Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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62 MARCH 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY DAVID MCKINNEY Notre Dame tight end signee George Takacs wasn't born and bred to play football. Unlike a lot of college prospects, playing football wasn't even on Takacs' radar most of his life. It wasn't until his freshman year, when he was new to Naples (Fla.) Gulf Coast that he decided to give the sport a try. "I didn't know where it was going to take me," Takacs said. "I started off playing for fun during my fresh- man year. My friends told me I might be good, so I said, 'Alright, sure.' I was new, so I thought I'd go out and make some friends." Takacs admitted that he only joined the team because frankly, he needed something to do. Teenagers are hyper by nature, and he needed something to soak up all his extra energy. He found it on the football field. "It was amazing," Takacs said. "For to me find something that I can put all my time and effort into, and think about all the time, and almost obsess over has been amazing for me." Football may have started out as a simple way to exert energy for Takacs, but it didn't stay that way. While he continued to grow, his stats began to pile up and colleges started to take notice. "It really started to hit home for me my sophomore year when I got my first offer from Southern Missis- sippi," Takacs said. "That's when it kind of hit me that this was some- thing I could do at the highest level." With an offer from Southern Mis- sissippi on the table, football had gone from an extracurricular activity to a pathway to college. Then Takacs took a visit to an SEC school and came out of it realizing football may just take him through college and pay his bills in the future. "I went to visit Florida and Coach [Jim] McElwain told me, 'You're go- ing to be a Florida Gator,'" Takacs ex- plained. "That was huge for me, and that's when I really realized this was going to be a thing and I'm going to do it as long as I can." Getting those first few offers, and knowing that his college education would be paid for, was a significant moment in Takacs' life. "I never really thought I'd be there," he said. "I didn't know what I was going to do in high school and college, so it felt great to know what path I would be on." Eventually, Notre Dame joined Southern Miss, Florida and a ton of other schools with an offer for Takacs. When he arrived in South Bend in January, his life had come full circle. Takacs lived at Notre Dame as a young child while his mother pursued a master's degree from the university. Coming back to the school as a stu- dent-athlete, Takacs said, is something he couldn't ever have imagined. "It's surreal," he noted. "I never would have thought this would happen." ✦ GEORGE TAKACS TIGHT END 6-6 · 244 GULF COAST H.S. NAPLES, FLA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 11 50 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 182 5 40 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 23 79 STATISTICS • Caught 23 passes for 207 yards and one score as a senior. • Hauled in 25 receptions for 265 yards and one touchdown as a junior. HONORS • Named the Wide Receiver/Tight End MVP at the Rivals Three-Stripe Camp in Miami on March 25, 2017. • Tabbed as a first-team 6A all-district performer by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association in 2016. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Participated in the U.S. Army All American Bowl in San Antonio on Jan. 6, 2018, but did not record any statistics. • Attended Nike Football's The Opening Finals in Beaverton, Ore., July 28-July 3, 2017. • Selected to participate in the Rivals Five-Star Challenge in Indianapolis on June 10, 2017. • Took part in Nike Football's The Opening Miami Regional on Feb. 26, 2017. Recorded a 4.87-second 40-yard dash, 4.47-second pro shuttle and a 33.3- inch vertical jump. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Notre Dame on June 14, 2017, and enrolled in January. • Chose the Fighting Irish over Florida, Georgia and Wisconsin. • Primarily recruited by offensive coordinator Chip Long and running backs coach Autry Denson. • Took two unofficial visits to Notre Dame before committing and officially visited for the Echoes Awards banquet on Dec. 8, 2017. NOTABLE • Born on March 30, 1999. • Lived on campus at Notre Dame while his mother pursued a master's degree. • His family is originally from Fort Wayne, Ind. • Became the second Florida tight end to sign with Notre Dame in the Brian Kelly era (Mike Heu- erman in 2013 is the other). 2018 PROJECTION • Expect Takacs to redshirt as a freshman, bar- ring injuries to veteran players at the position. THEY SAID IT Head coach Brian Kelly: "George [Takacs] and Tommy [Tremble] are terrific athletes that can be in-line or they can spread out. They keep fitting the exact profile that we've been recruiting over the last few years at that position." Offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Chip Long: "[Takacs] experienced with his hand in the ground, but this year in his offense, he got to split out and he has tremendous ball skills and a good nose for the ball." BGI football analyst Bryan Driskell: "Takacs is a traditional tight end that has a body and skill set that reminds me of former Notre Dame standout Troy Niklas. At 6-6, he has the length to impact the pass game, but he became an even more effective blocker as a senior. He competes in the run game, driving his feet well and using his strength to win. Takacs still needs to learn to bend his knees and play with better pad level. "He lumbers a bit as a runner, but he covers a lot of ground. Takacs mostly works the underneath zones, but he can stretch the field and uses his size to out-play defenders for the ball. He needs technique work, but the tools are there to have a career that matches that of Niklas." Football Stardom Came As A Surprise For George Takacs Rivals rates Takacs as a four-star talent, the No. 50 prospect in Florida and the No. 11 tight end in the country. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM