Published: November 28, 2008 10:26 am         

Mirer had great career as ND quarterback

Hard to believe it has been 16 years since Goshen High School graduate Rick Mirer was a senior quarterback on the University of Notre Dame football team.

Those were some glorious times in the storied history of Notre Dame football.

Mirer was a three-year starting quarterback for ND, guiding the Irish to a 29-7-1 record under the coaching of Lou Holtz.

With Mirer at the helm, Notre Dame’s offense averaged 34 points and 448 yards per game during those three seasons.

And, the Irish were playing some of the nation’s tougher schedules at that time.

In 1990, Mirer’s sophomore season, the Irish defeated No. 4 Michigan, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 2 Miami and No. 18 Southern California. Losses were to unranked Stanford, No. 18 Penn State and No. 1 Colorado in the Orange Bowl.

In 1991, Notre Dame notched wins over No. 12 Pittsburgh and No. 3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl. Losses were to No. 4 Michigan, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 8 Penn State.

Mirer, as a senior in 1992, led the Irish to victories over No. 9 Boston College, No. 22 Penn State, No. 19 Southern California and No. 4 Texas A & M in the Cotton Bowl. The loss was to No. 19 Stanford and there was a tie with No. 6 Michigan.

Mirer’s last home game at Notre Dame Stadium was indeed memorable.

The Irish were trailing Penn State, 16-9, in the closing minutes on a snowy field.

Mirer guided the Irish downfield and connected with Jerome Bettis on a touchdown pass with 0:20 to play. He then threw to Reggie Brooks on a 2-point conversion and the Irish won, 17-16.

Mirer threw 41 touchdown passes during his career at Notre Dame, trailing only Brady Quinn and Ron Powlus in that category.

He also accounted for 6,691 yards total offense and was responsible for 350 points with the 41 TD passes, 17 rushing touchdowns and the one 2-point conversion.

The 426 points scored by Notre Dame in 1991, an average of 35.5 per game, were then school records.

Mirer’s numbers for that era were remarkable when considering Coach Holtz favored an offense built around the option running game.

Mirer was blessed to be surrounded by running backs like Rodney Culver, Jerome Bettis, Ricky Watters, Tony Brooks and Reggie Brooks; receivers like Raghib Ismail, Tony Smith, Lake Dawson, Derek Brown, Irv Smith, Ray Griggs and Adrian Jarrell; and a bevy of offensive linemen tutored by assistant coach Joe Moore.

The former Redskin, who led GHS to a Class 4A state championship in 1988, was co-captain of the 1992 Notre Dame team.

He spent 12 seasons in the National Football League and is now a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.

Rick, wife Stephanie and their three sons now reside in the San Diego area.