, but in the NFL he and Mike Ditka became two of the first premier pass-catching tight ends in the league.
The 6-5 Hunter began his career as a play-making wideout, but midway through his junior year he shifted to tight end and became the No. 12 overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft.
Niklas opened his career on defense as a freshman but shifted to tight end, where he was often lined up with Mackey Award winner Tyler Eifert for the 12-1 team in 2012 as the in-line blocker. After Eifert’s graduation, Niklas’ 32 catches in 2013 averaged 15.6 yards with five touchdowns, and he became a second-round pick following his junior year.
There are 30-year increments between these tight end standouts, but Takacs joins great company at this position. One of a school record seven freshmen to enroll early this January, a cartilage injury sidelined Takacs from action this spring.
Honorable Mention: Jack Snow (1962-64), Jim Seymour (1966-68) & Pete Demmerle (1972-74)
What an amazing trio of All-American wide receivers under head coach Ara Parseghian through his 1964-74 era! Snow and Seymour were both first-round selections who rewrote the Notre Dame record books, and Snow even finished fifth in the 1964 Heisman balloting that was won by his quarterback, John Huarte. Snow was part of a shared national title in 1964, while Seymour and Demmerle were both the top receivers on consensus national title winners in 1966 and 1973, respectively.
Under Parseghian, the two greatest numbers were 85 and 7.
All four who wore No. 85 for him — Snow, Seymour, Patulski and Demmerle — were All-Americans. At No. 7 he had a Heisman winner (Huarte in 1964), followed by consensus All-American safety Tom Schoen (1965-67), who converted from quarterback, a Heisman runner-up in quarterback Joe Theismann (1968-70) and two-year starting cornerback Tim Rudnick (1971-73), who started every game for the 1973 national champions.
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