Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 31, 2026 53 W hen Notre Dame defen- sive coordinator Chris Ash starts to evalu- ate an upcoming opponent, he doesn't wait long to size up the tight ends. "Are they run blockers?" Ash said. "Are they guys that can flex out and run routes and be a threat in the pass game? Who's going to match up with them if we want to play man?" Ash, who is in his second season leading the Irish de- fense, saw NFL offenses start to emphasize multiple-tight- end sets more and more dur- ing his four years as a coach and scout in the professional ranks (2021-24). Talented and versa- tile tight ends can create a lot of matchup issues and force de- fensive coordinators into tough decisions. If a team can put multiple talented tight ends on the field like North Caro- lina did, that offense can cause problems. "There's a lot that goes into game planning," Ash said, "against an offense that has not only one, but multiple tight ends that can flex out and do different things in the pass game." What North Carolina did with tight ends Jelani Thurman and Shamar Eas- ter provided a blueprint for how to find success against the Irish defense. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound Thurman caught 5 passes for 50 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 37-26 loss to Notre Dame Oct. 3. Easter, 6-5 and 230 pounds, added 3 catches for 42 yards and 1 touchdown of his own. "Obviously, in the North Carolina game, we did not do a great job of cover- ing their tight ends versus man or zone," head coach Marcus Freeman said. "They caught the ball versus man coverage for a couple of different reasons on multiple guys, and they did it in zone coverage." Pro Football Focus, whose coverage charting may not reflect Notre Dame's specific assignments, tagged four Irish defenders for allowing receptions to Thurman: safeties Adon Shuler (2) and Luke Talich (1) and linebackers Drayk Bowen (1) and Jaylen Sneed (1). The touchdowns came against Shuler and Sneed, per PFF. Easter's receptions came against nickel back Christian Gray (2), including the touchdown, and cor- nerback Jayden Sanders (1). The charting illustrates how many different defenders can be involved in covering tight ends. Typically, line- backers, safeties and nickel backs typi- cally are responsible for keeping the ball out of the hands of tight ends. Stanford tight end Benji Blackburn caught 3 passes for 27 yards and 1 touchdown against Notre Dame Oct. 10. Those receptions, per PFF, came against linebackers Jaiden Ausberry (2 for 15 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown) and Drayk Bowen (1 for 12 yards). Two of those catches failed to convert long third downs. They also came while the Irish were leading by at least 30 points. "For the most part, their tight ends might have caught a couple balls, but it was more against zone coverage when it was third-and-extra-long," Free- man said. "We can give up this catch and tackle. I was pleased with how we played the tight ends against Stanford in man." Through the first six games of the season, Notre Dame al- lowed tight ends to catch 26 passes for 202 yards and 4 touchdowns on 40 targets, ac- cording to PFF. The completion rate to tight ends, 65.0 percent, was only slightly higher than the completion rate to other players, 63.4 percent. However, completions to tight ends aver- aged significantly fewer yards (7.8) than completions to other players (11.5). The Irish need to do a bet- ter job against tight ends in the red zone. All four touchdown passes Notre Dame allowed to tight ends through six games came in a two-game span and originated inside the Irish 20- yard line. Until junior safety Brauntae Johnson returns from his foot injury, the Irish may want to consider using freshman safety Joey O'Brien as a third safety in red zone sit- uations to better account for tight ends. As long as he can contribute meaning- fully to run support, the Irish may be better off matching him up with tight end threats rather than linebackers, Gray or Shuler. The size and athleticism of O'Brien (6-5, 200) and Talich (6-4, 222) could help eliminate mismatches against tight ends. Regardless of who's tasked with track- ing tight ends, the Irish defenders must remain sound with their assignments. The tests will extend through the regu- lar season with the likes of Miami's Elija Lofton and Syracuse's Daunte Bacheyie. Notre Dame's game plan can only ac- count for so much. The rest depends on the Irish executing their coverage assignments. "We have to make sure we play with the proper technique," Freeman said. "We have to know where they're at, at all times. Depending on if we're in man or zone, make sure that we're executing at a high level." ✦ Notre Dame allowed tight ends to catch 26 passes for 202 yards and 4 touchdowns on 40 targets through the first six games this season. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP Irish Must Be Ready For More Tight End Targets Tyler James has been covering Notre Dame athletics since 2011. He can be reached on X @ TJamesND FIRST AND LAST TYLER JAMES