August 21, 2011

Tim Prister
IrishIllustrated.com Senior Editor

It started in earnest with Dave Casper in 1973. From there, the honor roll just continued to grow.

Ken MacAfee, Dean Masztak, Tony Hunter, Mark Bavaro, Andy Heck, Derek Brown, Irv Smith, Oscar McBride, Pete Chryplewicz, Jabari Holloway, Dan O'Leary, Anthony Fasano, John Carlson, Kyle Rudolph?

Today, it's Tyler Eifert. Tomorrow, or perhaps even sooner, it will be Alex Welch and/or freshman Ben Koyack, the latest in the long line of standout tight ends to come to Notre Dame over the last four decades.

Koyack, the 6-foot-3, 253-pounder from Oil City, Pa., arrived this summer with a bushel-full of accolades. He's done nothing to dissuade the notion that he'll be adding his name to the prestigious list.

"(Koyack) has surprised me, he really has," said Irish tight ends coach Mike Denbrock less than two weeks after the start of pre-season drills. "The thing that's amazed me about the guy the most is that the lights aren't too bright for him.

"Sometimes as a freshman, you come in and it's, 'There's Tyler Eifert!' But from day one, he was very comfortable in our offense and really comfortable around the other players. He has not been intimidated one second and has really done a nice job mentally of picking up our offense. He's competing. He's doing a nice job."

Irish head coach Brian Kelly's assessment is a bit more succinct.

"Emerging would be the word that I would use more than anything else," said Kelly of Koyack. "Emerging. He'll play this year."

Eifert is the starter of course, taking over full-time for Rudolph, who departed a year early for the NFL. Veteran Mike Ragone is still on hand, but he's battling another physical setback that has slowed him the past week. Welch is next in line chronologically, but Koyack is applying pressure for playing time on a daily basis.

"Now that he understands what we're trying to do scheme-wise - he was a little bit cautious the first few days - he's getting to the point where he can cut himself loose a little more," Denbrock said. "He is a big ol' boy for a freshman. He's got a nice developed lower body and he's not afraid to put his face on people. He's doing a pretty good job. He's coming along. He's an exciting guy.

"(As a receiver), I would say he's in between Tyler Eifert and Alex Welch. I don't know that he has quite as much speed down the field and vertical ability as Tyler, but certainly he can beat one-on-one coverage, move in space and do something with the ball after he catches it. He's an exciting kid."

Koyack's high school numbers at Oil City fit the profile. Forty-seven receptions for 812 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore. Forty-three catches for 748 yards and seven scores as a junior. Sixty-two grabs for 1,031 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior. He even had 65 ? tackles and six-and-a-half tackles behind the line of scrimmage in his final season at Oil City.

Koyack has picked up where he left off on the prep level. He was prominently featured Friday during Notre Dame's end-of-practice scrimmage with the younger players/backups.

"It's exciting to be here in general, but it's definitely exciting to be a part of this offense," Koyack said. "There's a great tradition at the tight end position. I have a lot of guys helping me out every step along the way, making sure I'm doing things right and making sure it's an easy transition for me.

"It's definitely a big responsibility, but it just means I have to work that much harder and push that much harder. Coach Kelly is a great guy and if he says (I'll play as a freshman), it's that much more motivation."

Koyack began pre-season camp a few strides further ahead than even he anticipated when he committed to the Irish in late April of 2010 and signed in February of 2011.

"I definitely came into camp more physically prepared than I had originally planned," Koyack said. "Coach (Paul) Longo helped us out over the course of the summer with his strength and conditioning. I came into camp feeling pretty good about it. We have a great (strength and conditioning) program here, and he laid it all out over the summer."

Still, there have been some eye-opening experiences along the way.

"The speed of the game makes everything tough," Koyack said. "I can't point out one specific thing that's tougher because blocking-wise, you're dealing with bigger guys, and coverage-wise, you have faster guys. I just try to keep working to improve my game."

Despite Ragone's physical setback, he's played the role of big brother to Koyack.

"Mike is a great guy," Koyack said. "He's really helped me out along the way. I'm always talking with him on the sideline, going over plays to make sure I know what to do. He's definitely been a good mentor to me, along with the other tight ends."

Koyack has done a good job of simply taking camp day-by-day, not looking ahead, not looking behind.

"I'll make a contribution in whatever way Coach Kelly wants me to," Koyack said. "Whether that's at tight end, special teams?whatever he wants me to do, I'll do whatever I can and work as hard as I can."