Notre Dame had two players selected in the first round on Thursday night. Who are the top five first round picks from Notre Dame? Find out here.
With the first round selections of Ronnie Stanley (6th to the Ravens) and Will Fuller (21st to the Texans) it marked the first time since 2012 and just the second time in 22 years that Notre Dame produced two first round draft picks. The Notre Dame football program has produced many first round picks in it’s history, 61 to be exact. Since that is such a large group it is obvious some of those picks are going to be better than others.
When you have an illustrious history such as Notre Dame’s it’s no surprise that some of the NFL’s best wore the gold and blue. Through the years Notre Dame has been known to produced some of the NFL’s all-time best. From Paul Hornung to Allen Page, from Tim Brown to Jerome Bettis, the halls of Canton are filled with former Notre Dame greats. In fact, Notre Dame has produced the most NFL Hall of Famers than any other school.
More recently Notre Dame has produced some of the NFL’s current stars in Tyler Eifert, Michael Floyd and Harrison Smith.
In this piece we’ll give you our top five Notre Dame first round draft picks of all time.
Next: George Connor
No.5 George Connor
Connor was drafted fifth overall by the New York Giants in the 1946 draft. Prior to being drafted Connor won the first ever Outland Trophy as the nations best offensive lineman. He was also a key part of Notre Dame’s 1946 and 1947 National Championship teams. Connor also was a consensus All-American in both of those seasons.
The Giants ended up trading the rights to Connor to the Boston Yanks and then to the Chicago Bears. It was in Chicago where Connor ended up making a name for himself in the pros. Connor played for the Bears from 1948 to 1955. He was a four-time pro-bowler and a four-time All-Pro. Since he did play in a different era, Connor really played everywhere for the Bears. He saw time on the offensive and defensive line, but was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973 as a linebacker.
A knee injury in 1955 cut his career short. After this he spent time as an assistant coach and later as a broadcaster. When his football career was over he became a successful businessman in Chicago.
Connor arguably is one of the most successful and most accomplished players ever to come to Notre Dame. He is a member of both the NFL and College Football Hall of Fame.
Next: The Purple People Eater
No. 4 Alan Page
While in South Bend, Page was part of Notre Dame football’s resurgence under head coach Ara Parseghian. He was a member of the 1966 National Championship team and part of a defense which many consider one of the best in Notre Dame history. He was also an All-American in 1966.
Page was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 15th pick in the first round of the 1967 NFL Draft. With the Vikings he was a member of the vaunted “Purple People Eaters” defensive line, which was known for sacking and getting pressure on the opposing quarterback. Page led Minnesota to Super Bowl appearances in 1970, ’74, ’75 and ’77. In fact he is one of only 11 players in Vikings history to be part of all four Super Bowl teams.
As for personal achievements Page was a nine-time Pro Bowler, a six-time first-team All-Pro and an 11-time first-team All-NFC. He was named 1970 NFC Defensive Player of the Year. 1971 was perhaps his best year as a pro. That year he was became the first defensive player ever to win the NFL MVP award. He was also named the UPI Player of the Year and the AP Defensive Player of the Year. Because of his success, Page was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988. He has also had his No.88 retired by the Vikings and has also been inducted into their ring of honor. He is considered by some one of the best defensive linemen of all time. Like George Connor, he is also a member of both College and Pro Football Hall of Fames.
After his football career Page went on serve as a justice in the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Next: The Bus
No. 3 Jerome Bettis
Over the last 30 years Jerome Bettis is perhaps the best NFLer to come out of Notre Dame. Bettis only played three seasons for the Irish, but boy were they productive. In his sophomore season of 1991 Bettis set a Notre Dame record for touchdowns in a season with 23, a record that still stands today. It was that same season that he ran roughshod over the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl as he tallied 150 yards and three touchdowns. He finished his Notre Dame career with 2,137 yards and 39 touchdowns. Bettis was known for being a big, physical rumbling type of runner because of this he earned the nickname “The Bus.”
Bettis left Notre Dame following the 1992 season. He was selected 10th overall in the 1993 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He spent three seasons with the Rams before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis spent 10 seasons in Pittsburgh and is their second all-time leading rusher, just behind Franco Harris. In his final season Bettis help lead the Steelers to their first Super Bowl victory since 1979. He ranks sixth all-time in rushing yards with 13,662. He was a six-time Pro-Bowler. He was also the 1993 Rookie of the Year. Bettis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Next: Touchdown Timmy
No. 2 Tim Brown
Brown was one of the most electrifying athletes in Notre Dame history. He could do it all. Brown could catch, run and return kicks and punts. In his senior 1987, Brown racked up a total of 1,937 all-purpose yards, which still is the single season record. His campaign was good enough to earn him the Heisman Trophy. He became the first receiver to win the award and the first Notre Dame player to win since John Huarte back in 1964. Brown was a two-time All-American. He set many records at Notre Dame including the career record for all-purpose yards. At the time of his graduation Brown held a total of 19 school records.
Brown was selected with the 6th overall pick in the 1988 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders. He spent 17 seasons in the NFL, 16 of which were with the Raiders. He was one of the best receivers to ever play the game. Like Bettis, Brown ranks sixth all-time in receiving yards with 14,934 yards. The only guys ahead of him are Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Isaac Bruce and Tony Gonzalez, so Rice is in some elite company. He also ranks fifth all-time in all-purpose yards. Brown was a nine-time Pro Bowler and a two-team first-team All-Pro. Brown was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015 along with Bettis.
Next: The Golden Boy
No.1 Paul Hornung
The Golden Boy. Many consider Hornung the best all-around player in Notre Dame history. In his Heisman winning season of 1956 he led the Irish in passing, rushing, scoring, kickoff and punt returns and punting. On defense he led the team in pass breakups and was second in interceptions and tackles made. He could truly do it all. Hornung’s 1956 campaign was so good that he became the only player ever to win the Heisman Trophy while playing for a losing team (Notre Dame finished 2-8 that year).
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Hornung was drafted by the Green Bay Packers with the first pick in the 1957 draft. The Packers became a dynasty throughout the 1960s. They won five championships in the 1960s and Hornung was at the center of most of those teams. Just as he was at Notre Dame, Hornung was one of the most versitile players ever to play in the NFL. He played halfback and served as the kicker. For three straight seasons (1959-61) he led the league in scoring. During the 1960 season he set an all-time season record for points scored with 176. That record would not be broken until LaDainian Tomlinson broke it in 2006. He won the MVP in 1961 and was a two-time Pro-Bowler.
Hornung had one of the winningest NFL careers for a Notre Dame product. He was a four-time NFL champions and was part of the first Super Bowl winning team in 1966. A neck injury cut in 1996 Hornung’s career short. He was just 29.
Hornung was arguably the one of the best players in NFL history, so it’s no surprise he tops our list as the best first round pick to ever come out of Notre Dame.