Notre Dame football: 5 most underrated players in Fighting Irish history

The most underrated Notre Dame football players of all time.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have no shortage of legendary coaches and players. When you think of the Irish, you think Knute Rockne, Ara Parsegian and Lou Holtz stalking the sidelines of South Bend, Indiana. When you think of players, you think Angelo Bertelli, Joe Montana, Ricky Watters, Raghib “The Rocket” Ismail and Brady Quinn running and throwing all over the field.

Those are the names you know. There are others, however, who go under the radar. They had great careers at Notre Dame, but their names and accomplishments have been lost to history. Maybe they played on teams with bigger stars. Maybe they played in an era when the program was down.

No matter when they played, they were bedrocks of the teams they played. Even if they did not have stellar professional careers, these young men had great careers at Notre Dame and should be counted among the greats in Irish history.

Notre Dame football has produced several NFL superstars, but these five underrated Notre Dame football players are worthy of getting more love.

5. Underrated Notre Dame football players: Mike Stonebreaker

If you talk about all-time great Notre Dame linebackers and not mention Mike Stonebreaker, your list needs adjusting. First, he has one of the best football names on this side of Eddie McDoom and Barney Bussey.

During his time at Notre Dame, Stonebreaker was a bulwark in the middle of Lou Holtz’s stifling defenses in the late 80s and early 90s. Stonebreaker was a Consensus All-American in 1988 and 1990 and was part of Notre Dame’s last National Championship team in 1988-89.

Stonebreaker gets lost to history primarily because he played in South Bend over 30 years ago. Not only is he one of the best defensive players to ever suit up in South Bend, but he is also one of the best linebackers of that era in college football.

Part of the Three Amigos in 1988 with Frank Stams and Wes Pritchett, he was a completely different person off the field than on it. He was a self-described “knucklehead.”  Stonebreaker was an intense sure tackler on the field.

Before he burst onto the scene in 1988 Stonebreaker was a stand out on special teams. The River Ridge, Louisiana native registered 104 tackles that season on his way to becoming an All-American and finishing third for the Butkus Award.

Stonebreaker had a nose for the football and great instincts for making plays from sideline to sideline. Most importantly, he made big plays in big games.

Stonebreaker was the leader of a defense that featured the aforementioned “amigos” and players like Demetrius DuBose, Todd Lyght, and Chris Zorich.