(Photo: Andy Altenburger/Icon Sportswire)
Legends of the Fighting Irish Preview Era
Jeff Samardzija had a choice most athletes can only dream about. He could pursue a career in the National Football League or take his chances in Major League Baseball. He was good enough to do either, and for a time at Notre Dame, he was doing both.
One of the most electrifying receivers in Notre Dame history, Samardzija became a two-time All-American catching passes from Brady Quinn before walking away from football to pursue a professional baseball career that lasted 13 seasons. It’s a remarkable story, and a fitting place to begin our new All-Time Irish Hero series celebrating the greatest players of the Fighting Irish Preview era.
From Valparaiso to Notre Dame
Jeff Samardzija grew up just down the road from Notre Dame. Born in Merrillville and raised in Valparaiso, he was one of those rare athletes who seemed capable of excelling at just about anything. Football, baseball, basketball, soccer, even hockey. There wasn’t much he couldn’t do on an athletic field.
Notre Dame was certainly familiar territory. Samardzija had watched the Irish on television and attended games growing up, although he wasn’t one of those kids who dreamed of wearing the gold helmet from the time he could walk. In fact, he later admitted he didn’t really have a favorite college football team.
But there was a more personal reason Notre Dame became an attractive option. Samardzija lost his mother, Debora, while he was in high school, and that tragedy changed how he thought about going away to college. Staying closer to home mattered. Notre Dame also offered something few schools could match: the opportunity to compete at a high level in both football and baseball. Michigan and Purdue were in the picture, but South Bend ultimately won out.
When Samardzija arrived in 2003, he was a 6-foot-5 athlete with plenty of ability, although nobody was quite sure how good he might become. Baseball provided the first indication. He earned Freshman All-America honors as a pitcher, while his football career got off to a considerably slower start. In his first two seasons, he caught a grand total of 24 passes.
Then Charlie Weis arrived in 2005 and opened up the Notre Dame offense in a big way. Brady Quinn flourished in the new passing attack, and Samardzija was perfectly suited to take advantage of it. At 6-foot-5, with outstanding hands and deceptive speed, he gave Quinn a big, reliable target who could also make spectacular plays downfield. Almost overnight, that tall kid from Valparaiso went from a little-used receiver to one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in college football.
The Emergence of the Shark
Samardzija’s breakout season in 2005 was nothing short of spectacular. After catching just 24 passes in his first two seasons combined, he exploded for 77 receptions, 1,249 yards and 15 touchdowns, setting Notre Dame single-season records for receiving yards and touchdown receptions while tying the school record for catches. He scored a touchdown in each of Notre Dame’s first eight games, another school record, and earned consensus All-America honors.
At 6-foot-5, Samardzija was a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators. Put a smaller cornerback on him, and Quinn could simply throw the ball up and let him use his height, strength and remarkable hands to make the catch. Try a bigger, more physical defender, and Samardzija had the speed and athleticism to get behind him. He could make the spectacular catch in traffic, stretch the field vertically or turn a routine completion into a touchdown. And with Maurice Stovall creating problems on the opposite side, defenses couldn’t simply devote all their attention to stopping the Shark.
The results were remarkable. He caught three touchdown passes against Michigan State, hauled in 10 passes for 154 yards and two scores against BYU, and burned Stanford for an 80-yard touchdown reception. Week after week, opponents knew where Quinn wanted to go with the football. Knowing it and stopping it were two entirely different things.
And then there was the nickname. Samardzija’s teammates originally called him “Shark Face,” a reference to his appearance. Fortunately for him, that eventually became simply “The Shark.” It was a nickname that stuck, and one Notre Dame fans would remember long after his playing days were over.
The Shark’s Encore
Samardzija returned in 2006 and proved his remarkable junior season was no fluke. He caught 78 passes for 1,017 yards and 12 touchdowns, becoming the first Notre Dame player to record multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons. He earned consensus All-America honors for the second consecutive year and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award in both 2005 and 2006.
But if there’s one play that defines Samardzija’s Notre Dame career, it might be what happened against UCLA in October 2006. The Irish trailed 17–13 in the final minute, and the Bruins appeared to have victory firmly in their grasp. Then Brady Quinn found Samardzija across the middle, and the Shark did the rest, racing into the end zone for the winning touchdown with just 27 seconds remaining. In a matter of seconds, Notre Dame had snatched victory from what appeared to be almost certain defeat.
I was in Notre Dame Stadium that afternoon, and the eruption from the crowd was unforgettable. One moment, the Irish were staring at a crushing home loss. The next, the place was going absolutely crazy. Twenty years later, that play is still talked about, and with good reason. It remains one of the signature moments of the Charlie Weis era and a reminder of just how dangerous Samardzija could be with the football in his hands.
He finished his Notre Dame football career with 179 receptions, 2,593 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns, all school career records at the time. But as impressive as those numbers were, the most consequential decision of his athletic career was still ahead.
Football or Baseball?
While Samardzija was rewriting Notre Dame’s receiving records, he was also building an impressive résumé on the baseball diamond. A talented right-handed pitcher, he finished his Irish baseball career with a 21–6 record and a 3.82 earned-run average. The Chicago Cubs selected him in the fifth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, and he began his professional baseball career while completing his senior football season.
By the time his Notre Dame football career ended, Samardzija was projected as a first-round NFL Draft pick. But he had another opportunity that was every bit as intriguing. The Cubs offered him a five-year, $10 million contract to become a full-time professional pitcher. For most athletes, passing up a potential first-round NFL selection would have been unthinkable. For Samardzija, the decision ultimately came down to which sport he loved most.
Years later, he recalled flipping a coin to help make up his mind. It landed on football, and he was immediately disappointed. That reaction told him everything he needed to know. When he announced his decision in January 2007, he put it simply: “But playing baseball is my first love. It is what I want to do for a living.”
Samardzija believed he had a higher ceiling in baseball, and he wanted to find out just how good he could become by devoting himself entirely to pitching. He was walking away from an opportunity most college football players would give anything to have, but he wasn’t walking away from a dream. He was choosing the one he wanted most.
Thirteen Seasons in the Major Leagues
Samardzija made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs in July 2008 and went on to enjoy a 13-season career that included stops with the Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants. He earned All-Star honors in 2014 and finished with 80 victories and 1,449 strikeouts.
Not bad for a guy who could have made a pretty good living catching touchdown passes on Sundays. Samardzija had walked away from a potential first-round NFL career and proved he could compete at the highest level in an entirely different sport. The Shark had made the right choice.
An Irish Hero From the Fighting Irish Preview Era
Jeff Samardzija’s place in Notre Dame football history is secure. He arrived in South Bend as a talented but largely unproven receiver and left as a two-time consensus All-American who had rewritten the school’s receiving record book. Alongside Brady Quinn, Maurice Stovall and a talented Irish offense, he helped bring Notre Dame football back into the national spotlight during the Charlie Weis years.
Twenty years later, the numbers are impressive, but it’s the memories that endure. The spectacular catches, the touchdowns, the comeback against UCLA and the unmistakable sight of No. 83 making another big play. Samardzija was one of those players who could change a game in an instant, and Notre Dame was fortunate to have him.
He could have played professional football. Instead, he chose baseball and proved he could excel at the highest level in both sports. But for Notre Dame fans, he’ll always be the Shark, one of the most exciting receivers ever to wear the blue and gold, and unquestionably an All-Time Irish Hero and legend of the Fighting Irish Preview era.