Sophomore John Ryan has been a strong force onthe Notre Dame defense during the 2007 campaign,raking in 14 tackles on the season (eight solo, six

assisted). In his first season starting on the Irish defensiveline, Ryan came into the year with experience from 2006 wherehe saw action in 10 contests as a defensive end reserve, play-ing behind former Irish Victor Abiamiri and Chris Frome. Lastseason, Ryan tallied four tackles with one tackle for a lossfor the Irish. Ryan graduated from St. Ignatius High Schoolin Cleveland, Ohio, where he was a teammate with Irish widereceiver Robby Parris.GameDay’sLaura McCrystal gives Irishfans a chance to get to know John Ryan.

McCrystal: What is your major and what about it inter-ests you?Ryan: My majors are finance and political science. Theone that interests me the most is political sciencebecause you deal with it on a day-to-day basis and itcould affect your future.

McCrystal: Which class is your favorite and why?Ryan: Latino Spirituality because it’s a class that helpsdeepen your faith and understanding.

McCrystal: What other schools did you look at and whatattracted you most to Notre Dame over them?Ryan: Boston College was probably my second choice. Ithink that it was the lure and the tradition at Notre Damethat did it for me, though.

McCrystal: Who has been the most influential person inyour life and why?Ryan: My father has been the most influential person inmy life. He raised me to be the person I am today andtaught me how to live my life.

McCrystal: What has beenyour greatestmoment/accomplishment onthe field at Notre Dame? Offthe field?Ryan: My greatest moment onthe field was my first timerunning out of the tunnel atNotre Dame Stadium. Off thefield at Notre Dame, my great-est accomplishment has beenpassing Calculus Two.

McCrystal: What has been yourmost embarrassing moment inyour athletic career?Ryan: My junior year in highschool, I was warming up for a

basketball game and while we were running out of thetunnel I completely slipped and wiped out on the floor.

McCrystal: When are you most proud to represent NotreDame?Ryan: I’m proud every day. It’s a place that has a goodname, so I like to represent and support it the best I can.

McCrystal: Who has been the toughest athlete you haveever competed against?Ryan: My buddy, Rudy Kirbus, in high school in basket-ball, because he always pushed me to be a better athlete.

McCrystal: Which is the toughest stadium you have com-peted at as a collegiate athlete?Ryan: Beaver Stadium at Penn State is the toughest sta-dium I have competed at collegiately.

McCrystal: If you could compete in any other sport, whatwould it be and why?Ryan: Basketball because it was my first true love and myfamily is a big basketball family.

McCrystal: If you had a chance to play golf with anyonein history, who would be in your foursome in addition toyourself and why?Ryan: Jack Nicklaus, because he’s a classic and a golflegend, my brother Patrick, because he’s my best friend,and Michael Jordan, because he was my role modelgrowing up.

McCrystal: What is the last song you listened to?Ryan: ‘Thunder Road’ by Bruce Springsteen.

McCrystal: What is your favoriteplace on campus and why?Ryan: The Grotto because it givesme a good chance to catch up withmyself and slow things down.

McCrystal: If you could spend aweek anywhere in the world, wherewould it be and why?Ryan: I would go to Cabo San Lucas,Mexico. It’s the place that wealways go for my family vacation.It’s relaxing, I get away from every-one and there’s no cell phone serv-ice there.

McCrystal: Would you rather travelby land or by air and why?Ryan: I would travel by air becauseit’s quicker.

McCrystal: What is one thing you cannot live without?Ryan: I cannot live without my mom.

McCrystal: What do you see yourself doing after yourfootball career ends?Ryan: I see myself teaching and coaching.

McCrystal: What is one thing you do to help prepareyourself for a game day?Ryan: I wear my lucky t-shirt to get me prepared.

McCrystal: Describe what it feels like on game day andplaying in Notre Dame stadium.Ryan: It’s a once in a lifetime experience that luckily I getto experience more than once.

McCrystal: What is your favorite thing about playing forNotre Dame?Ryan: My favorite thing would be the fans.

McCrystal: If you were stranded on an island, what threethings would you bring?Ryan: I would take with me Bruno’s Pizza, my little broth-er Mike and a TV.

McCrystal: What is your favorite food?Ryan: My favorite food is steak.

McCrystal: What is one thing your mom always yelled atyou about when you were younger?Ryan: Iwasalways late foreverythinggrowingup. Iwasespe-cially always late for the bus and I would get yelled at for that.

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GETTING TO KNOW

#90 John RyanSophomore, 6-5, 253Outside Linebacker

Westlake, Ohio/St. Ignatius

LINEBACKER JOHN RYAN

Sophomore John Ryan has alreadymade 14 tackles on the Irishdefense during the 2007 campaign.

Notre Dame followers searching for an optimistic future might referto 2007 as “The Year of The Freshman.”

By the second game of the season, at Penn State, freshman JimmyClausen and classmate Armando Allen started at quarterback and runningback, respectively. It marked he first time two rookies started together for theIrish at the high-profile positions.

Two weeks later, freshman running back Robert Hughes saw his initialextended action, carrying six times for 33 yards (5.6 yards per attempt) againstMichigan State, highlighted by a three-yard scoring run in which he draggedseveral defenders with him into the end zone.

In the 33-19 loss at Purdue, freshman wideouts Duval Kamara and GoldenTate caught nine passes between them for 172 yards, with each snaring hisfirst collegiate touchdown reception.

Defensively, freshman outside linebacker Kerry Neal earned his firstcareer start in the aforementioned Purdue game, while yet another rookie andoutside linebacker, Brian Smith, was a regular as the bookend opposite Neal.

Meanwhile, freshman nose tackle Ian Williams’ 15 tackles through thefirst five games tied him for eighth best on the team.

In 1972, the NCAA permanently instituted freshman foot-ball eligibility. It did so in 1951 as well during the Korean War,but by 1952 freshmen were ineligible again, and would be forthe next 20 seasons.

Many coaches were opposed to freshmaneligibility when it was enacted 35 years ago, cit-ing the difficult adjustments first-year playershad to make socially, academically and athleti-cally into college life. That’s why there were jun-ior varsity or freshman teams, allowing rookiesto gradually assimilate.

Surprisingly, Ara Parseghian and his 1972Notre Dame staff were not as opposed to therule back then as many of their colleagues.

“We were all for it,” said Joe Yonto, theesteemed Irish defensive line coach from 1964-80, as well as in 1986-87. “If he was a member ofthe Notre Dame community, we felt he shouldbe eligible. If he was better than everybody elseat his position, then that was a bonus.”

Yonto added that the staff believed the busywork schedule for freshmen would be an assetas well.

“If you are busy and organized, you succeedmore than if you have too much free time,”Yonto said. “Studies have shown that.”

In the first two years alone of freshman eligibility, Yonto reaped the bene-fits. Defensive tackle Steve Niehaus stepped in as a starter from Game 1 ofhis freshman year in 1972 and led the team in tackles through four gamesbefore suffering a season-ending injury. The following year, freshman defen-sive end Ross Browner started from Game 1, helping the Irish capture the1973 national title.

Nevertheless, how much of an impact one makes as a true freshman isnot necessarily a harbinger of how his college football career will fare. Forexample:

• Jerome Bettis had only 15 carries as a freshman in 1990. That same year,future first-round defensive backs Tom Carter and Jeff Burris struggled asfreshmen and even became overshadowed by a less-known classmate(Willie Clark).

• Ricky Watters boasted that his goal was to rush for 1,500 yards as afreshman in 1987, but he shouldn’t have been ashamed of finishing with just373. Watters’ classmate, recent College Football Hall of Fame inductee ChrisZorich, worked exclusively with the prep team that same year.

• Joe Montana was fourth-team as a freshman (1974) —and that was juston the junior varsity. The varsity featured Tom Clements, Frank Allocco and

Rick Slager, while the top three on the junior varsity wereKerry Moriarty, Gary Forystek and Mike Falash.

So freshmen need not fret ifthey don’t make an instantimpact. They join about 99 per-cent of the college football pop-ulation.

The current returns fromNotre Dame’s 2007 freshmenmight make this the most volu-minous class in school historyas far as production from first-year players. However, whenlooking at which classes hadthe most profound impact,here’s a chronological rundown:

1973: BEST IMPACTIt will be almost impossible

to supplant Ross Browner andLuther Bradley as the two great-est freshmen ever to suit up forNotre Dame, because they alsoshould rank in the top 5 of anyNCAA list (Georgia’s Herschel

FEATURE STORY

hirty-five years after the NCAA allowed freshman eligibility,

we count down some of the greatest rookie impact classes from 1972-2007

By Lou Somogyi, Blue & Gold Illustrated

INSTANT IMPACTT

Ross Browner wasan outstanding

defensive end for theIrish during the 1973

campaign. Now amember of the

College Football Hallof Fame, he led the

line his freshmanseason with

68 tackles with 15 for loss.

100

Walker in 1980 and Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson in2004 probably would rank 1-2).

Browner at defensive end and Bradley atstrong safety stepped in as starters in the opener,filling two of the trouble spots on a unit that yielded115 points in Notre Dame’s three losses the previ-ous season.

In 1973, the 11-0 Irish have surrendered only 89points the entire season en route to the nationaltitle. Browner had 68 tackles, 15 for losses—withboth figures pacing the defensive line. Bradley ledthe team in interceptions (6) and passes broken up(11).

“A week before our opener, the freshman teamhad a game up at Michigan,” Bradley recalled.“Ross and I were standing on the sidelines andwatched them as they were preparing to go. Wesaid to one of our coaches, ‘Why don’t you let us goup to Michigan and play this weekend to get thebugs out?’

“He said, ‘Are you kidding? If something hap-pened to you two, I’d get fired!’“

Defensive end Willie Fry also worked his wayinto the rotation during the season and runningback Al Hunter made a difference in the 24-23Sugar Bowl victory over No. 1 Alabama, returning akickoff for a 93-yard TD and adding four carries for26 yards.

1978: COTTON PICKIN’ TIMEThe standout as a freshman in this class was

tight end Dean Masztak, who replaced graduatedthree-time All-American Ken MacAfee and caught16 passes for 285 yards (17.8 yards per catch).

But to appreciate their overall impact, considerwhat they contributed in the legendary 35-34 Jan. 1,1979 Cotton Bowl victory over Houston.

Freshman fullback Pete Buchanan scoredNotre Dame’s second touchdown, which was setup by freshman linebacker Bob Crable’s recoveryof a fumbled kickoff.

Masztak caught three passes, with 26- and 17-yard nabs setting up two TDs.

Trailing 34-12 in the fourth quarter, the Irish rallybegan when freshman Tony Belden blocked aHouston punt that freshman Steve Cichy returnedfor a touchdown.

With 28 seconds left and Houston facing 4thand inches at its 29 with a 34-28 lead, the Cougarsopted to go for it—but freshman end Joe Gramkemade the stop for no gain. That gave the ball backto Joe Montana and Co. for the game-winningdrive.

1980: DEVINE TIMEDan Devine announced prior to the

campaign that it would be his final seasonat Notre Dame—but that didn’t mean hewouldn’t be shy about leaning on first-yearplayers. Six of them earned monogramswhile helping the Irish to a temporary No. 1ranking after a 7-0 start.

Freshman Blair Kiel took over at quar-terback for good in Game 4 and helpeddirect the Irish to a 9-0-1 start and a berthagainst No. 1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Defensively, tackle Tim Marshall (43tackles, 10 for loss) became a mainstay, asdid Stacey Toran, who started the final 10games at cornerback (30 tackles, six pass-es broken up). Chris Brown ascended hisway to the nickel back role, while line-backer Rick Naylor excelled on special teams inaddition to working his way into the defensive rota-tion.

1988: SPEED KILLSSimilar to 1973, freshmen made a profound

impact en route to another national title run in 1988.Raghib “Rocket” Ismail stretched defenses

with his mere presence on the field. He averaged27.6 yards on his 12 receptions during the regularseason, including 4 for 96 yards versus No. 1Miami. He also blocked a punt to set up a scoreversus Michigan State, and returned two kickoffsfor touchdowns against Rice.

Tight end Derek Brown’s 12 catches netted 150yards, as he too became a full-time starter, andRodney Culver worked into the backfield rotation,averaging 6.5 yards per carry. Ismail and Culverboth scored in the 34-21 national title victoryagainst West Virginia, and Brown set up two of theTDs with 23- and 47-yard receptions.

On defense, Arnold Ale took over as the starterat drop end, sharing a sack during a crucialmoment in the Fiesta Bowl and intercepting a passin a hard-fought win at Pitt.

Defensive tackle Mirko Jurkovic, a future All-American along the offensive line, saw extensiveaction in victories over No. 1 Miami and at No. 2USC.

1993: BACKFIELD IN MOTIONAll the preseason publicity centered on fresh-

man quarterback Ron Powlus, who would sit outthe campaign with injuries. But three other fresh-men in that year’s backfield would still make signif-icant contributions for a team that would finish 11-

1 and No. 2 in the country.Tailback Randy Kinder ran for 537 yards and 6.0

yards per carry, while fullback Marc Edwards,working behind junior Ray Zellars, paced the teamin touchdowns (8). A third freshman, Robert Farmer,contributed at both fullback and tailback, scoringthree TDs and averaging 5.4 yards per carry.

Defensively, outside linebacker Bert Berryearned four starts and recorded 25 tackles, whilelineman Melvin Dansby gradually worked his wayin as a regular backup, as did linebacker KinnonTatum.

1995: HELP ON THE WAYFollowing a disappointing 6-5-1 result in 1994,

several freshmen provided immediate aid whilehelping the Irish to a 9-2 regular season mark in1995, capped with a 31-26 loss to Florida State inthe Orange Bowl.

Rush end Kory Minor started the opener andfinished the year with 48 tackles, highlighted by sixsacks. Offensively, Autry Denson switched fromcornerback and amassed 695 yards rushing, 5.1yards per carry and eight TDs as he began hisascent to No. 1 on the all-time Irish rushing chart.

Also playing significant roles that year werepunter Hunter Smith, offensive tackle MikeRosenthal and inside linebacker Bobbie Howard.

For the all-time Notre Dame freshman teams onoffense and defense since 1972, turn to the nextcouple of pages.

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NOTRE DAMEFootball

Luther Bradley was another outstanding freshmanon the 1973 National Championship team. Duringhis freshman campaign, Bradley led the teamwith 11 passes broken up and six interceptions..

2007

NOTRE DAME

103

INSTANT IMPACT continued 2007NOTRE DAME’S ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM: OFFENSE

By Lou Somogyi, Blue & Gold Illustrated

QUARTERBACK: MATT LOVECCHIO (2000)

Blair Kiel (1980) was 6-0-1 as the starterbefore losing the final two games, but hisindividual stats (38.7 completion rate, 531yards, zero TDs) were modest.

Steve Beuerlein (1983) had better num-bers (51.7 completion rate, 1,061 yards pass-ing and four TDs), but he lost his last threestarts and was replaced by the senior Kiel inthe bowl game.

Brady Quinn (2003) posted the most pass-ing yards (1,831), but he completed only 47.3percent of his passes and threw 15 intercep-tions while going 4-5 as the starter.

Nobody had the combination of excellentnumbers—11 TD passes and only one inter-ception, 980 yards passing, 58.4 percent passcompletion rate, 300 yards rushing—andteam prosperity than LoVecchio, who was 7-0 as the regular-season starter.

FULLBACK: JEROME HEAVENS (1975)Ironically, classmate Jim Browner start-

ed the season-opener at Boston College andran for 95 yards and a touchdown in a 17-3victory at Boston College. Browner wouldfinish with 394 yards on the ground.

But as the season progressed, Heavensdisplayed tremendous productivity, finishingwith 756 yards rushing and a remarkable 5.9yards per carry. He had 109 and 138 yards,respectively, in comeback wins at NorthCarolina (21-14) and Air Force (31-30), andromped for 148 in the victory over GeorgiaTech—the famous “Rudy Game.” He eventu-ally prompted Browner’s shift to strong safety.

TAILBACK: DARIUS WALKER (2004)It was difficult to omit Autry Denson

(1995) and Allen Pinkett (1982). Denson ranfor 695 yards in his rookie campaign andPinkett had 532, highlighted by his 76-yard TDin the 31-16 upset of No. 1 Pitt with DanMarino

But Walker broke Heavens’ 29-yearrecord for most yards gained on the groundby an Irish freshman, finishing with 786. The

highlight was his 115-yard, two TDs debut ina 28-20 upset of No. 8 Michigan in Game 2.

WIDEOUTS: TONY HUNTER (1979) ANDRAGHIB “ROCKET” ISMAIL (1988)

In a three-receiver set, you’d have toinclude Tim Brown (1984), whose 28 recep-tions (12.1 yards per catch) is still the most byan Irish freshman. But Hunter and Ismail putup better all-around numbers and produc-tion.

Hunter averaged an astounding 25.6yards per his 27 receptions. His first careercatch was for 31 yards in an opening-game12-10 win atMichigan.

Ismail’s 12 catch-es netted 331 yards(27.6 yards per grab),just nine yards fewerthan Brown. He alsosnared a 29-yard TDin the national titlegame. In addition,Ismail blocked apunt at MichiganState to change thegame’s momentum,and returned twokickoffs for touch-downs against Rice.

TIGHT END:DEREK BROWN(1988)

Joined Ismail as a difference-makingrookie for the 1988 national champs. He tookover as the starter by the fifth game andnabbed 12 passes for 150 yards and threeTDs, not including setting up two TDs in thenational title tilt with 47- and 23-yard recep-tions.

We give Brown a slight edge over DeanMasztak (1978), who had 13 receptions for236 yards, not including three for 49 in 35-34victory over Houston in the Cotton Bowl, andKen MacAfee (1974), who nabbed 14 passesfor 146 yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE: SAM YOUNG (2006),RYAN HARRIS (2003), MIKEROSENTHAL (1995), TIM HUFFMAN(1977) AND TOM THAYER (1979)

The tackles are Young and Harris. Youngbecame the first freshman offensive linemanat Notre Dame to start the opener, and henever relinquished the role, finishing withnearly 300 minutes playing time.

Harris started the last eight games of hisfreshman year at right tackle, joining class-mate Brady Quinn in the lineup.

Rosenthal made three starts at tackle forLou Holtz’s Orange Bowl team in 1995, but he

also would line up at guard during his career.Huffman played 53 minutes as a backup

tackle for Dan Devine’s national champs,while his brother, Dave, started at center. Timwould later shift to guard.

Thayer, who would play center in his sen-ior season at Notre Dame, lined up in therotation on offense or defense in the last sixgames of his freshman year.

A freshman on the 1988 Irish football team, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail had asuccessful season as a wide receiver. He pulled in only 12 catches, butracked up 331 yards, averaging 27.6 yards per grab.

NOTRE DAMEINSTANT IMPACT continued

104

2007NOTRE DAME’S ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM: DEFENSE

By Lou Somogyi, Blue & Gold Illustrated

DEFENSIVE ENDS: ROSSBROWNER (1973) AND ANTHONYWEAVER (1998)

College Football Hall of Fameenshrinee Browner started everygame for the national champs, whobounced back from an 8-3 season andfinished in the top three in totaldefense (201.3), rushing defense (82.4)and scoring defense (6.6). He made 68tackles, 15 for loss, both team highs forthe line. Browner also scored the firstpoints of the year by blocking a puntthat went out of the end zone for asafety.

Weaver contributed significantlyduring a turnaround campaign as well.He started 11 games, finishing with 28stops (six for lost yardage, second onthe team) on a squad that finished theregular season 9-2. In the opening-game upset of defending nationalchamp Michigan, he forced a fumblethat led to an Irish touchdown.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES: STEVENIEHAUS (1972) AND TIMMARSHALL (1980)

Niehaus started only four gamesbefore suffering a season-ending kneeinjury in practice, but he recorded ateam-high 47 tackles, with 13 in hisdebut at Northwestern. With Niehaus in thelineup, the opposition scored only one TDagainst the first unit in the first four games.Without Niehaus in Game 5, reeling Missouriupset the Irish, 30-26.

Described as “Darth Vader in cleats” byrecruiting maven Joe Terranova, Marshallemerged for the surprising 1980 defense thatset a school record for most consecutivequarters not permitting a touchdown (23). Hehad 43 stops, 10 for loss, for Dan Devine’sfinal team that lost to first-ranked Georgia,17-10, in the Sugar Bowl.

LINEBACKERS: BOB GOLIC (1975),KORY MINOR (1995) AND MIKEKOVALESKI (1983)

Golic holds the Irish freshman record fortackles made (82) as that year’s unit finished8-3 in Devine’s debut campaign. LikeNiehaus, Golic was only 17 years old whenhe made his first start for the Irish.

The 1994 USA Today Defensive Player ofthe Year, California product Kory Minorrecorded a sack in his first game, a 17-15 lossto Rose Bowl-bound Northwestern. He start-ed the remainder of the year, recording sixsacks, as the Irish finished the regular sea-son 9-2. His 239:38 playing time was the most

by a freshman under Lou Holtz.Kovaleski didn’t arrive with the same

fanfare as Golic and Minor, but theIndiana native started from Game 1 of hisfreshman season, as he replaced twoinjured starters. He totaled 62 tacklesduring the season.

SAFETIES: LUTHER BRADLEY (1973)AND RANDY HARRISON (1974)

Along with Browner, Bradley startedfrom Game 1 for the 1973 nationalchamps and they formed the greatestfreshman tandem in Irish annals. Bradleyled the squad in passes broken up (11)and interceptions (six). His signaturegame was the 23-14 upset of defendingnational champ USC. Bradley separatedAll-American Lynn Swann from his hel-met on USC’s first series and recordedtwo interceptions.

The following year, Harrison made 57tackles, broke up seven passes and hadtwo TDs off interceptions in AraParseghian’s final season.

CORNERBACKS: BOBBY TAYLOR(1992) AND STACEY TORAN (1980)

Taylor, who would turn pro after hisjunior season, began his career at freesafety but later excelled at cornerback.He started the last six games of his rook-

ie season and tied for the team lead in pass-es broken up (nine) on a 10-1-1 unit.

Toran started the final 10 games for theaforementioned record-setting defense in1980 that included classmate Marshall. Herecorded 30 tackles, six passes broken upand an interception.

KICKER/PUNTER CRAIG HENTRICH (1989) He handled both spots for most of his

freshman season, as well as the kickoffduties, making him a unique “triple threat.” Inaddition to converting eight field goals, heset a school single-season record for punt-ing average (44.6).

Defensive tackle Steve Niehaus paced the team with 47tackles, 13 in his debut at Northwestern, before gettinginjured.

Almost 25 years ago, a Notre Dame footballplayer returned to his dorm after practicewith a tip for his section mates. “During

Saturday’s game, watch out for number 39 on specialteams. He’s absolutely killing people out there,” mar-veled Irish captain Tom Gibbons.

Recently hearing that anecdote for the first time,Larry Moriarty, the number 39 who had caughtGibbons’ attention on the practice field, couldn’thelp but laugh. But behind the tale lies a keen insightto a player who took one of the most unusual pathsto stardom ever seen at Notre Dame.

“Like a lot of guys who show up at Notre Dame,I thought I should be starting,” relates Moriarty. “Iknow now that I didn’t deserve to be starting right offthe bat, but I used that anger on special teams.

“I always have been driven by trying to beat theodds, by a fear of failure and by proving peoplewrong.”

Moriarty, whose older brother Kerry was areserve quarterback at Notre Dame in the mid-1970s, didn’t even earn a letter as a 5-foot-10, 170pound reserve member of his high school footballteam. A newly-discovered passion and talent forbodybuilding led Moriarty to Santa Barbara CityCollege, where he now measured 6-foot-1-1/2 inch-es and 235 pounds. Moriarty won the starting full-back job from a returning junior college All-American and enjoyed a storybook season.

Although Moriarty dreamed of following in hisbrother’s footsteps to Notre Dame, the Irish didn’tmake a practice of extending football scholarships

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NOTRE DAMEFootball2007

Yesterday’s Heroes

CATCHING UP WITH…L arry Moriarty by Craig Chval

Larry Moriarty started on special teams for the Irish, but quickly earned his spot as a starting fullback.

“I always have

been driven by

trying to beat

the odds, by a

fear of failure

and by proving

people wrong.”--LARRY MORIARTY

NOTRE DAME2006

110

MORIARTYcontinued

to junior college transfers. But the late actor Scott Brady, a close friend of theMoriarty family, saw Moriarty play and called an old buddy of his, then-NotreDame athletic director Moose Krause.

“I wasn’t the type of kid Notre Dame took,” says Moriarty. “But they took achance on me and the rest is history.”

Moriarty moved up the Notre Dame depth chart,and had claimed the starting fullback job by 1982,rushing for over 100 yards in victories over Michiganand Purdue. A fifth-round pick of the Houston OilersMoriarty spent seven seasons in the NFL, the lastthree with the Kansas City Chiefs. In 1984, Moriartyaveraged 4.2 yards per carry while rushing for 785yards and six touchdowns.

While still playing in the NFL, Moriarty beganmaking real estate investments, particularly in hisnative Santa Barbara. Those investments haveallowed Moriarty to focus his full attention on hisfamily—wife Linda, son Kellen, and daughtersJessica, Amanda and Madison—and his charitableactivities.

Moriarty is deeply involved in several causes,including the Athletes for Life Foundation (www.ath-letesforlifefoundation.com). A non-profit corporation,Athletes for Life has been providing guidance andleadership opportunities for youth for nearly 20years.

Moriarty’s philanthropy extends to former profes-sional athletes as well.

“We’re helping players who couldn’t seem to find a way to adjust to lifeafter their playing careers,” he says. “That competitive desire that allows ath-letes to succeed at that level often ends up eating us up in the long run.”

Much of the funding for Moriarty’s charitable ventures comes from trips heleads to sporting events across the globe, from Notre Dame football games tothe running of the bulls and almost everywhere in between.

“We provide people with experiences that money can’t buy, and they inturn fund our activities,” Moriarty explains.

As Moriarty reaps the benefits of his hard work and good fortune, hereflects on his development at Notre Dame. Not only did Moriarty progressfrom special teams terror to NFL-caliber running back, he also grew up off thefield, thanks in large part to the interest demonstrated him by Krause, sportsinformation director Roger Valdiserri and Notre Dame’s long-time academicadvisor Mike DeCicco.

“Professor DeCicco kept an eye on me like a son,” remembers Moriarty.“He told me that the only way I would fail at Notre Dame was if I wanted to fail.

“And I’ll bet not many guys who went to Notre Dame had to go every weekto the ACC to give Moose Krause a progress update,” Moriarty laughs.

His progress at Notre Dame certainly made Krause and his other support-ers very proud—and Moriarty isn’t done yet. He is in ongoing conversationswith Notre Dame officials about utilizing his contacts and fundraising expertiseto benefit Notre Dame.

Moriarty also hopes to be writing tuition checks to Notre Dame in the not-too-distant future. While Kellen and Jessica are ardent Notre Dame fans asstudents at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Amanda (13) and Madison (10) have theirsights set on Notre Dame.

If they have half of the determination of their father, don’t bet against thegirls enrolling at Notre Dame some day.

Former Notre Dame football player Larry Moriarty is pictured with his family, (left to right), son Kellen, wifeLinda, Larry and daughters Madison, Jessica and Amanda.

As a senior, Larry Moriarty rushed for over 100 yards in each of NotreDame's first two games, home wins over Michigan (23-17) andPurdue (28-14). He went on to become a fifth-round draft pick in 1983by the Houston Oilers and spent seven seasons playing in the NFL.

All sanctity, like all politics, is local. When theCatholic Church solemnly and publicly rec-ommends a hitherto slightly noticed man or

woman in one corner of theworld as a holy exemplar forall, hitherto unacquainted believers react at first withaffectionate, if quizzical, respect. It takes a while to getto know the new ecclesial celebrity.

At least such has been the reaction of students, fac-ulty, staff, returning alumni and other visitors to aUniversity of Notre Dame campus festooned with bluebanners emblazoned with the face, signature and say-ings of Rev. Basil Anthony Moreau, C.S.C., who wasbeatified (declared ‘blessed” by the Catholic Church) ina ceremony during Mass at the Centre Antares, asports arena in Le Mans, France, on Sept 15. Beatification is the last steptoward canonization, the Church’s formal declaration of sainthood.

“Moreau” is a deceptively familiar name in these parts. Its common-place application to buildings, rooms and roadways obscures its originalbelonging to a man.

He was born Feb. 11, 1799, in the French village of Laigne-en-Belin, toa poor family of wine peddlers, the ninth of 14 children. The municipal reg-istry of his birth is dated according to the calendar imposed by the FrenchRevolution, “the 24th day of Pluvius in the year VII of the French Republic.”Deeply affected by both the religious zeal of his parents and the repres-sive secularism of post-revolutionary France, he eagerly pursued a voca-tion to the priesthood and was ordained by the time he had reached theage of 22.

An absorbing and inspiring preacher, a popular seminary teacher andadministrator, Father Moreau quickly earned a reputation for his strongcharacter and iron will as well as for his spartan personal piety and devot-ed care for the outcast.

“If you have amarked preference for certain people,” he instructed hisstudents, “it should be for the poorest, the most abandoned...the least gift-ed by nature...If you surround them with the most assiduous attention, it isbecause their needs are greater and it is only justice to give more to thosewho have received less.”

If this 19th century Frenchman’s life and witness seem exotic to a 21stcentury North American sensibility, distinct traces of them should be rec-ognizable in the present day membership of the Congregation of HolyCross, the remarkable religious community he founded more than a cen-tury and a half ago, the religious community which founded the Universityof Notre Dame.

Last month, a prominent local member of that community, NotreDame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., led a delegation from theUniversity to Father Moreau’s beatification ceremonies in Le Mans.Among those in the delegation were Richard C. Notebaert, chair of the

University’s Board of Trustees; John Affleck-Graves,executive vice president; Rev. James E. McDonald,C.S.C., associate vice president and counselor to NotreDame’s president; Thomas G. Burish, provost; JohnCavadini, chair of Notre Dame’s theology departmentand director of the Institute for Church Life; Rev. MarkPoorman, C.S.C., vice president for student affairs;Patricia O’Hara, Joseph A. Matson Dean of the NotreDame Law School; Carolyn Woo, Martin J. Gillen Deanof the Mendoza College of Business; and HilaryCrnkovich, vice president for public affairs and com-munication. They joined some 60 students from Angersand other Notre Dame undergraduate programs inEurope as well as hundreds of Holy Cross priests,

brothers and sisters from 15 nations and four continents. To FatherJenkins, it felt like family.

“The image of family was pivotal in FatherMoreau’s vision for the groupof women and men he brought together,” Father Jenkins wrote in a weblog launched for the occasion. “As we gathered for his beatification, I wasstruck by how we all-Holy Cross priests, sisters, brothers; Notre Dameadministrators, faculty, staff, and students; and thoseworking in Holy Crossministries around the world-had been forged into a global family byMoreau’s vision and spirit. That vision continues to animate Notre Dame.”

At the beatification Mass, Bishop Jacques Maurice Faivre of Le Mans,presided and Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregationfor the Causes of Saints, represented Pope Benedict XVI. At a receptionfollowing the Mass, Cardinal Martins made some remarks that deeplyimpressed John Cavadini.

“He reminded the gathering that the history of holiness is—recallingthe teaching of Pope Benedict—the history of Love,” Cavadini wrote inthe web log . “In consecrating the priests of his Congregation to the Heartof Jesus; the brothers to the Heart of St. Joseph; the sisters to the Heartof Mary; and the whole C.S.C. family to Our Lady of Sorrows, FatherMoreau had consecrated them to this same Love of which the Cardinalwas speaking—to the source and form of holiness, the Love of the Wordmade Flesh, who accepted to the full a loving solidarity with all the suffer-ings of our world and made them His own, in order to form that same sol-idarity in others.

“I believe Father Moreau would have rejoiced to be present at thisgathering of the universal-in-the-local church, an image and enactment ofthe communion of charity, imitating, as he hoped his community would,the charity of the first Christians who had, according to the Acts of theApostles, ‘but one heart and one soul.’”

If that sort of charity becomes as familiar around campus as the nameof Blessed Basil Moreau is rapidly becoming, Notre Dame will be blessedindeed.

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CAMPUS SCENEB lessed Father Moreau:A Newly Familiar Name

By Michael Garvery, News and Information

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