Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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62 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW TIGHT ENDS O n occasion this spring, second-year Notre Dame offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Chip Long must have won- dered what pundits were talking about when noting that his position group might be one of the "deeper" ones on the team. In addition to Durham Smythe exhaust- ing his eligibility and becoming a fourth- round draft selection of the Miami Dolphins, fifth-year senior Nic Weishar was sidelined following winter shoulder surgery, sopho- more Brock Wright was limited the first half of spring while convalescing from his own shoulder surgery, freshman early enrollee George Takacs could not suit up while recov- ering from a torn meniscus, and sophomore Cole Kmet's pitching duties for Irish base- ball sometimes resulted in excused absences. That left senior Alizé Mack, the top re- turning pass catcher among the tight ends, as a solo scholarship act a few times before the Irish "go deep" at the position again this fall. Last year under Long, the Irish aligned in multiple-tight-end formations 37.2 percent of the time. That is almost quadruple from the previous two seasons, and could even expand this year unless more wideouts and running backs come to the forefront. Mack and Kmet both can be in-line fig- ures up front, or be detached in potential mismatches. Wright's role as an in-line or even fullback or H-back-like blocker also can be augmented in the lineup. "We wanted a great point-of-attack blocker, a guy that can catch the ball off our boot game, play-action game, and a guy that we can use with his size in the red zone," Kelly said of Wright. "I think he's going to be that and more." Utilizing the athletic skills of Mack, Kmet and Weishar also is intriguing, especially because last year the seam routes or other passes across the middle either were limited or not well read in progressions by the new quarterbacks. There was more emphasis this spring in rectifying that with the arsenal present at tight end, and in the spring game they com- bined for eight catches for 82 yards while growing with the passing repertoire. "We didn't throw many in-cuts, we didn't have many crossers with digs over the top," Kelly said of the 2017 passing game. "We didn't have the post combinations … we didn't feel like we were a high percentage there. "Everything that's ever been in my pass- ing game we've really kind of opened up to our quarterbacks and said that we have to be efficient in these areas. … We opened up the playbook this spring to get to that." It's another way of going deeper, even in a short passing game. ✦ GOING INTO THE DEEP END This year's group provides multiple options for the Irish offense After a checkered career his first three seasons, senior Alizé Mack is seeking to fulfill his vast potential. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA