Two years we ago we debuted the 18 Stripes Hall of Fame Pyramid for Notre Dame football and its extensive history of wonderful talent. You can read the final rankings from 2019 HERE with links to the previous levels of the pyramid linked therein.
In the months since I’ve discussed players who would likely make the 18S HoF Pyramid and today we’ll start a countdown of those who are being inducted from the careers ending over the last 2 seasons.
*Players are listed in order by their position with overall rankings to the left.
Inducted: Aaron Banks
GUARD RANKINGS
163. Aaron Banks, OG, Alameda, California (2017-20)
162. Hunk Anderson, OG, Calumet, Michigan (1918-21)
160. Mirko Jurkovic, OG, Calumet City, Illinois (1988-91)
146. Tom Regner, OG, Kenosha, Wisconsin (1964-66)
129. Clipper Smith, OG, Hartford, Connecticut (1925-27)
127. Gerry DiNardo, OG, Howard Beach, New York (1972-74)
121. Tim Grunhard, OG, Burbank, Illinois (1986-89)
110. Al Ecuyer, OG, New Orleans, Louisiana (1956-58)
104. Nordy Hoffman, OG, Seattle, Washington (1930-31)
95. John Scully, OG, Huntington, New York (1977-80)
89. Pat Filley, OG, South Bend, Indiana (1941-44)
85. Larry DiNardo, OG, Howard Beach, New York (1968-70)
77. Bert Metzger, OG, Chicago, Illinois (1928-30)
74. Dick Arrington, OG, Erie, Pennsylvania (1963-65)
70. Jack Cannon, OG, Columbus, Ohio (1927-29)
38. Quenton Nelson, OG, Red Bank, New Jersey (2014-17)
14. Bill Fischer, OG, Chicago, Illinois (1945-48)
Banks probably wasn’t on pace to make it coming into 2020 with 19 starts to that point in his career and a lackluster 2019 being banged up following a promise 2018 debut. After a very good-to-great academic senior season that saw him pick up All-American honors he just sneaks into the bottom quarter of the Hall of Fame and the last among the historical guards.
A couple interesting points to bring up:
1) For all the success of the offensive linemen at Notre Dame under Brian Kelly it’s been relatively muted at guard with the exception of one Mr. Nelson. The only other candidate who could be considered for the 18 Stripes Pyramid would be Chris Watt who had a more steady and consistent career than Banks but didn’t really reach the ceiling and dominance that Banks displayed in 2020.
2) As we mentioned in our scouting report ahead of the Draft, Banks has a very high ceiling as a pro and kind of had a whiplash peak and valley career in college. As evidenced by the fact that he went 48th overall to the 49ers it’s likely Banks has a very fruitful and maybe dominant career as a guard in the NFL. I think we’ll look back at his professional career 10 to 15 years down the road and feel like Banks should be higher in our Notre Dame Hall of Fame but his career was actually pretty short and just good enough for inclusion.
Inducted: Liam Eichenberg
TACKLE RANKINGS
186. Joe Kurth, OT, Madison, Wisconsin (1930-32)
180. Paul Seiler, OT, Algona, Iowa (1964-66)
177. Ted Twomey, OT, Duluth, Minnesota (1928-29)
147. Liam Eichenberg, OT, Cleveland, Ohio (2016-20)
143. Ronnie Stanley, OT, Las Vegas, Nevada (2012-15)
133. Frank Varrichione, OT, Natick, Massachusetts (1951-54)
125. Jim White, OT, Bronx, New York (1942-43)
118. Rip Miller, OT, Canton, Ohio (1922-24)
117. Andy Heck, OT, Fairfax, Virginia (1985-88)
115. Art Hunter, OT, Akron, Ohio (1951-53)
97. Fred Miller, OT, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1926-28)
72. Mike McGlinchey, OT, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2013-17)
57. Zack Martin, OT, Indianapolis, Indiana (2009-13)
56. George Kunz, OT, Arcadia, California (1966-68)
48. Ziggy Czarobski, OT, Chicago, Illinois (1942-43, 46-47)
43. Joe Beinor, OT, Harvey, Illinois (1936-38)
23. Aaron Taylor, OT, Concord, California (1991-93)
I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t expect Eichenberg to be on this list a few years ago and stupidly fell for the same issues we’re seeing (potentially) with someone like Tosh Baker who was a big recruit seemingly not ready to break into the starting lineup by their redshirt freshman season.
Remember, it wasn’t super clear that Eichenberg would become a starter in 2018 as a redshirt sophomore but he stepped up in fall camp and from there he held down the left tackle job for 3 seasons.
Eichenberg being behind Martin, McGlinchey, and Stanley among the recent left tackles feels right, no? I don’t think he quite got to the ceiling of those players in college. I’d expect nearly every Irish fan to say Stanley was better for the blue and gold, although Eichenberg picks up some additional points for an extra season at the more high profile left tackle spot while Stanley spent his first year of starting at right tackle.
Do you think Blake Fisher cruises into this list in the next 3 to 4 years?
Blake Fisher will be #1 by this time in 2022.
He will pancake someone every single play, even pass plays where he doesn’t come in physical contact with anyone. He will look at them so mean-like they will fall over and curl up in a ball sucking their thumb. He will have multiple TDs by carrying the RB and therefor the ball into the end zone. He will win the Heisman, Walter Camp, Biletnikoff, Outland, and Butkus awards (because he will hit every LB so hard they will quit football and there won’t be anyone else to give it to). If I knew any other awards, he would win those as well.
You heard it here first. Selling tickets to the bandwagon.
Well, I mean you pretty much just accurately described all his high school footage, so I see nothing wrong here
You forgot the Nobel Prize in Physics he’ll win because his utter dominance and destruction of opponents, particularly against USC, Ohio State, and Clemson, will cause several laws of physics to have to be re-written in order to explain the impact of the hits he makes and how his opponents bodies are subsequently contorted. Blake will also do the work to re-write the laws of physics and teach them to his professors.