A Philly Road Back To National Prominance – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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For more than 125 years — Notre Dame Football has been one of the most legendary programs in all of college football. From Knute Rockne to Ara Parseghian to Lou Holtz — Notre Dame has sustained Championship-caliber form for over a century. More recently though — the Fighting Irish have struggled to achieve the success of other programs on the National stage.

But all of that is changing with — you guessed it — thanks in part to a Philly connection.

Notre Dame’s freshman roster includes two talents. Joey O’Brien and offensive tackle Grayson McKeogh from La Salle College High School. Last season — McKeogh and O’Brien were part of a championship team that overtook St. Joseph’s Prep 31–20 to take home the Catholic League 6A Title and them proceeded to win a PIAA 6A State Championship defeating Pittsburgh Central Catholic.

McKeogh is a ranked as a Three-Star Prospect by ESPN and Rivals.com ranks Joey O’Brien as the top safety recruit in America.

In Head Coach Marcus Freeman’s last three seasons at Notre Dame — the team has won at least ten games each year. In 2024 — the Fighting Irish even advanced to the CFP National Championship Game before losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Last season — the Irish even recovered from an 0–2 start to finish at 10–2 but did not qualify for the College Football Playoffs.

Notre Dame has achieved this return to being one of top football programs in the country by finding talent from all over the country — including from Philadelphia. Notre Dame’s season last year included a 49–14 throttling of ranked Army at Yankee Stadium behind Jeremiyah Love’s 99-yard touchdown run. In 2024, Irvington, New Jersey’s Adon Shuler returned an interception thirty-six yards for the Irish to seal a win over Georgia Tech.

Last season, Shuler was once again shining for #9 Notre Dame. Against #23 Pitt, Schuler continued a great season on defense with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Pennsylvania talent has long had a positive impact on Notre Dame’s success — including Joe Montana from New Eagle, Mike McGlinchey from Philadelphia, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lujack from Connellsville, and quarterback Cliff Brown. Brown won a National Championship at Notre Dame and was drafted in the seventeenth round of the 1974 Draft by the Eagles. Josh Adams from Warrington was also an Eagle.

Once again — like at hundreds of College Football Programs all over America — Philadelphia talent is making an impact.

Tags: Josh Adams LaSalle LaSalle College High School Notre Dame Notre Dame Fighting Irish

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