MICHAEL STONEBREAKER
University of Notre Dame
Linebacker, 1986, 1988, 1990
 
Michael Stonebreaker was always regarded as an instinctual football player, a guy who knew what the offense was going to run better than the offense itself could. He could hit hard, yes, but what gave the linebacker a leg up was his understated intensity, a mind that was always working and a gifted body that was always keeping up.
 
If you ask Stonebreaker, though, he was simply the product of strong football influences. His father, Steve, played in the NFL for seven years. His high school coach, J.T. Curtis, is the second-winningest high school coach in American history and a guy who has coached 14 NFL players. And his defensive coordinators in college, Foge Fazio and Barry Alvarez (who would later enter the College Football Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a head coach at Wisconsin), were two of the best defensive minds of their time.
 
"Fundamentally sound football," Stonebreaker said of his gridiron education.
 
Sometimes it's as simple as that, which explains why Stonebreaker can now call himself a College Football Hall of Famer, becoming the 49^th Notre Dame player to make the Hall, which is the most of any school. And Stonebreaker accomplished the honor as a member of the Irish's last national title team, to boot.
 
Stonebreaker's father played for the Saints, so the family made New Orleans their home. Stonebreaker grew up watching LSU more than any other program, and the Tigers recruited him hard. Fazio had recruited him while he was the defensive coordinator at Pitt, and Pete Cordelli recruited him while Cordelli was an assistant at Minnesota under Lou Holtz (a 2008 College Football Hall of Fame inductee). All three of those coaches ended up at Notre Dame in 1986, and the Irish eventually won Stonebreaker over on his visit.
 
Even then, though, he was joining a program that was coming off a losing season, which led to a coaching change and the hiring of Holtz. Everything changed quickly for the Irish. In Stonebreaker's third year, he made 104 tackles for the school's 1988 national championship team. He finished third in the voting that year for the Butkus Award, which is given to the nation's best linebacker.
 
"My greatest memory from my time at Notre Dame? I would say that after being there a couple years, you kind of get to know the feeling of what it is to play at Notre Dame, and then being able to turn the program to a winning program and seeing the amount of fans and support you have across the country," Stonebreaker said. "Because whatever stadium we went to seemed like a home game for us, because the Notre Dame community travels so strong and it's nationwide."
 
Stonebreaker led Notre Dame in tackles in 1990, a year that saw the Irish make the Orange Bowl. He came up with clutch takeaways in three different wins over ranked teams that season: an interception against No. 4 Michigan, a pick against No. 24 Michigan State and a fumble recovery against No. 2 Miami.
 
"Back then Notre Dame was on TV every Saturday," Stonebreaker said. "You didn't have all the exposure that you have now in college sports, so we were the big ticket coming to town. So, we always knew that no matter what team we played we were going to get their best game."
 
A unanimous All-American that season, Stonebreaker exited South Bend, Ind., with 220 career tackles, eight pass breakups, five interceptions and one touchdown.
 
"When I got to Notre Dame, I was prepared for the college game," he said, referring to his high school, Louisiana's John Curtis Christian.
 
Stonebreaker spent three years in the NFL before joining the Frankfurt Galaxy of the World League in 1995. Since 2005, he has owned and operated N.O. Brew Coffee, which is distributed to grocery stores nationwide.
 
He is a parent of four, so making it back to Notre Dame isn't always so easy. But he keeps tabs on the Irish from afar, and the memories have all come flooding back for him as he reflects on the accomplishments that netted him the Hall of Fame honor.
 
"I think at every level you have people that are older and more experienced than you that you come in contact with," Stonebreaker said. "On my high school team, I stuck with linebackers. Troy Wetzel and Darren Marlbrough were starters ahead of me, so you watched them. At Notre Dame, Mike Kovaleski was the starter. He took me under his wing a little bit and helped me navigate things. So, you find people like that who help you in those early stages, and it's your job to develop and understand the system. Barry Alvarez was helping you understand the defense, and then you figure it all out."
 
UP CLOSE:
 

• Named a First Team All-American twice, earning consensus honors in 1988 and unanimous laurels in 1990.
• Finished third in the Butkus Award voting in both 1988 and 1990.
• Registered 104 tackles, the second most on the 1988 national championship team, tallying 220 career tackles, eight pass breakups and five interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
• Played for College Football Hall of Fame Coach Lou Holtz.
• Becomes the 49^th Notre Dame player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.