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Notre Dame’s All-Time All-Pro Team: Offense

The 2020 NFL Pro Bowl that was played this week in Orlando, Fla., is not a game to watch for football purists, but it still holds an esteemed honor for the players.

This year, Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin was honored with his sixth straight Pro Bowl spot in as many years in the league, although he did not actually play in the game after undergoing ankle surgery earlier this month.


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Guard Quenton Nelson earned Pro Bowl status each of his first two seasons in the NFL.
Guard Quenton Nelson earned Pro Bowl status each of his first two seasons in the NFL. (Colts.com)

Martin will turn 30 in November and could conceivably become the Notre Dame alumnus with the most career Pro Bowl honors. Defensive lineman Alan Page and receiver Tim Brown hold the current record with nine apiece, while quarterback Joe Montana and offensive tackle George Kunz have eight apiece.

Meanwhile, fellow guard Quenton Nelson already has been to two Pro Bowls in as many seasons, and offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley made his first such appearance in his fourth season in the league.

We review our 23-man Notre Dame all-time NFL team — starters and alternates — on offense.


Utility Player: Paul Hornung

He played in only two Pro Bowls, but the 1960 and 1961 MVP of the league is mentioned first because of his versatility, manifested by college football’s Paul Hornung Award started in 2010 and presented to college football’s most versatile player.

Hornung’s 176 points in a season in 1960 was an NFL record until 2006, when LaDainian Tomlinson broke it. But Hornung achieved his feat in 12 games, while Tomlinson played 16. Hornung could step in at quarterback, running back, receiver, defensive back or kicker and punter, if needed.


Quarterback: Joe Montana

The first QB in NFL history to make eight Pro Bowls, he also was a four-time Super Bowl champion – and an MVP in three of them.

Alternates: Daryle Lamonica played during a miserable era in Irish annals (1960-62), but he became a five-time Pro Bowl pick and a two-time AFL MVP. His 66-16-1 record as a starter for the Oakland Raiders was good for a .784 percentage, topped at the time only by Otto Graham’s .810 figure.

Joe Theismann made the Pro Bowl twice and led the Washington Redskins to the 1983 Super Bowl title, also earning league MVP honors.


Running Backs: Jerome Bettis & Ricky Watters

“The Bus” was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. He finished fifth on the all-time NFL rushing chart (13,662 yards) when he retired after winning the 2006 Super Bowl. Bettis eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing eight times and scored 71 touchdowns en route to six Pro Bowl selections and two first-team All-Pro honors.

Watters joined Bettis as one of two dozen players to surpass 10,000 career yards rushing (10,643), and he played in five straight Pro Bowls from 1992-96. He is the lone player in NFL history to rush for more than 1,000 yards on three different franchises (San Francisco, Philadelphia and Seattle). Watters also caught 467 passes.

Notre Dame is one of five schools with two runners ranking among the NFL’s top 25 in career rushing yards.

Alternate: Rocky Bleier never played in the Pro Bowl, but he was a vital cog on four Super Bowl champions, as a runner, receiver and blocker, while with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s. He rushed for 3,865 yards in his 11-year career, highlighted by a 1,000-yard campaign in 1976.


Receivers: Tim Brown & Wayne Millner

When he retired in 2006, Brown was second in NFL history in yards receiving (14,394), third in receptions (1,094) and tied for third in TD catches (100). Like Bettis, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot in 2015.

Millner might be an unfamiliar name to younger Notre Dame fans — although he caught the winning TD in the closing seconds of the epic 1935 win at Ohio State — but he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was the favorite target for Slingin’ Sammy Baugh while playing for the Washington Redskins from 1936-41. Although he caught only 124 passes in his career (never more than 22 in a season), he played in an era where the pass was not emphasized nearly as much.

Millner, Brown, Hornung, Page, George Connor and Dave Casper (see below) are the six Notre Dame alumni who are in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

Alternates: Jack Snow and Golden Tate. Snow enjoyed a productive NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams that included a Pro Bowl. His 340 catches averaged a whopping 17.7 yards with 45 touchdowns.

Tate just completed his 10th season in the NFL with 49 catches for 676 yards and six scores for the New York Giants. A 2014 Pro Bowl pick and former Super Bowl winner at Seattle, Tate’s 660 career receptions for 7,890 are second to Brown among Irish NFL players, and his 44 touchdown catches trail only Brown and Snow.


Tight End: Dave Casper

“The Ghost” was a first-team team All-Pro selection four straight years from 1976-79 (and a Pro Bowl selection five times). He snared 378 career passes, averaging 13.8 yards per grab with 52 TDs, and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Alternate: Mark Bavaro. The two-time Pro Bowl pick helped the New York Giants win two Super Bowl (1986 and 1990), and his stats are not far behind Casper’s with 351 catches, 13.5 yards per catch and 39 TDs during his 10-year pro career from 1985-94. His 66 catches in 1986 are the most ever in an NFL season by an Irish tight end.


Offensive Line

George Kunz (tackle), Bob Kuechenberg (guard), Zack Martin (guard), Frank Varrichione (tackle) & Dick Szymanski (center)

Kunz and Kuechenberg – both members of Notre Dame’s Class of 1969 – had eight and six Pro Bowl appearances, respectively, with Kuechenberg a mainstay on the 17-0 Miami Dolphins unit in 1972. Kunz is on the All-Time Team for both the Baltimore (now Indianapolis) Colts and Atlanta Falcons.

We used to have Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee George Trafton from the 1920s on here, but moved him to defense, so we could make room for Martin at guard. Nelson and Stanley could give cause for future movement as well.

Varrichione was a five-time Pro Bowl participant in the 1950s.

Szymanski was a three-time Pro Bowl center who hiked the ball to Johnny Unitas at Baltimore from 1957-68, and played in what has been termed “The Greatest Game Ever,” the Colts’ overtime victory over the New York Giants in the 1958 NFL title game.

Alternates: Art Hunter, Tim Grunhard, Tim Ruddy, Andy Heck and current players Nelson and Stanley.

The first three all made the Pro Bowl one time, all three played center in the NFL, all three played a full decade in the NFL and all three are on this team because of their durability and versatility.

Hunter made the Pro Bowl with the Cleveland Browns but also starred for the Los Angeles Rams from 1960-65. He was a tackle at Notre Dame.

Grunhard was a three-year starting guard at Notre Dame from 1987-89 but was an Iron Man at center for the Kansas City Chiefs, starting every game he played from 1991-2000.

Ruddy, who also had a couple of starts at guard for the Irish when not playing center, started all 140 games he played from 1995-2003 with the Miami Dolphins.

Heck did not make the Pro Bowl but during his 12-year career at three different franchises he made 164 career starts, and is now the line coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Later: Defense & Special Teams


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