Brian Kelly, Notre Dame Continue ‘Tight End U’ Tradition In 2021 Draft
Prior to the 2021 NFL Draft, Bleacher Report conducted a fan poll to determine which college football programs were deserving of each positional crown.
Notre Dame was deemed Offensive Line U, a status the program further cemented after the Irish became the first team in 20 years to have three offensive linemen drafted in the first three rounds.
Where Notre Dame came up short? Tight End U. That title, instead, went to Iowa.
But should it have?
Since head coach Brian Kelly took over at Notre Dame, eight Irish tight ends have been drafted, more than any other program in the country during that time span.
Iowa, on the other hand, has produced just four, albeit one of those is 49ers star tight end George Kittle, a fifth-round pick in 2017. Two years later, Hawkeye tight ends T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant both went in round one.
At the same time, six other programs have developed more tight ends who were selected in the NFL Draft since 2011 — the first draft after Kelly's inaugural Notre Dame season. Michigan and South Carolina have also produced four.
| School | No. of Tight Ends Drafted |
|---|---|
|
Notre Dame |
8 |
|
Stanford |
7 |
|
Alabama |
6 |
|
Arkansas |
5 |
|
Georgia |
5 |
|
Miami |
5 |
|
South Carolina |
4 |
|
Michigan |
4 |
|
Iowa |
4 |
Notre Dame actually just broke a tie with Stanford for the most tight ends drafted when Tommy Tremble was taken in the third round by the Carolina Panthers this past weekend.
The 6-foot-3, 241-pound tight end caught just 35 receptions for 401 yards and four touchdowns over the last two seasons. In 2020, he also dropped almost 10 percent of catchable targets.
Still, at Notre Dame’s Pro Day on March 31, he ran a 4.59-second 40-yard dash, so the athleticism is there for him to still become a productive receiver at the next level.
In the meantime, his strengths in the run game should get him on the field early in his career. Tremble was the highest-graded run blocker among his position group in 2020, per Pro Football Focus.
From there, he just needs a coach ready to develop him.
In Kelly’s mind, that’s exactly the situation Tremble entered with the Panthers
“Tommy Tremble is in a great position with Matt Rhule,” Kelly said. “Matt is a college coach that had college experience, understands player development. Knows specifically what he's getting in Tommy. He’s a younger player that he’s got to bring along.
“That’s a great landing place for Tommy, and that's going to be a really good situation for them in the next couple of years.”
Tremble going to a good situation is a positive development for Notre Dame and the ‘Tight End U’ designation. Of the eight Irish tight ends to be drafted in the last 11 seasons, only two have made a pro bowl: Kyle Rudolph twice in 2012 and 2017 and Tyler Eifert once in 2015.
As the position continues to grow in popularity, it will serve the Irish well to have a young player such as Tremble or 2020 Chicago Bears second-round selection Cole Kmet emerge as a dominant player in the NFL.
Then there will be no way to question if Notre Dame is Tight End U.
Notre Dame Tight Ends Drafted Under Brian Kelly
• Kyle Rudolph (Played at Notre Dame from 2008-10), Minnesota Vikings 2nd Round Pick in 2011, No. 43 Overall
• Tyler Eifert (2009-12), Cincinnati Bengals 1st Round PIck in 2013, No. 21 Overall
• Troy Niklas (2011-13), Arizona Cardinals 2nd Round Pick in 2014, No. 52 Overall
• Ben Koyack (2011-14), Jacksonville Jaguars 7th Round Pick in 2015, No. 229 Overall
• Durham Smythe (2014-17), Miami Dolphins 4th Round Pick in 2018, No. 123 Overall
• Alizé Mack (2015-18), New Orleans Saints 7th Round Pick in 2019, No. 231 Overall
• Cole Kmet (2017-19), Chicago Bears 2nd Round Pick in 2020, No. 43 Overall
• Tommy Tremble (2018-20), Carolina Panthers 3rd Round Pick in 2021, No. 83 Overall
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