Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ing a top-end guy every down." Snaring at least 50 passes — with a fair share of touchdowns — should not be an unreasonable aspiration for Daniels in 2013. Niklas' eight career starts (seven at tight end) are the most on offense in the junior class. He was the top in-line tight end last year while John Mackey Award-recipient Eifert would line up wide in an effort to create mismatches. There was an adjustment to blocking in space (especially against Stanford) for the former outside linebacker, but the 6-7, 260-pound Niklas' wheelhouse was helping create physical mayhem inside. To pigeonhole him as strictly a "blocking tight end" would be inaccurate, even though some football scouts believed that offensive left tackle would be Niklas' "first-round position." His first two catches last season — 29 yards versus Navy and 30 yards against Purdue — demonstrated that he also can be fluid and mobile, especially with the drag pattern. In this spring's Blue-Gold Game, he set up two different scores with 22- and 24-yard catches in downfield traffic, the latter while timing and coming back for the ball while blanketed by linebacker Ishaq Williams. "Is he going to become the next Eifert?" Martin asked rhetorically. "No. But you'd like to think he's more responsible in the passing game and more dependable in the passing game, and we're already seeing that." Think of it similar to the progress Jones made last year at wideout. He wasn't asked to be Floyd, but he elevated his game enough to aid Notre 2,591 yards (17 yards per catch) and 28 touchdowns in his prep career. Koyack had that kind of pass-catching potential or background like Eifert — but that's not the role the coaching staff needed from him in 2012. To facilitate the ground attack, the Notre Dame offense required the classic tight end figure lined up next to the offensive tackle and serving as a blocker who could establish the edge. Niklas was more comfortable with that role; Koyack, not so much. With Eifert now in the NFL and Niklas starting in the more traditional in-line tight end role, it is the 6-5, 253-pound Koyack who could be utilized as the "swing" tight end, though not in the every-play mode the far more established Eifert had. During the spring, Koyack often lined up at slot receiver, which was also shared by other rangy or bulkier receiving candidates such as senior Daniel Smith (6-4, 213) and sophomore C.J. Prosise (6‑1, 220). Koyack has the ability to create some mismatches with either the running or passing game. "I would not put him in a category with Tyler Eifert in terms of his ability to push vertically and ball skills," head coach Brian Kelly said of Koyack the week before spring practice ended. "But he's certainly a guy that's very capable of running option routes and a lot of the inside combination routes. We never played Eifert where Ben is right now. Where we have him, we believe that he can help us in that inside slot position. "He's had a really good three weeks. It's good to see him having fun and smiling. He's feeling good about himself. He's a big, strong kid that we always believed was an outstanding pass catcher. He struggled a little bit with his confidence and I think you're seeing that confidence come back." If Koyack can continue his progression as a blocker, he just might become an integral part of the 2013 offense. — Lou Somogyi