Notre Dame Football: 15 best quarterbacks in Fighting Irish history

Terry Hanratty starred for the Irish in the late 1960s. He first came to South Bend in 1965, but freshmen were not allowed to play varsity when Hanratty was in school. But that didn’t matter at the end of the day, as Hanratty was one of the most prolific passers in Notre Dame football history.

A three-year starter and two-time All-American recipient, Hanratty was certainly ahead of his time as a thrower of the football in a run-heavy offense of Notre Dame. In Hanratty’s first year as a starter, the Irish won the 1966 National Championship. He completed 53.1 percent of his passes for 1,247 yards, eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Notre Dame may not have won a national title during Hanratty’s last two years quarterbacking the Irish. However, his play as a passer improved, helping him climb his way up the Notre Dame quarterback record books. He made his first All-American team in 1967, as well as winning the Sammy Baugh Trophy. Hanratty completed 53.4 percent of his passes for 1,439 yards, nine touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

In what was his final college season in 1968, Hanratty would be named an All-American for the second time, as he completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 1,466 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He would go on to be a second-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1969 NFL Draft. Serving as Terry Bradshaw’s backup, Hanratty won two Super Bowls in Pittsburgh. He spent his last NFL season serving as Steve Spurrier’s backup with the expansion 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That team infamously went 0-16; they were that bad offensively.

Overall, Hanratty played 50 games at the professional level, but never achieved the personal success he did when he played for Notre Dame. In three seasons with the Irish, Hanratty completed 55.3 percent of his passes for 4,152 yards, 27 touchdowns and 34 interceptions.

Though he has more career picks than touchdown strikes while at Notre Dame, Hanratty was one of the greatest quarterbacks of his era in the college game. He finished in the top 10 in Heisman voting three times but never finished better than third in 1968. While more prolific passers have come to South Bend in the 50 years since Hanratty’s time as the Notre Dame starting quarterback, he remains firmly in the top 15 in most major passing categories in Irish history.