Check it out: College football 1989 recruiting throwback
As any Notre Dame fan has likely seen in the last few months former football great Jerome Bettis was back on campus this past semester taking the necessary classes to finish his degree. The story of a Pro Football Hall of Famer returning to get his college degree at 50 years old caught the attention of several media outlets as it was fun to see The Bus back at Notre Dame.
This past weekend Bettis graduated from Notre Dame alongside the rest of the class of 2022.
For those unfamiliar, Tom Lemming is essentially to college recruiting what Mel Kiper, Jr. is to the NFL draft. Before it was anywhere near as popular, he was the one going coast-to-coast evaluating players and talent long before the star-ratings were even in place.
On Wednesday, Lemming tweeted quite the throwback in honor of Bettis graduating from the University of Notre Dame.
Congratulations to Jerome Bettis graduating from the University of Notre Dame. Better late than never. He was my 1989 national CO-OPOY along with Robert Smith of Euclid Ohio. I took this picture of Jerome at his HS Detroit Mackenzie. If I recall bowling was his favorite sport. 5* pic.twitter.com/vWPoZkSYKW
— Tom Lemming (@LemmingReport) May 18, 2022
How is that for a throwback?
Bettis with a flat top you could balance a glass of water on, Jim Flanigan looking like the All-American boy, and future Ohio State and Minnesota Vikings standout Robert Smith in there as well.
As for the 2000 Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke that was also part of that class, consider this fun fact:
Bettis rushed for 8462 yards, 41 touchdowns, pulled in another 1,075 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions all as a pro BEFORE Weinke began his Heisman Trophy winning season in 2000.
How drew brees didn’t win that Heisman Trophy is still beyond me but I thought you’d enjoy that pull from Lemming.
