Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 SEPT. 16, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Notre Dame graduate student receiver Matt Salerno is out for the foreseeable future, head coach Marcus Freeman said during his weekly press conference Sept. 4. Salerno suffered a lower leg injury during Notre Dame's 56-3 win over Tennessee State Sept. 2. "He will be out for an extended period of time," Freeman said. "Multiple weeks. I don't know when he'll be back, but he definitely got injured in the game." Salerno played only 7 snaps against Ten- nessee State. He played 11 in against Navy Aug. 26, catching 1 pass for 9 yards from graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman. Salerno also returned 2 punts for 21 yards against Tennessee State. After beginning his Notre Dame career as a walk-on from Valencia (Calif.) Crespi Carmelite in 2018, the Irish placed him on scholarship in January 2022. Salerno has become valu- able depth at the field receiver position behind sophomore Tobias Merriweather, sharing the second-string role with freshman Rico Flores Jr. Salerno first started to earn playing time as a punt returner in 2020, returning 12 for 45 yards. He emerged as a viable receiver in 2022, catching 5 passes for 62 yards throughout the season, including a jug- gling catch for 31 against Ohio State Sept. 3. Salerno caught his first career touchdown in a 44-0 win over Boston College Nov. 19. He was the No. 2 punt returner last season behind safety Brandon Joseph, who left for the NFL Draft after the season. Senior wide receiver Chris Tyree won the punt returner job out of fall camp this year, but Salerno got a couple reps late in Week 1. Salerno emerged from fall camp firmly in the Notre Dame wide receiver rotation. Wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey said he had a good month of August at practice. With Salerno out, Notre Dame will rely on Merriweather, Flores, Tyree, freshman Jaden Greathouse, junior Deion Colzie and junior Jayden Thomas all slightly more than they had before. Freeman made it a point to shout out Thomas for his performance through two games, in which he was Notre Dame's leading receiver with 8 catches for 125 yards. — Jack Soble FORMER NOTRE DAME TIGHT END KYLE RUDOLPH RETIRES FROM NFL News broke Sept. 4 that former Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph, who played 12 seasons in the NFL, would be retiring from the NFL. Rudolph informed NBC Sports' Peter King of his decision, and the for- mer Minnesota Vikings (2011-20), New York Giants (2021) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2022) tight end is jumping right into the media side of things. He will work as a Big Ten analyst for Peacock and co-host a Sunday night show on FOX Sports radio this fall, per the NFL Network. "I played for so long and earned a veteran status," Rudolph told King. "Now I'm a rookie getting as many reps as I can in the media world. This offseason is about, 'Where do I fit in?' The NBC job do- ing games on Peacock is cool. And talking about the storylines of the day in the NFL on Sunday nights will be cool, too." Rudolph informed NFL reporter Jordan Schultz that he would be retiring as a member of the Minnesota Vikings organization and will be honored during Week 3 of the NFL season. Rudolph had 482 receptions for 4,773 yards with 50 touchdowns in 165 career NFL games. Signing with Notre Dame in the 2008 class out of Cincinnati Elder, Rudolph ranked as the No. 2 tight end and No. 33 overall player nationally. He had an outstanding career with the Fighting Irish and is a big part of why Notre Dame has a claim for "Tight End U." Rudolph caught 90 passes for 1,032 yards with 8 touchdowns across three seasons. — Mike Singer JOE ALT MAKES MEL KIPER'S 2024 NFL DRAFT BIG BOARD College football season is officially under- way, and hundreds of players nationwide will look to play themselves into NFL Draft selections. Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt is no exception. The 6-foot-7⅝, 322-pound Alt has a head start on his NFL Draft trajectory, at least ac- cording to ESPN football analyst Mel Kiper Jr. Kiper ranked Alt as the No. 7 draft-eligi- ble prospect in his preseason big board in late August. "He rarely gets caught out and mirrors well in pass protection, adjusting easily to secondary moves from edge rushers," Kiper said. "He does a great job keeping his huge frame between the defender and his quar- terback." Kiper ranked Alt as his No. 2 offensive tackle behind Penn State standout Olumuy- iwa Fashanu. He ranked 25 players in order, including his top six prospects at each posi- tion. Notre Dame's Audric Estimé checked in as the No. 6 running back. — Kyle Kelly MATT SALERNO SIDELINED FOR MULTIPLE WEEKS Salerno, a graduate student wide receiver and punt returner, injured his leg versus Tennessee State Sept. 2 and will be out for an extended period of time. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Rudolph, who played for the Irish from 2008-10, retired from the NFL after 12 seasons. PHOTO COURTESY MINNESOTA VIKINGS