Blue and Gold Illustrated

December 2012

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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ing size and strength to his résumé. "This isn' t about numbers this year. This is about a guy that is developing himself as a complete tight end," head coach Brian Kelly said. "Sometimes at the tight end position you get labeled as either a pass catcher or a run blocker, and he broke that mold." Kel ly st i l l expected Eif- ert to be Notre Dame's work- horse on of- fense. Wi th the school 's most prolific wide re- ceiver (Michael Floyd) gone, it made sense for the Irish to turn to their most prolific tight end to replace his pro- duction. The catches never seemed to come, though. He entered the final game of the regular season 23 catches shy of his total as a junior. Eif- ert did in fact become a focal point, just not on the stat sheet. The added bulk made sive crowd even while averaging 2.5 catches per game through the first half of the season. Friends, family and ran- dom passersby asked the big tight end if he worried about his NFL stock dropping with his numbers. Eifert admit- ted he wished he could catch more passes, but he's inline or detached, he's blocking at a com- pletely different level." Eventually that new- "THIS ISN'T ABOUT NUMBERS THIS YEAR. THIS IS ABOUT A GUY THAT IS BLOCKER, AND HE BROKE THAT MOLD." HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY ON EIFERT DEVELOPING HIMSELF AS A COMPLETE TIGHT END. SOMETIMES AT THE TIGHT END POSITION YOU GET LABELED AS EITHER A PASS CATCHER OR A RUN said it's hard to be frus- trated when you're win- ning. Scouts at the next level cared even less. "I think every NFL found ability to bully defenders started to help Eifert in the pass- ing game. He uses his body to walk the fine line between offensive pass interference and gaining separation as wel l as any receiver in college foot- ball. Once his rookie quarter- back learned tha t Ei f e r t finds a way to get to just about any ball him equally natural as a lead blocker in the back- field and a deep ball threat at wide receiver. He attracted a defen- team in the league knows that he is a ver- tical receiving threat despite the numbers this year," said Mike Mayock, an NBC com- mentator and a draft analyst for the NFL Network. "Let's face it, every team they play is trying to take him out of the game. What's really helped him is he's made a commitment to block, which he wasn't quite there last year. Whether thrown in his vicinity, his numbers started to return. Eighteen of the 32 passes sophomore Everett Golson com- pleted to Eifert before the season finale came during the first three weeks of November. This year it will be much harder for the scouts to poke holes in Eifert's dossier. Tech- nically he has another year of eligibility if he wants it, but with a to- tal-package reputation, a place in the Irish his- tory books and a dream senior season, there's nothing left to prove. ✦

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