The "more experienced" visitors to the NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG will remember Tom Clements famous pass to Robin Weber out of his endzone to seal the victory for the Irish over Alabama (and Bear Bryant) in the 1973 Sugar Bowl - and Ara's last National Championship! Before earning All-American honors and finishing fourth in the Hesiman Trophy voting his senior year - Clements chose a Notre Dame football scholarship over a North Carolina basketball scholarship -- and Irish fans are glad he did! These days, Clements roams the sidelines of the Green Bay Packers as their QB Coach -- a role he's had for the past five years in Green Bay. Clements had a "cup of coffee" as a QB in the NFL -- a third stringer in 1980 for the Kansas City Chiefs -- but he tore it up in the Canadian Football League. Tom was drafted by the Ottawa Rough Riders out of Notre Dame and he was named Rookie of the Year in his inaugural season. He went on to play 13 seasons in the CFL, leading the Rough Riders to their last Grey Cup Championship (the CFL's Super Bowl) and being named one of the "50 All Time Greats" in the modern-era of the Canadian Football League. Clements returned to Notre Dame "a couple of times" since his graduation -- the first time was in the "off-seasons" during his CFL days when he attended Notre Dame Law School. He earned his Law degree from Notre Dame in 1986, graduating magna cum laude. Clements was a practicing attorney for five years after retiring from the CFL -- but, Lou Holtz changed that when he hired Tom as his QB coach in 1992. Tom coached at Notre Dame until 1995 -- after which he went back to practicing law for a year or so, before joining the New Orleans Saints in 1997 as their QB coach. Since then, Clements has coached for the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills and now the Packers. Here's a video clip of Clements pass to Weber in the Sugar Bowl and a second video of highlights from the National Championship game -- A MUST SEE -- you'll hear the infamous voice of Howard Cosell calling the action -- I forgot he worked college football games:
CLEMENTS TO WEBER
HIGHLIGHTS OF 1973 SUGAR BOWL
