Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1133608
BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 73 TIGHT ENDS NOTABLE DATA Notre Dame is the true "Tight End U." for a reason. Every Fighting Irish tight end who has started an opener the past 15 years has been drafted by the NFL: Anthony Fasano (2004-05), John Carlson (2006-07) and Kyle Rudolph (2008-10) each in the second round, Tyler Eifert (2011-12) in the first, Troy Niklas (2013) in the second, Ben Koyack (2014) in the seventh, Durham Smythe (2015-17) in the fourth and Alizé Mack this spring in the seventh. That doesn't even include luminaries the previous 30 years such as Hall of Famer Dave Casper in the second round (1974), plus Ken MacAfee (1978), Tony Hunter (1983), Derek Brown (1992) and Irv Smith (1993) in the first. Then there is even Pro Bowl figure Mark Bavaro (1985) in the fourth, among many other future NFL players from 1990 through 2004 such as Oscar McBride, Pete Chryplewicz, Dan O'Leary, Jabari Holloway, John Owens and Jerome Collins. 2018 VS. 2019: STOCK UP OR DOWN? Notre Dame took a big hit from an experience standpoint when Alizé Mack de- parted for the NFL and Nic Weishar exhausted his eligibility. During their careers, the duo totaled 2,222 snaps, 86 receptions, 844 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Despite Mack's consistency woes, he finished his career seventh all time in receptions (68) by an Irish tight end. Just 18 career receptions return to the lineup, but the talent level remains high. Juniors Cole Kmet and Brock Wright were top-100 recruits coming out of high school, and both have been part of the rotation each of the last two seasons. Kmet is the alpha figure and Wright is steady. The improved perfor- mance of sophomores Tommy Tremble and George Takacs creates even more confidence at the position heading into the fall. X-FACTOR Much optimism from the staff surrounds sophomore Tommy Tremble, an athletic pass catcher who brings impressive vertical speed to the position. Regardless, junior Cole Kmet is the true X-Factor on the 2019 tight end unit. Kmet showed flashes last season, hauling in 15 passes for 162 yards and leading the offense in catch rate (83.3 percent). He possesses pro- totype size (6-5½, 255), demonstrates strong athletic traits for a player of his stature, and catches the ball extremely well. He must improve as a blocker, but Kmet should boost the pass game production. FRESHMAN OUTLOOK Landing Tommy Tremble and George Takacs in the 2018 group and picking up two excellent early commitments in the 2020 class (Kentucky's Michael Mayer and New Jersey's Kevin Bauman, Rivals' No. 3- and No. 4-ranked tight ends in the country, respectively) caused Notre Dame to pass on tight ends in the 2019 recruiting cycle. Plus Tremble and Takacs preserved a year of eligibility last year, meaning they both could play through the 2022 season. Tremble runs like a wide receiver, and that was on full display during the spring when he consis- tently beat the Notre Dame safeties and linebackers down the field. Takacs is more of a throwback tight end, but his size and athleticism combination is intriguing. SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS (4) Listed after the class year is the years of eligi- bility remaining. 84 Cole Kmet (6-5½, 255), Jr./2 89 Brock Wright (6-4½, 250), Jr./2 24 Tommy Tremble (6-3, 237), So./4 85 George Takacs (6-6, 255), So./4 DID YOU KNOW? Far better known as Notre Dame's offensive coordinator and play caller, Chip Long also hap- pens to have tight ends as his position group. That's unusual for a coordinator, who often also mentors the quarterbacks. However, Long also was a four-time mono- gram winner as a 2002-05 tight end at North Alabama and began coaching that specific posi- tion group as a 2008 graduate assistant at the University of Arkansas. Notre Dame tight ends combined for only 12 receptions in 2016 — the fewest at the position since 2001 when they had eight. Long took over the next year and the figures rose to 45 in 2017 and 56 last year. QUOTABLE: JUNIOR TIGHT END BROCK WRIGHT ON HIS MUCH MORE STREAMLINED BODY THAT SAW HIM GO FROM 260 POUNDS LAST FALL TO 250 THIS SPRING: "In the previous years I was a little bit stiff, so I thought maybe if I could lose the weight and get a more flexible I'd be able to move better and do more things on the field." Primarily a blocker his first two seasons, junior Brock Wright is looking to expand his snaps and overall game. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA