South Bend -ÊTwo old acquaintances met each other for the first time since September of 1977 this past weekend at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Notre Dame's Ross Browner and Purdue's Jim Young were inducted Saturday.

While at Notre Dame, defensive end Ross Browner was one of the most decorated linemen in the history of college football. Browner was a two-time All-American and also earned the Outland Trophy as the nation's most outstanding interior lineman. Browner was also voted the Lombardi Award winner as well as the Maxwell Award as the most outstanding football player in the nation.

Jim Young coached Arizona (1973-1976), Purdue (1977-1981), and Army (1983-1990) to a 120-71-2 (.627) record. While at Purdue, Young led the Boilermakers to a 38-19-1 record and won three bowl games.

But what brought the two together for the first time was a game played between Notre Dame and Purdue, "the game that turned Joe Montana's unknown career into a career" as Browner described it.

Notre Dame was trailing the Boilers by 10 with only a quarter to play when Boiler linebacker Fred Arrington changed the course of the 1977 season. Irish quarterback Gary Forystek rolled out and was crushed by Arrington to the point of breaking a vertebra, thus dotting the i's and crossing the t's to his bad day.

At this point, Browner recalls, "We as players just went up to the coach and said hey it is time for a change."

Notre Dame went on to win the game and the National Championship, the second in Browner's career (Notre Dame also won the 1973 championship, Browner's freshman year).

Young spun his yarn on the contest.

"Fred Arrington made one of the best hits I have ever seen. It shocked our defense because we lost our momentum there (the game was stopped for five minutes to tend to Forystek). I was at Arizona the prior years and knew nothing about Montana. But I always said, if Arrington hadn't made that hit, we might have won the game and Montana might not have made the comeback."

Aside from the two Indiana college inductees, Herschel Walker, Billy Kilmer, Willie Lanier and John Hannah took their place in South Bend.

Walker was arguably the greatest running back in the history of college football. While at Georgia, his Bulldogs compiled a 33-3 record in just three seasons, winning the National Championship in 1980 with a 17-10 Sugar Bowl win over Notre Dame.

Walker recalls that game. "I dislocated my shoulder in the first quarter, but no way was I coming out. We should have lost that game."

Walker was referring to Georgia only completing one pass the entire game, but Walker was voted MVP of the Sugar Bowl by gaining 150 yards on 36 carries, most of which with a dislocated shoulder.

Walker left Georgia a year early to go to the United States Football League, enticed by a multi-million dollar contract. Walker's decision was literally decided by the flip of a coin.

"I never really liked football," he said, "I liked track, so I flipped a coin to go to the USFL, which was the best decision of my life."

Along with Walker, who had a long and productive career in the National Football League, John Hannah joined Walker in South Bend.

Hannah was a two-time All-American at Alabama and had a Hall of Fame career with the New England Patriots.

Willie Lanier, like Hannah, is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lanier spent his entire career with the Kansas City Chiefs. But Lanier first gained recognition at Morgan State as a star in the state of Maryland.

Billy Kilmer, best known for his quarterbacking days as a Washington Redskin, was inducted as a tailback at UCLA from 1958-1960. In 1960, Kilmer led the Bruins in rushing, passing, total offense, scoring, and punting. Kilmer had a 12-year NFL career. [[In-content Ad]]