Ian Book

Poor Burt. He passed up the role of Solo, and then opened up against Harrison. It's ok. He was still an all-time great.

Ian Book Is Smokey and the Bandit

December 12, 2018 by Matt Q. (DMQ)

I completely missed the Heisman Trophy ceremony this past weekend. I knew it was coming, and entirely forgot to tune in. Maybe that's why the committee decided to rig the votes and award the trophy to Kyler Murray rather than Tua Tagovailoa - so that perhaps a few of us will remember there was controversy this year and bother to tune in in 2019. Anyway, I forgot to tune in because 1) I was actually attending a social gathering, and 2) nobody from Notre Dame was even remotely involved. And if ...

Good Fridays w/Padre: The Horror

October 26, 2018 by Father Sorin

Notre Dame is the only university in America that has had two very popular and flattering major motion pictures made about it: “Kunte Rockne, All American” and “Rudy.” As a general rule, you don’t want a movie film made about your college, unless you hated it and want to join other people in laughing at it. Interestingly enough, “Rudy” had its world premier in South Bend exactly 25 years ago this month. That season, the Fighting Irish went into the last game of the year, at home, undefeated ...

Miles Boykin makes an all-time one-handed grab to propel the Irish to victory against LSU in the Citrus Bowl. (Screen-grab via ESPN)

There and Back Again: A Citrus Bowl Tale

January 2, 2018 by Ryan Ritter

In Camping World Stadium there lived many a nightmare for Notre Dame fans. Not a nasty, windy, wet monsoon game, filled with questionable play-calling decisions and an all-to-familiar lack of execution, nor a game in Hard Rock Stadium where the mere presence of the Irish brings a blowout; it was the Citrus Bowl, and that means things could be different. Still, a game with rainy conditions, in Florida, on New Year's Day, facing an opponent with a solid defense, especially in the secondary ...

HLS Review: The 2016 ND Insider Football Preview

July 23, 2016 by andrewwinn

The South Bend Tribune's 96-page preview of Notre Dame's football team is an invaluable resource for the Irish fan looking to get informed before the 2016 football season kicks off Sept. 4. Mike Vorel wrote the magazine's cover story, "Avoiding A Split Decision," on the quarterback competition between redshirt sophomore DeShone Kizer and redshirt senior Malik Zaire. Vorel interviewed former Texas head coach Mack Brown, former Notre Dame quarterbacks Joe Theismann and Brady Quinn and ESPN's ...

Freshman Reveal Jersey Numbers

June 20, 2016 by andrewwinn

With Notre Dame's summer classes commencing last Monday, 18 freshman have now officially joined the Irish football team. All have already picked their numbers, with some announcing them through social media. Here's the rundown: #12 QB IAN BOOK: Book sported #11 in high school, which is currently sported by redshirt sophomore running back Justin Brent. Book said last Tuesday that he'll be wearing #12, which was most recently worn by fellow quarterback Brandon Wimbush. Wimbush, a sophomore, ...

(Photo: Eddie Burch, Greenville News)

Notre Dame Football’s Most Promising “Rookies”

June 6, 2016 by andrewwinn

The Irish Illustrated staff collectively ranked the top Irish "rookies" based on who they felt would have the best Notre Dame careers. My top 10 list differed from theirs, so let's take a closer look: 1. Brandon Wimbush (II Staff: #2) If you consider the question, you'll notice it's a little tricky. "Who among the three dozen will have the best careers at Notre Dame?" Brandon Wimbush is a quarterback with all the tools: strong arm, fleet of foot and accurate. I'm not certain that ...

Superlatives for the Recruiting Class of ’16

May 6, 2016 by BJ Konkle

If you have ever watched Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, then you have likely seen his “Late Night Superlatives” bit. This sparked an interesting idea to present further insight into a few members of the #NDFB 2016 recruiting class. While I certainly don’t believe I have quite the comedic abilities that Jimmy does, but I do think I can provide more value when talking all things Notre Dame Football. Unlike your old, dusty senior yearbook where all of the “Most likely to…” were voted on by an entire ...

Blue Gold Game Preview: The Quarterbacks

April 13, 2016 by Fresno Domer

There is, unquestionably, no more talked about position on Notre Dame’s depth chart heading in the the Blue Gold Game than quarterback. With most of the ND faithfully divided into #TeamMalik or #TeamKizer, there is actually real potential for the QB situation to get sideways on Offensive Coordinator Mike Sanford and, ultimately, Coach Kelly. Make no mistake: Every coach in the country would gladly take on the challenge of managing two high-level players at the most important position on the ...

Don’t “Trade” Malik Zaire

March 4, 2016 by andrewwinn

If you were the general manager of Notre Dame, would you trade Malik Zaire for Florida Gators' linebacker Jarrad Davis and wide receivers Joshua Hammond and Dre Massey? David Kenyon, a Bleacher Report columnist, suggested this in "Ten College Football Trades We Wish Could Happen This Spring." Kenyon acknowledges there's no such thing as trading college football players (although Kyler Murray & Trevor Knight did a switcheroo that looked like one.) Kenyon's caveat was that his trades ...