Notre Dame Football: Marc Edwards and Julius Jones Highlights

If you've followed Notre Dame football over the past few years, you're aware that a priority has been made in recruiting players from NFL bloodlines.

The likes of NFL greats Jerome Bettis, Larry Fitzgerald, Palxico Burress, Bryant Young, and several others have seen their sons commit to and play for Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish in recent years.

This past week, Notre Dame football legacies were very much in the news.

It started when star Florida high school running back Xander Edwards, son of former Fighting Irish fullback Marc, was offered a scholarship.

It continued the next day when the sons of former Notre Dame running back great Julius Jones, Julius Jr. and Andre, both committed to the Fighting Irish.

Now, those accomplishments on their own are worth celebrating. Young men putting in endless work that's required to earn a scholarship or be able to play college football at Notre Dame is no joke. I'm not taking anything away from those three, but can we take a moment to briefly celebrate both dads?

I feel like those a bit younger than me hear "oh, his dad played at Notre Dame, too!" and don't realize just how good Edwards or Jones were in blue and gold - so let's take just a few minutes and relive those days.

Marc Edwards at Notre Dame

Personally, I was the perfect age for Marc Edwards to be one of my favorite Notre Dame football players of all-time.

A hard-nosed fullback that would bulldoze anything in his path, I don't think there was a player during my youth that better represented the physical brand of football Notre Dame has (usually) branded itself with for decades.

In total, Edwards ran for 1,591 yards and 27 touchdowns during his time at Notre Dame. He hauled in 46 receptions for another 598 yards and five additional touchdowns as well, before going onto a nine-year NFL career that saw him be part of a Super Bowl championship team with the New England Patriots.

I think I speak for many around my age, that Edwards played a significant role in me becoming a Notre Dame football fan.

Julius Jones at Notre Dame

While Edwards was the hard-nosed grinder, Julius Jones was a fairly rare star during mostly dark times for the Fighting Irish.

Jones showed signs of stardom in his freshman year of 1999 and took things to the next level in 2000. That year he totaled eight touchdowns, including a kickoff return for a touchdown against then-No. 1 Nebraska.

To this day, his 3,018 career rushing yards remain the sixth-most in the history of Notre Dame football, and his 262 rushing yards in an upset at Pittsburgh in 2003 remain the most ever by a Fighting Irish player in a single game.

Here's to hoping the sons of these two see the "Team Glory" that the two fathers were unfortunately unable to experience in blue and gold.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/notredame as Notre Dame Football: Marc Edwards and Julius Jones Highlights.

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This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 12:53 PM.