Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 SEPT. 11, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED round pick whose NFL career was limited to two years. If you pick solely on college achievements, it's Clements. If you base it on NFL-caliber talent, it's Theismann. FULLBACK/HALFBACK: WAYNE BULLOCK AND NICK EDDY Before Notre Dame ever rode Je- rome "The Bus" Bettis, it traveled well with Wayne "The Train" Bullock. His 948 rushing yards in 1974 and 831 for the 1973 national champs (including the bowl games) ranked one-two as the best single- season outputs by a back during the Era of Ara. Bull- ock's 1,892 rush- ing yards were the most amassed by a back under Par- seghian, and so were his 24 rush- ing touchdowns. Eddy (1964-66) finished third in the 1966 Heisman Trophy balloting, and had the second-most yards on the ground under Parseghian (1,615) while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. He was a dynamic receiving threat as well, averaging 15.7 yards on his 45 career catches, and he returned two kickoffs for scores — including a cru- cial one versus Rose Bowl champ Pur- due to help tie the game — as a senior. HONORABLE MENTION • Larry Conjar 's (1965-66) tena- cious blocking and productive run- ning made him into a second-round pick at fullback. • Rocky Bleier (1965-67) was only a 16th-round pick after amassing a rel- atively modest 784 rushing yards in three varsity seasons with the Irish, but the 1967 Irish captain became one of the best underdog stories in NFL history while starting for four Super Bowl championship teams with the Pittsburgh Steelers. • Halfback Bob Gladieux (1966-68) scored the most touchdowns overall (26) during the Parseghian era. • Bill Wolski (1964-65) paced the 1964 team on the ground. • The dynamic game-breaking skills of Eric Penick (1972-74) and Art Best (1972-74) were instrumental in the "run" toward the 1973 national title when the Irish set an unbreak- able school record of 350.2 rushing yards per game. WIDE RECEIVER: JIM SEYMOUR AND THOM GATEWOOD Gatewood (1969- 71) and Seymour (1966-68) domi- nated the Notre Dame receiving marks for 35 years, and are still promi- nent in the record books. Gatewood finished with 157 c a t c h e s , w h i l e Seymour had 138. Both led the team in receptions all three years they played (freshmen were not eligible in their era). Gatewood's 79 catches in 1970 (in- cluding the bowl) weren't surpassed until 2009, by Golden Tate. Seymour 's 276 receiving yards against Rose Bowl winner Purdue in his 1966 debut has not been rivaled. HONORABLE MENTION • Jack Snow (1964) and Pete Dem- merle (1972-74) also had exceptional careers, with Snow finishing fifth in the 1964 Heisman balloting and Demmerle earning consensus All- America notice as a senior. From an NFL perspective, Snow was the best receiver, and an 11-year year NFL career (including a Pro Bowl) in which his 340 catches aver- aged 17.7 yards bore that out. Unfor- tunately, he played only one season under Parseghian. TIGHT END: DAVE CASPER A captain for the 1973 national champs, Casper actually started at offensive tackle in 1971-72 because the Fighting Irish were short on can- didates there but were well manned at tight end with Mike Creaney. In 1972, Casper started at offensive tackle one week against Michigan State while also playing part-time at defensive tackle — and the next week versus Pitt he started in place of injured split end Willie Townsend. After Creaney's graduation, Casper returned permanently to tight end, where he merited All-America no- tice. He earned induction into both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, one of only six Fighting Irish alumni to achieve that feat. HONORABLE MENTION • Three-year starter Creaney's 46 career catches averaged a remarkable 19.3 yards. He actually finished his career with twice as many catches than Casper. • Don Gmitter (1964-66) started on defense in 1964 before moving to tight end his last two seasons. BULLOCK SEYMOUR GATEWOOD CASPER EDDY In 2015, Thom Gatewood joined former team- mates Joe Theismann and Dave Casper in the College Football Hall of Fame. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS