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Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State only 58 days away

On3 imageby:Todd Burlage•07/07/22•

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The countdown to the Notre Dame vs. Ohio State reaches 58 days with a look at underrated Irish linebacker Steve Heimkreiter. (Courtesy Notre Dame athletics)

To preview one of the most anticipated games for Notre Dame this century and the official start of the Marcus Freeman era, BlueandGold.com is counting down the days to the matchup against Ohio State on Sept. 3.

This daily series of 99 stories celebrates by the numbers some of the most notable names, dates, moments and memories related to the past and present of Notre Dame football. 

Today, with 58 days remaining until kickoff, we look at former Irish linebacker Steve Heimkreiter, the fourth-leading tackler in Irish history.

Heimkreiter wore the No. 58 Notre Dame jersey from 1975-78. 

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Unheralded and underrated

If an All-Underrated team was ever assembled for Notre Dame, Heimkreiter might be the first player selected for it. 

Far from a household name among the Fighting Irish greats, Heimkreiter’s 398 career tackles — not including the stats from three bowl games he played in — remain fourth on the all-time list. 

Only Bob Crable (521), Bob Golic (479) and Manti Te’o (437) have more. 

Known for his blue-collar toughness, “Kritter” in 1975 was part of the first recruiting class assembled by head coach Dan Devine. 

Heimkreiter played sparingly that year because of injury and the bust-out performance of Golic, who recorded 82 tackles that season, which remains the standard for an Irish freshman. 

Lining up next to Golic in 1976 on a Notre Dame defense that set a school record for consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown (21), Heimkreiter led the team with 118 tackles while Golic recorded 99. 

On the 1977 national championship team, Heimkreiter made 98 tackles, while Golic paced the Irish that year with 146 stops. 

And as a senior in 1978, Heimkreiter recorded a remarkable 160 tackles, a single-season record at the time that Crable broke a year later with 187 stops. 

Not blessed with prototypical size or speed, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Heimkreiter leaned on a combination of instincts and ferocity to succeed. 

“I could read the offense pretty quickly, and that first step is key,” Heimkreiter explained to Lou Somogyi in an earlier story for Blue & Gold Illustrated. 

Life after Notre Dame

Heimkreiter became an eighth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Colts in 1979 and spent three full seasons there before suffering a career-ending head injury in 1982 during an exhibition game.

“I made a tackle and got knocked out instantly,” Heimkreiter said. “Back then they had Nike air helmets and there wasn’t proper air in my helmet. I ended up having a seizure that next Wednesday. I wound up with epilepsy, and basically, the doctor said I couldn’t play anymore.”

Heimkreiter recovered from his injury and returned to good health. Then, for more than three decades, he worked in fundraising as the CEO for Special Events Incorporated in his hometown of Cincinnati. 

His obituary noted that Heimkreiter “genuinely loved and cared for all his employees, they were his extended family.”

Sadly, Heimkreiter was unable to win a later battle against cancer and he died in 2020 at the age of 63.

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