Advertisement
football Edit

Notre Dame’s All-Texas Team

It was 50 years ago that Notre Dame ended a 45-year bowl ban and accepted a bid to play No. 1 Texas in the 1970 Cotton Bowl.

Since then, the Lone Star State has figured much more prominently into the Fighting Irish recruiting efforts than the previous decades — and added Mansfield, Texas, three-star defensive end David Abiara on Friday for the 2021 haul.

Get a FREE 60-day trial using promo code Irish60

Advertisement
Mansfield (Texas) Legacy defensive end and Notre Dame commit David Abiara
David Abiara is the most recent Texas product who plans to enroll at Notre Dame. (Rivals.com)

By our count, 108 Texas natives have seen action in a Notre Dame football uniform, making it our No. 7-ranked state for most contributions to the program.

Notre Dame signed two in 2017 with tight end Brock Wright (Cypress) and slot receiver Avery Davis (Cedar Hill), and two more in 2019 with defensive end NaNa Osafo-Mensah (Fort Worth) and defensive tackle Hunter Spears (Garland) — who this spring was shifted to offensive guard.

Here is our All-Texas Team for Notre Dame:

Quarterback: Carlyle Holiday (San Antonio, 2000-04)

Holiday directed an 8-0 start in 2002 and finished his career with 2,876 passing yards and 898 rushing yards before moving to wide receiver in 2003 when freshman Brady Quinn took command in the fourth game. Holiday also played wide receiver in the NFL.


Running Backs: Christie Flanagan (Port Arthur, 1925-27) and Cam McDaniel (Coppell, 2011-14)

Flanagan was a two-time All-American for Knute Rockne and totaled 1,822 yards on the ground while averaging 6.4 yards per carry. He led the team in rushing all three of his varsity seasons.

In 2013, McDaniel became the first Notre Dame back from Texas since Flanagan to lead the team in rushing, accumulating 705 yards, and he was named a captain in 2014.

Honorable mention to Coy McGee (Longview, 1945-48).


Wide Receivers: Tim Brown (Dallas, 1984-87) and David Givens (Humble, 1998-2001)

The 1987 Heisman Trophy winner and most famous Irish player from Texas, Brown still holds the two highest single-season all-purpose yardage totals in a season at Notre Dame, accumulating 1,937 as a junior in 1986, followed by 1,847 the ensuing year. His nine Pro Bowl appearances tie Alan Page for most ever by a Notre Dame alumnus.

Givens caught 72 passes at Notre Dame and achieved greater fame in the NFL, where he won two Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots (catching a TD in both games).

Honorable mention to Omar Jenkins (Dallas, 2000-03), who caught 73 passes in his last two seasons with the Irish, and Corey Robinson (San Antonio, 2013-15), who snared 65 passes his first three seasons before concussions ended his career. Yet Robinson served as Notre Dame’s student body president his senior year in 2016-17.


Tight End: Robin Weber (Dallas, 1972-76)

Sandwiched between consensus All-Americans Dave Casper (1973) and Ken MacAfee (1975-77) and primarily a blocker, Weber still grabbed maybe the most famous pass in school history, the 35-yard heave from quarterback Tom Clements on third-and-eight from the Notre Dame 3-yard line in the closing minutes to clinch the 24-23 victory versus No. 1 Alabama in the 1973 Sugar Bowl for the national title.

As a starter in 1974, he caught 13 passes for 206 yards before a midseason injury slowed his football career.

Honorable mention to Durham Smythe (Belton, 2013-17), who had 28 career catches, six for scores and developed into a fourth-round pick. Smythe had the better career, but Weber is more famous in Fighting Irish lore.


Offensive Line: Dave Huffman (Dallas, 1975-78), Tim Huffman (Dallas, 1977-80), Jordan Black (Rowlett, 1999-2002), Mike Gandy (Garland, 1996-2000) and John Dampeer (Kermit, 1970-72)

Dave Huffman edged out 1946 second-team UP All-American George Strohmeyer (McAllen) and four-year starter Bob Morton (2003-06, McKinney) at center. Huffman was an All-American, three-year starter and a 1977 national champion. He also starred 12 years in the NFL.

Little brother Tim was a three-year starter at guard and played five years for the Green Bay Packers.

Black started all four seasons at Notre Dame, 42 games total, lining up as a left tackle or right guard, and had a 10-year NFL career.

Left tackle Gandy started two years at right guard for the Irish before becoming a nine-year mainstay in the NFL at tackle.

Dampeer started at right tackle for the 1970 Notre Dame team that finished No. 2 in the country, and he was elected a co-captain in 1972.

Joining Strohmeyer and Morton (also a guard) on our second team are tackles Justin Hall (Plano, 1988-92) and Rob Martinovich (Houston, 1976-79) and guard Randy Ellis (Pearland, 1979-82)

Defensive Line: Bert Berry (Humble, 1993-96), Wally Kleine (Midland, 1983-86) and Kapron Lewis-Moore (Weatherford, 2009-12) and Cedric Hilliard (Arlington, 2000-03)

A hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end, Berry cracked the starting lineup several times as a freshman for the 11-1 Irish in 1993 and recorded 10 sacks as a senior. He also produced 65 sacks during his 13-year NFL career.

Kleine was recruited as a 6-9 tight end but became a force along the defensive line, recording 163 career tackles (39 for lost yardage, 13 of them sacks) en route to becoming a second-round pick in the NFL Draft.

Lewis-Moore arrived as an outside linebacker but became a four-year starting end, finishing with 180 tackles, 22 stops for loss and 12 sacks, while helping the 2012 Irish reach the BCS National Championship Game.

Hilliard effectively clogged the middle much of his career.

Honorable mention to Grant Irons (The Woodlands, 1997-2001), who began his career at inside linebacker and was beset by a litany of injuries. Still, he became the program’s 13th two-time captain (2000-01) and played five seasons in the NFL.


Linebackers: Bobby Leopold (Port Arthur, 1976-79), Anthony Denman (Rusk, 1997-2000) and Tyreo Harrison (Sulpher Springs, 1998-2001)

Leopold recorded 180 tackles and six interceptions, returning three of them for touchdowns — a Notre Dame record for linebackers. As a sophomore for the 1977 national champs, he made 53 stops and four interceptions in a reserve capacity. He also won a Super Bowl ring with the San Francisco 49ers in 1981.

Denman received second-team All-America recognition in 2000 while earning MVP honors for an Irish team that went to the Fiesta Bowl. He recorded 207 career tackles, with 84 (14 for lost yardage) as a senior.

An honorable mention All-American, Harrison notched a team-high 91 tackles (11 for lost yardage) as a senior, and was the recipient of the Nick Pietrosante Award, as voted by his teammates.

Honorable mention notice to Jimmy Friday (Missouri City, 1995-98), who finished second in tackles (79) as a senior and first as a junior (109).


Defensive Backs: Bobby Taylor (Longview, 1992-94), Vontez Duff (Copperas Cove, 2000-03), A’Jani Sanders (Houston, 1996-99) and Gerome Sapp (Houston, 1999-2002)

Taylor broke into the starting lineup as a freshman free safety for the 10-1-1 Irish in 1992, had one of the best seasons ever by an Irish cornerback for the 11-1 unit in 1993 and turned pro after his junior campaign in 1994, when he received All-America notice. The second-round pick became a Pro Bowl performer.

In 2002, cornerback Duff and safety Sapp helped comprise one of the best Notre Dame secondary units in the last 30 years. Duff earned third-team All-America notice (the other corner, Shane Walton, was a first-team selection), while Sapp teamed with fellow future pro Glenn Earl as playmaking safeties. Duff played three years in the NFL while Sapp was there five years.

In 1999, Sanders led Notre Dame in tackles (91) and finished with 225 during his career. He also intercepted eight passes, two in a 1997 upset of LSU (24-6) in Baton Rouge.

Also deserving notice is cornerback Greg Lane (Austin, 1990-93), a three-year starter.


Specialists: punter Hunter Smith (Sherman, 1995-98), kicker Nick Tausch (Plano, 2009-13) and kick/punt returner Allen Rossum (Dallas, 1994-97)

Rossum holds the NCAA record for most career touchdowns on runbacks with nine — three on interceptions, three on kickoffs and three on punt returns. He became the lone player in NFL history to tally a touchdown return with five different franchises.

As a freshman in 2009, Tausch converted a then school-record 14 straight field goals and became the first kicker in Irish history to make five field goals in a game without a miss, achieving that in a 37-30 overtime victory versus Washington.

Four-year starter Smith averaged 41.2 yards per punt at Notre Dame and enjoyed a 12-year NFL career, including a Super Bowl title at Indianapolis.

----

Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.

• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_MikeSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @ToddBurlage and @AndrewMentock.

• Like us on Facebook.

Advertisement