Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 OCT. 26, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE M inding his own business during pregame warmups before a date with the Jacksonville Jaguars in London Oct. 13, fifth-year Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet received some unex- pected news from special teams coor- dinator Richard Hightower. "Hey Cole, Scott's hurt," Hightower said, according to Chicago Sun-Times reporter Jason Lieser. "Tyler Scott?" Kmet responded, re- ferring to a backup Bears wide receiver. "No, Scott Daly. You have to long snap," Hightower shared before walk- ing away. "Oh!" said Kmet, calling this his "biggest nightmare come true," while keeping his reaction free of any anxious expletives. Daly, also a Notre Dame alumnus (2016) and the Bears' primary long snapper, had suffered a knee injury. And as the emergency backup, Kmet had his number called, and he responded per- fectly by converting all six of his snaps — coming on five made extra points and one missed field goal attempt — in the Bears' 35-16 win. "The Bears found out I did it in high school," Kmet said after the game. "It paid off today, I guess. I was glad I could just help out where I could." For his work, Kmet became the first long snapper in NFL history to be named Special Teams Player of the Week. The Bears have since added longtime NFL long snapper Jake McQuaide to their roster to let Kmet fo- cus on his primary duties as a tight end. In addition to his long-snapping du- ties against the Jaguars, Kmet also caught 5 passes for team-high 70 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win. Kmet, who was a sec- ond-round draft pick in 2020 after playing at Notre Dame from 2017-19, later explained that his long- snapping skills come from his high school days at St. Viator near Chicago when he picked it up as a "the more you can do, the bet- ter off you are" endeavor. "I remember my dad, me and my brother would be messing around doing it in the backyard all the time," Kmet recalled. "We were thinking if you ever needed to make an NFL team, if you're a guy that's the 54th or 55th guy on the roster, and they're deciding between two guys, having that ability is going to keep you on the roster for those types of things. "Obviously I'm not in that position right now," Kmet added. "But that was kind of the mindset of learning how to do it. I wanted to play in the NFL some- day and would do everything to get there." Already one of the best and highest- paid tight ends in the NFL — Kmet signed a four-year $50 million contract extension in July 2023, which included $32.8 million guaranteed — the rising star is an important cog to the Bears' (4- 2) resurgent start to this season. The agreement made Kmet, 25, one of the top-10 highest-paid tight ends at $12.5 million per year. "It's pretty cool," Kmet said of his massive payday. "Honored to be here. Honored they felt I was a guy worthy of this." And he certainly has been. Through the first six weeks of the sea- son, Kmet had recorded 26 receptions on 29 targets for 289 yards — which ranked third among NFL tight ends — and 3 touchdowns. ✦ FIGHTING IRISH HEADLINERS Alohi Gilman (Played at Notre Dame from 2017-19), S, Los Angeles Chargers, NFL Carving his niche as a valuable first-year starter, the 2020 sixth-round draft pick made a season-high 10 tackles — the second most of his career — in a 23-16 win at Denver Oct. 13. He added 1 sack and 1 pass broken up in the victory. The Laie, Hawai'i, native compiled 23 stops (13 solo) while helping the Chargers field the best scoring defense (13.2 points allowed per game) in the NFL through six weeks. Robert Hainsey (2017-20), OL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NFL Making his first start of the season in a 51-27 win over New Orleans Oct. 13, the 2021 third-round draft pick allowed no pass pressures at center and earned a ter- rific 81.0 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. The Buccaneers piled up 277 rushing yards and 594 total yards in the blowout win. A valuable backup and as-needed starter, the Pittsburgh native has appeared in 49 games over three-plus seasons with the Buccaneers. Cam Hart (2019-23), CB, Los Angeles Chargers, NFL Playing alongside Gilman and making his first career start in the Chargers defensive secondary Oct. 13, the 2024 fifth-round draft pick made an impactful debut with 3 tackles and was not targeted in the passing game. The Baltimore native and NFL rookie didn't miss a tackle in the victory over the Broncos, and he played a season-high 56 snaps, with presumably many more to come. Cole Kmet Shines In Unexpected Role I R I S H I N T H E P R O S Not only did Kmet catch a pair of touchdown passes in the Bears' 35-16 win over the Jaguars in London, but he also served as the team's long snapper and performed flawlessly. PHOTO COURTESY CHICAGO BEARS