Notre Dame Football Review - 1929 - Archives - University of Notre ...

50 OFFICIAL FOOTBALL REVIEW-1929
Freshm.an Football
==·c.~==.=~=_:=_~~·==·~.,=-==~ .. =-~-.-=.=-.=;=-I~-=--~;~;~.-~c.~;~Jht~~\
.,. . ~-
~. -· ---
Abbatmarco, Agnew, Amyett, Aug, Banas, Bansbach, Borello, Barrett, Bassett, Bittner, Beirne, Bcnevino,· ~oenau,
Bodo, Brancheau, Brantfort, Bresson, Butler, Cousino, DuBois, DuBrul, D'Avignon, Delancy, DeLorme, Dilling, Donnelly,
F. C. Donoghue, J. A. Donoughue, Doran, Flanagan, Ford, Gabrysiak, Garrett, Gellis, Giorgio, Gleason, Goldstein, Green,
Griffin, Gorman, Hafrcn, Haecker, Gru, Holman, Hahn, Harris, Hanley, Hurley, Ibach, Jaskewic4, Jones, Kreuz, Kyrth;
Larkin, Laurie, LaBourne, Leding, LeJeune, Lukats, Lizzardo, McClurg, Marino, Marra, Murphy,. Matthews, O'Neill,
Pierce, Rawley, ~euland, Rich, Rohrs, Ryan, Shiels; Smithers, Staab, Terlaak, Tobin, Vejar, \Volfe, Wunsch, Zoss.
..,,,.-·.
A new syste111 of practice was introduced to Freshman
football men this fall by Coaches Tommy Mills and Bill
Jones. In former· years, the Frosh had been employed
largely as ufall guys" for the varsity. Each week they
would learn the play of the enemy that scouts had brought
home, and, after mastering these formations as well as
possible in a week's time, they would scrimmage with the
varsity.
Time showed this to be not only a bad thing for the
yearlings, ·but now and then unfortunate for _the varsity.
The green-jersied lads could not organize their team play
effectively enough to make any sort of headway against
their older and more powerful colleagues, mimy were injured
on jumbled· signals, and the varsity did not get the
opposition it wanted-at least on defense.
\Vhen the big boys took the ball; however, a different
story was told; the varsity got more resistance than it could
handle! Even today you hear stories on the campus· about
how Torn Kassis wanted to clean up on All-American Bud
Boeringer, and how Dick Donoghue outplayed the whole
varsity line before the Army game of 1926, when they
were in their first year.
So this fall, Tommy and Bill kept their Freshmen over
in a secluded corner of Cartier practice field and let them
turn their vigor into other channels. They drilled on
fundamentals; men who played full-back in high school
merely because they were big, were shifted to tackle if
they belonged there, the Notre Dame style of play was
taught the men, and in general, they prepared for spring
practice when they will' themselves be varsity material.
Some 200 men reported this fall when practice started
and immediately they were put to work preparing for the
annual fall classic known as the Freshman-Varsity game.
\Vith but a week· to organize these 200 lads from Hollywood
to Naugatuck, the Freshman coaches were unable to
make much of a classic of this contest and the varsity
ran up a 96 to 0 score. The rapid improvement in the
Frosh ranks and the judicious weeding-out that Mills and
Jones engineered in a week's time were shown in a second
game ·when the varsity, too, was better organized, but
which it. won by only a 72 to 0 score, making 36 points
in the last quarter against the tired yearlings. In both
these games individuals stood out who later were to distinguish
themselves as real material for Coach ··Rockne to
usc next year. .
They had distinguished . themselves quickly, too,· for
the squad was shaved to a mere 80 in short order. These
seven-odd squads were put to work right away on fundamentals.
They learned Navy and Drake plays for use in
scrimmage against the varsity, but otherwise ·went
through much the same routine as the varsity itself.
The number of real football players who came to light
during the fall speaks well for next season's prospects. A
pair of smart, inspiring quarter-backs were found in Herb
D'Avignon, who prepped at Mt. Assumption Institute,
Foust, N. Y., and Laurrie Vejar, from Hollywood high, at
the other end of the continent.
Steve Banas, a native Hoosier, is in a fair way to step
into Jack Elder's well-worn shoes next fall at left half,
and Roger Beirne from Peddie Prep, Hightstown, N. J.,
showed the left ends who will return that he is not to be
taken lightly. A brace of Badgers are John Tobin, of
Janesville, and Fritz Staab, of Madison, who did big
things at right half and full-back, respectively.
Don Hanley, who came over the mountains from Butte,
Mont., where men arc-well, we· won'~ say it-will also