1988 national champion Wes Pritchett welcomes alma mater Notre Dame to Atlanta

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Memories 36 years in the making are all coming back to Wes Pritchett this week.

The Georgia boy who played his high school football at Westminster found a home in South Bend, Indiana – and the rest is history.

The leading tackler on the last Notre Dame team to win it all won’t have to go very far to see his Irish play on Monday night.

“It’s something that I think will mean more to me later down the road,” Pritchett said. “I’m in it right now and I’m old enough to realize stars align only so many times in your life.”

Pritchett, Frank Stams and Mike Stonebreaker were the cornerstones on that 1988 team – or as they’re known around South Bend – “the three amigos.”

“We just had a lot of fun and it ends up that we were pretty good football players too,” Pritchett said. “We had players, we played hard, but when we walked out on the field, we knew that we were going to be the toughest team out there and we were going to punch you in the face.”

Nearly 40 years later, it’s that same spirit that makes them pretty big fans of this year’s “amigos.”

“You can feel the passion in the way those guys played,” Pritchett said. “It reminds all of the guys on the 1988 team of how we felt.”

If something could be more special than playing for a national title, for “Pritch,” Monday night will be.

“To have that opportunity in Atlanta, where I live and where I grew up, where my children have been to a million games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and to have the ability to host Coach Holtz and the players I played with, it’s going to be really special,” Pritchett said.

And if it’s anything like 1988, the Irish have a pretty good shot, too.

“I think the Irish will play physical, they’ll keep it close, and it’ll be a lot like the Penn State game,” Pritchett said. “We’ll get a late turnover and win by a field goal. I think Notre Dame wins 27-24.”

Notre Dame and Ohio State face off in the 2025 National Championship on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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