Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 15, 2022 29 ENGEL'S ANGLE PATRICK ENGEL Patrick Engel has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since March 2020. He can be reached at pengel@blueandgold.com M ichael Mayer didn't know he was on the cusp of Notre Dame history. Nor did he expect to be honored in the manner he was when he reached it. Shortly after his 24-yard touchdown reception put him in sole possession of the program record for career catches by a tight end — unbeknownst to him in the moment — the video board at Allegiant Stadium showed him on the sideline with a graphic recognizing the accomplish- ment. His name sat atop the list, with 141 catches. Tyler Eifert, who had been in that spot since 2012, was now one below him. Mayer noticed it as the crowd cheered and the PA announcer read the number, acknowledging by nodding and placing the palms his hands together as if he were praying. "Went back, sat on the bench and saw me up on the screen," Mayer said. "Very, very grateful." That was it. Back to work. He had plenty more to do. Five more catches and another touchdown, specifically. The final tallies: 11 receptions, 118 yards, 2 scores (and 146 career catches). Those 11 grabs were the most by an Irish tight end in one game. Most importantly to Mayer, Notre Dame beat No. 16 BYU 28-20 for its third straight win. In a long line of standout games in his 2.5 seasons, this one might have been Mayer's best. Statistically, it's nearly impossible to debate. He was 2 yards off his career high and posted the second multi-touchdown game of his career. But it was more than that. He beat good defense. He punished bad defense. He made catches when everyone in the stadium knew he was quarterback Drew Pyne's preferred option. He accounted for half of Pyne's completions and had five third-down conversions. He car- ried the load for a passing offense that is improving by the week. "He's kind of uncoverable," Pyne said. That's the simplest explanation of why Mayer now owns a notable tight end record at a school with a rich tight end history. He needed just 29 career games to pass Eifert's mark. He had al- ready cemented his name among the Irish's all-time greats at the position. Breaking the receptions record was a matter of which game he would do it in, not if he could. His case as Notre Dame's best-ever tight end, though, now has one helluva stat to support it. There are certain players who make you watch every game and every snap because you know they could produce a new highlight at any time. From Lujack to Rocket to Hornung, Notre Dame has had plenty of them. Mayer is the latest. Any play could be his next hurdle, ankle- breaking route or catch with a defender draped over him. He foils initial defensive game plans and ruins the adjustments. In a season that lost its chance to play for a title after two weeks, Mayer is a reason to stay glued to every game no matter what unfolds from here. Forget concerns about what a tight end being a team's best receiving option means for its offense and enjoy him while he's still here. Notre Dame won't let his presence to go waste, even if it can't lead his team to a College Football Playoff berth. "The thing we love about Michael Mayer is that he's the hardest worker," head coach Marcus Freeman said. "When your best player is your hardest worker, that's the greatest example you can have for young guys and the whole team. "He's not a finished product. He understands that and he wants to be pushed. He's one of those great ones that doesn't want to be told what he does well. Tell me how I can improve. That's what makes him special." It's also what helps him produce every week despite opponents starting game prep thinking of how to defend No. 87. Physical gifts are part of that too, of course. There aren't many 6-foot-4, 265-pound players with Mayer's quick- ness and agility. Those traits can thwart any scheme or beat sound coverage. Combine it with his study and prepa- ration habits, and the result is usually unguardable. "What you see is Mayer knowing he's going to be single or double covered," Freeman said. "He still has a plan. If a guy is going to play that outside lever- age, he has a plan to break the leverage. "The guys trying to become great players just have to figure out what to do. The ones that are the great players like Michael Mayer, they say, 'I know what the defense is going to do. How do I still find a way to win?'" The same question applies to offen- sive coordinator Tommy Rees, who has to defeat plans that center on Mayer and must ensure Notre Dame's best player isn't schemed out of a game. He's no small part in Mayer's record. The plays where Mayer is wide open are a credit to him, even if it's difficult to understand how any defense loses track of him. "No matter what the defense is doing, at a certain part of the game Coach Rees will set me up to make a big play," Mayer said. "I have to be there to make the big play, and Drew has to be there to make the big throw. That just really happened 11 times tonight." How many times it happens in the next seven games will determine where Notre Dame's suddenly resurgent sea- son goes as much as anything else. That's seldom true about a tight end. But it's the case with all-time greats. ✦ Michael Mayer now has more career catches than any tight end to ever play for Notre Dame after an 11-grab outing vs. BYU. PHOTO BY DAVID BECKER Mayer Cements His Place Among Irish Greats