Notre Dame Football: 15 best quarterbacks in Fighting Irish history
By John Buhler
Tony Rice is, through the 2018 NCAA season, the last Notre Dame starting quarterback to lead the Irish to a national title. Rice first came to South Bend in 1986, albeit a bit controversially. He was Lou Holtz’s first high-profile recruit in the 1986 class out of South Carolina. However, he was ineligible to play during his freshman campaign due to Proposition 48. Rice needed a 700 SAT score to play right away, but only managed a 690, thus why he had to sit out his freshman season.
Once Rice was eligible in his sophomore season in 1987, the Holtz era of Irish football began to take off. Notre Dame finished 8-4, made it to the Cotton Bowl Classic and finished in the top 25 for the first time since 1980. Wide receiver/return man Tim Brown would win the Heisman Trophy, the last Irish player to do so.
Even after Brown went to the then-Los Angeles Raiders as a first-round talent in the 1988 NFL Draft, Rice and future College Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Raghib “Rocket” Ismail would achieve perfection. Notre Dame went a perfect 12-0 en route to its eighth national championship in the AP Poll era. Rice’s dual-threat playmaking was key in Notre Dame winning its first national title since 1977.
Rice continued to progress as a dual-threat playmaker as Holtz’s star option quarterback. He was named an All-American that campaign, as well as capture the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Rice would finish fourth in the 1989 Heisman Trophy voting before exhausting his collegiate eligibility.
As more of a runner than a thrower, Rice would go undrafted in the 1990 NFL Draft. He then began a brief career in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Barcelona Dragons of the World League of American Football before retiring in 1992.
In his three years quarterbacking Notre Dame, Rice completed 48.5 percent of his passes for 2,961 yards, 11 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. As a runner, Rice amassed 1,921 rushing yards on 384 carries for 23 touchdowns. When looking at Rice’s passing numbers, they’re not much to write home about. That being said, his talents as a ball carrier and his ability to lead Notre Dame back to being a championship-caliber football team merit his inclusion here at No. 5.