Reincarnation?

Look at this picture. Who do you think this is? What if I told you this was taken prior to this player becoming a QB for Notre Dame. Do you see it now? Could this be a stock photo of Joe Montana in his high school days? Actually this is Joe's oldest son Nate Montana! Look at that guy - he is a CLONE of his father!!! In any case, Notre Dame invited Nate to join the football team as an invited walk-on next season. Nate will be hitting the practice field for the Irish in 2008.

First off, I think this is really cool. Notre Dame is a special place, and this is a classic example of the often talked about "Notre Dame Family." In light of our #1 incoming recruiting class, Weis still has the class to find a place for the son of a legendary former player. I hope any recruits still on the fence about Notre Dame take notice!

Next, and I think I may need some Dad input on this, his situation seems eerily similar to his father's coming into ND. He is a modestly rated high school QB. He plays for a great school, but hasn't cracked the starting spot. He comes to Notre Dame with no expectations, and will be a backup QB unless he gets some fortunate opportunity. Isn't that how his dad got his chance? I wouldn't bet on it, but I think we may someday see Nate Montana take the field for the Irish in a meaningful situation. I'll leave it at that.

By the way, this was the only non-helmeted picture of Joe I could find from his college days as a comparison. But I don't think anyone would even need to compare!