5 Greatest Defensive Players in Notre Dame Football History

When picking the best five defensive players in Notre Dame history, how do you rate them by their numbers?

Sacks weren’t a statistic kept until the latter part of the 20th century, so defensive linemen and linebackers from the 1980s and before aren’t going to appear as high in the school record books. Defensive backs don’t make as many tackles as the front seven, and interceptions are, sometimes, a matter of luck. Where do they go?

It’s a question with no one answer.

That doesn’t mean we didn’t try to come up with such a list, anyway. Of course we did. And given all the constraints, we came up with these five. Feel free to disagree!

Honorable Mentions

• End/FB Leon Hart (1946-1949)
• LB Jim Lynch (1964-1966)
• LB Bob Crable (1978-1981)
• DL Chris Zorich (1987-1990)
• S Harrison Smith (2008-2011)
• LB Jaylon Smith (2013-2015)
• DB Xavier Watts (2020-2024)

5. DL Bob Golic (1975-1978)

A two-time All-American who won the national championship in 1977, Golic has held the No. 2 spot on Notre Dame’s all-time tackles list for almost 50 years now.

Fourteen of those years, just after his time in South Bend, were spent in the NFL, where he was a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro over 14 strong seasons.

But it started at Notre Dame. Golic earned second-team All-American honors in 1977, then was a unanimous first-team pick the following year. He tied a school record with 26 tackles in 1978 against Michigan and, if football weren’t enough, Golic was a two-time All-American wrestler, too.

4. DB Todd Lyght (1987-1990)

Secondary selections as top five defenders usually aren’t sexy picks. Interceptions grab attention. Tackles can, too. But at cornerback, tackles don’t come with regularity, leaving a player such as Lyght a bit -- ahem -- light on the counting stats.

Those don’t tell the story, though. Teams were absolutely loath to throw toward Lyght’s side of the field in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and he still picked off eight passes as a junior in 1989.

It was the second of three years in which he started and the first of two straight years in which he was named a consensus All-American. He likely would have taken home the Jim Thorpe Award that year, too, were it not for one of the best seasons of a defensive back in the entire decade (Mark Carrier, Southern California).

3. LB Manti Te’o (2009-2012)

Te’o is the most modern player on this list and, as such, the biggest star. His star shone brightly early as he entered the starting lineup four games into his freshman season in 2010 and never let go, earning 47 straight calls.

He led Notre Dame in tackles as a sophomore with 133. As a junior, he led again with 128 stops, including a team-high 13 1/2 for-loss. In his senior season, Te’o’s tackle total dropped to 102 and his for-loss total dropped to 5 ½.

But that was hardly a sign of his struggles. He picked off seven passes that year -- second in the nation -- and led Notre Dame to the No. 2 defense in FBS as the Fighting Irish finished 12-0 during the regular season before losing the BCS Championship.

At season’s end, Te’o had captured the Lombardi Award, the Butkus Award, the Bednarik Award, the Nagurski Trophy, the Lott Trophy, the Walter Camp Award, the Maxwell Award, and he finished second in Heisman Trophy voting.

2. DL Alan Page (1964-1966)

It’s a bit difficult to write about Page’s time at Notre Dame. Not that he was bad or Notre Dame was, either: the Fighting Irish won the national championship in 1966, Page’s final season.

But we admit a bit of Page’s ranking at No. 2 here is because what he accomplished at Notre Dame set the stage for an elite NFL career and an even more impressive post-playing career as a jurist, educator, and intellectual.

During his time in South Bend, Page helped Notre Dame to a 25-3-2 record over three seasons from 1964 to 1966. At 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, he was a terror to opposing offensive lineman who, in an era of small-ish players, struggled to contain his athleticism.

In his final year, Page was a consensus All-American after recording 63 tackles as the anchor of the national title-winning defense.

1. DL Ross Browner (1973, 1975-1977)

Superstar. That’s Browner in one word. Or, maybe, legend. Let’s go with legend.

Browner won two national titles during his time at Notre Dame, one in 1973 and another in 1977. During his last two years, Browner was named unanimous All-American and UPI Lineman of the Year.

He’s the only player in college football history who won that award twice. On top of that, in ‘77, the defensive lineman won the Lombardi Award and the Maxwell Award.

He ultimately finished his time with the Fighting Irish with 340 tackles, including 77 for-loss, with 10 pass break-ups, and two defensive touchdowns. He’s not only the best defensive player in school history, he might be the best player in school history, period.

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