Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 63 TIGHT ENDS QUOTABLE: OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR CHIP LONG ON SOPHOMORE COLE KMET ALSO STARRING IN BASEBALL AND POSTING A 3.5 GRADE POINT AVERAGE: "Awesome. It's what I thought he'd be. What's amazing to me is he'll come in Sunday around 3 in the morning from baseball [returning from road trip] — and be the first one at weights at 6:30 a.m., and doing a great job. I don't know how he does it, to be honest." NOTABLE DATA As the tight ends coach, second-year Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chip Long has had a strong history of having his position group involved in pass catching. Prior to coming to Notre Dame in 2017, Long's tight ends in his previous six seasons in stops at Illinois (2011), Arizona State (2012-15) and Memphis (2016) averaged 40.2 catches, 491.5 yards and 5.6 touchdowns. Last year at Notre Dame, the position group that totaled 31 catches in 2014, 20 in 2015 and merely 12 in 2016 collectively grabbed 45 passes for 476 yards and four touchdowns under Long's instruction — all figures that were in the neighborhood of his previous averages at other schools. The Notre Dame record for most catches in a season by tight ends is 66 in 2011 — 63 by Tyler Eifert. 2017 VS. 2018: STOCK UP OR DOWN? Ever since former Notre Dame star Tyler Eifert departed after the 2012 season, the production at tight end steadily decreased the next four years. The Fighting Irish tight ends caught 42 passes in 2013, and that number ebbed in each of the next three seasons all the way down to 12 combined receptions in 2016. The arrival of offensive coordinator Chip Long — who doubles as the tight ends coach — has the position back on track. Long's players hauled in 45 passes last sea- son, then during the spring the Irish quarterbacks and tight ends meshed well, which has raised expectations. A year of maturity for sophomore tight ends Cole Kmet and Brock Wright — who comprised the nation's top recruiting haul at the position in the 2017 class — is a prime reason for the heightened expectations and why the tight end stock is up head- ing into the 2018 season. X-FACTOR Tight end won't meet expectations unless senior Alizé Mack finally becomes a force in the offense. He displayed huge potential as a freshman in 2015, hauling in 13 passes for 190 yards and making a pair of crucial fourth-quarter catches in wins over Temple and USC. Notre Dame's staff began building the offense around Mack the following spring, but he was later suspended for academic reasons and sat out the season. He caught 19 passes last fall, but totaled only 166 receiving yards and was known more for his drops than his pivotal catches. Mack has every tool you want in a modern tight end — rangy, athletic, flashes top- end ball skills and knows how to get open. If he lives up to his promise it will provide a massive boost to the Irish pass attack. FRESHMAN OUTLOOK In most seasons, the duo of Tommy Tremble and George Takacs would be difficult to keep off the field. This season, barring injury, Notre Dame's veteran depth at the position will likely result in both players preserv- ing a season of eligibility in 2018. DID YOU KNOW? Rivals ranked sophomore Brock Wright as the nation's No. 44 overall prospect in the class of 2017, the highest among any Notre Dame player in that haul. Fellow tight end Cole Kmet was the second highest that same cycle at No. 95. Particularly notable is that since 2013, only four other Fighting Irish players were rated higher by Rivals than Wright: linebacker Jaylon Smith (No. 3) in 2013, offensive lineman Quen - ton Nelson (No. 29) in 2014, defensive end/ linebacker Daelin Hayes (No. 31) in 2016 and current freshman early enrollee Houston Griffith (No. 43), who made a strong impression this spring to vie for action at safety. Smith was the Butkus Award winner as a junior before turning pro, while Nelson was the first offen - sive lineman selected in this spring's NFL Draft. SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS (6) Listed after the class year is the years of eligi- bility remaining. 86 Alizé Mack (6-5, 244), Sr./2 84 Cole Kmet (6-5½, 255), So./3 82 Nic Weishar (6-5, 245), 5th/1 89 Brock Wright (6-4½, 250), So./3 85 George Takacs (6-6, 245), Fr./4 24 Tommy Tremble (6-3, 224), Fr./4 Despite also serving as the top relief pitcher for the baseball team, sophomore Cole Kmet progressed during the spring to a probable major role at tight end. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN