Notre Dame Football: 10 best players in program history

Notre Dame is one of the most recognizable brands in all of sports but which players put the program on the map?

Not many brands in American sports are as immediately recognizable as the gold helmets donned by Notre Dame every fall Saturday. The program was founded in 1887 and by World War II, had already claimed three national titles under legendary coach and former player Knute Rockne. Rockne led the Irish from 1918 until his tragic death in a plane crash in 1931.

This success continued with coaches such as Elmer Layden, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz, all of whom won national championships in their tenures at Notre Dame. The Notre Dame program also is rich in gameday traditions as well. From the ever so popular “Notre Dame Victory March”, the sign in the locker room saying “Play Like a Champion Today”, and so many other iconic items of cultural significance.

With those great coaches and great traditions, obviously comes great players. The Notre Dame programs is home to seven Heisman Trophy winners and 101 Consensus All-Americans. Through the years they have hosted names such as George Gipp, Joe Montana, Ricky Watters, Jerome Bettis and hundreds of other star players. Here are the top 10 players in Notre Dame’s fabled history.

*Note: All statistics come from Sports-Reference.com or ncaa.org