Who are the best defensive players in the history of Notre Dame football?
As much love as the quarterbacks and other offensive stars have traditionally gotten from their offensive stars, you could argue their talent overall on defense is historically better.
So who are the very best to have ever played defense for the Irish?
Perhaps the best way to think of just how talented this group is, is by looking at the all-time greats that didn’t make the cut and
you’ll realize just how much talent has strapped it up at Notre Dame over the years, and in all honesty we were a bit partial to the more recent years.
Who were the must-haves on the all-defensive team and who did we miss on?
Take a look and let us know in the comment section below and then be sure to check out the all-time lineups for the other College Wire sites below.
Defensive End 1 (Starter) - Ross Browner Defensive End 2 (Starter) - Justin Tuck Defensive End 3 (Backup) - Leon Hart
Defensive End 4 (Backup) - Stephon Tuitt Defensive Tackle 1 (Starter) - Alan Page Defensive Tackle 2 (Starter) - Bryant Young
Defensive Tackle 3 (Backup) - Chris Zorich Defensive Tackle 4 (Backup) - Louis Nix, III Linebacker 1 (Starter) - Manti Te'o
Linebacker 2 (Starter) - Michael Stonebreaker Linebacker 3 (Starter) - Jim Lynch Linebacker 4 (Backup) - Jaylon Smith
Linebacker 5 (Backup) - Bob Crable Linebacker 6 (Backup) - Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Cornerback 1 (Starter) - Todd Lyght Cornerback 2 (Starter) - Julian Love
Cornerback 3 (Backup) - Bobby Taylor Cornerback 4 (Backup) - Shane Walton
Safety 1 (Starter) - Kyle Hamilton Safety 2 (Starter) - Harrison Smith
Safety 3 (Backup) - Jeff Burris Safety 4 (Backup) - Tom Zbikowski