Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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I was more than ready to do what I could to accept that role." Waiting behind Eifert and Niklas wasn't a frustrating experience for the 6-5, 254-pound pass catcher. He said he saw where that duo was headed and took notes in hope that he'd follow in their footsteps. A breakout season for Koyack in his final year of eligibility could make him the sixth Irish tight end taken in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft since 2006. This summer, Phil Steele's 2014 College Football Pre- view ranked Koyack as the second-best draft-eligible tight end in the country for the coming year. The door will be open for Koyack to make good on those projections with the production that is now expected of Notre Dame's No. 1 tight end. Irish head coach Brian Kelly has leaned on his tight ends as much as any offensive position in his first four years at Notre Dame. The coach said Koyack has been able to take a huge step forward this off- season with Eifert and Niklas out of the way. Both Kelly and quarterback Everett Golson referred to him as an important "weapon" in Notre Dame's offense this season. "He was always … the run guy. Troy can run down the field and Eifert can run down the field, Koyack is the backside of the tight end, he's going to be the run-blocking guy," Kelly said. "Now he's getting that work in [the passing game] and it's polished his game as a pass receiver. I look for him to really benefit from a lot of the work that he's gotten as that pass catcher." Koyack said now that he's taken over a bigger role he's tried to remem- ber what he learned while watching his predecessors. He tries to combine Eifert's non-stop work ethic and Nik- las' relentless positivity, and pass those on to the gaggle of younger players beneath him. He's been setting the ex- ample this offseason for two redshirt Koyack is on a trajectory to become the sixth Irish tight end taken in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft since 2006. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS