Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/699309
in school history … Had 1,386 all-purpose yards that year. Final Review: Ended his Notre Dame career as the school's all-time leader in kickoff re- turns (88) and kickoff return yards (2,136) … Rushed for 943 yards and finished his career with an average of 6.16 yards per carry, the sixth-best mark in Notre Dame history … Left school a year early to enter the NFL, but went undrafted. JOSH ATKINSON • CB Livermore, Calif. (Granada) Prep Ranking: Graded out as a three-star re- cruit by all four major recruiting services … Rivals listed him as the No. 41 cornerback in the country. Career Summary: Played in 26 games, mostly on special teams … Made two tackles in 2011, five in 2012 and three in 2013 … Trans- ferred to Azusa Pacific in 2015, starting all 10 games while making 36 tackles, picking off three passes and breaking up seven. Final Review: Never challenged for legitimate playing time at cornerback, but did have a limited role on special teams early in his ca- reer … Chose to transfer for his final season … Finished his Notre Dame career with 10 tackles. KYLE BRINDZA • K Canton, Mich. (Plymouth) Prep Ranking: Graded out as a three-star recruit and the nation's best kicker by 247Sports. Career Summary: Was Notre Dame's primary kickoff specialist all four years, booting 125 touchbacks during that time … Became the primary placekicker in 2012, hitting 23 of 31 field goals with a long of 52 yards … His 23 made field goals set a Notre Dame single- season record … Accounted for 97 points that season, the most ever by a Notre Dame kicker, a record he would break in 2013 after racking up 98 points … In 2013, Brindza went 20 of 26 on field goals and was perfect on his 38 extra point attempts … Tied a Notre Dame record by drilling a 53-yard field goal … Set a Notre Dame record and tied an NCAA bowl record by making five field goals in Notre Dame's 29-16 Pinstripe Bowl victory over Rutgers … In 2014, Brindza made just 14 of 24 field goals with a long of 48, but he was accurate on all 51 extra points, the second- best mark in program history … Served as the team's punter during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, averaging 41.3 yards per boot. Final Review: Brindza ended his career by drilling a game-ending 32-yard field goal to give the Irish a 31-28 Music City Bowl victory over LSU … Set Irish career records in field goals made (57), field goal attempts (81) and 50-yard field goals made (four), and had the three best single-season point BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 147