The assertion came Aug. 17, nary a hint of doubt in it.
Brian Kelly, asked a personnel and identity question, paused for a moment mid-answer and offered an absolute.
“You will see three tight ends, and not just in goal line,” Kelly said, five days after Notre Dame opened camp. “You’re going to see the utilization of three tight ends as a basic package because that’s our personnel grouping. Those are the guys who can help us win.”
Nearly two months later, the quote has aged well. Notre Dame’s tight end trio of Tommy Tremble, Michael Mayer and Brock Wright have been active as receivers and blockers. Most of all, they have been on the field together, in pairings or all at once.
Through three games, Notre Dame has lined up in 12 (two tight ends), 13 (three) or 14 (four) personnel in 117 of its 206 plays. And as Kelly hinted, multiple tight end formations have been frequent because they have created explosive plays. The Irish are on pace to smash apart their tight end usage numbers from last year – and not just the 63 tight end catches in 2019.
Already this year, Notre Dame has run the ball out of 12 or 13 sets 81 times for 526 yards (6.5 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns, per Sports Info Solutions (SIS), including one sack for a 2-yard loss. That’s compared to 173 times for 918 yards (5.3) and nine touchdowns in 2019, including eight sacks. At this pace, Notre Dame will attempt 324 carries in 12 and 13 personnel if it plays 12 games.
In 13 only, Notre Dame has doubled its attempts in a quarter of the games. The Irish ran out of it 11 times for 8 yards in 2019, essentially using it as a short-yardage package. They have 22 carries for 89 yards in 13 already this year.
The theme is obvious. Notre Dame wants to run the ball. Notre Dame has skilled running backs and a punishing offensive line. Tight ends are extra blockers, and in Notre Dame’s case, impact blockers. At 85.5, Tremble is Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded run blocking tight end among those with at least 25 snaps. Mayer is 12th (79.2) and Wright is 30th (72.2).
Notre Dame hasn’t been tested by a stout run defense, but it’s an encouraging sign its best game came against Florida State’s front, which has a few draftable players. The Irish averaged 8.4 yards per carry, their seventh-highest in a game since 2000. Their 17 rushing attempts in 12 personnel averaged 11.2 yards.
For now, 14 remains a goal-line package only. Notre Dame has used it six times – all runs – and scored four touchdowns. Junior George Takacs is the fourth tight end in those sets. In 2019, Notre Dame employed 14 just four times.
What makes the heavy-set method feel sustainable and multi-dimensional, though, is the passing success out of it and the play action opportunities an explosive run game has created.
In multi-tight end formations, Ian Book is 21-for-31 for 233 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and 7.52 yards per attempt. He’s 17-for-24 for 182 yards when throwing at tight ends. He’s averaging 9.9 yards per attempt on 22 play-action throws, per SIS.
In 12 and 13 last season, Book was 78-of-118 for 829 yards, 12 touchdowns, 1 interception and 7.03 yards per attempt. If Notre Dame plays 12 games this year, he’s on pace to complete and attempt more passes in those sets.
Among the passing highlights in 13 personnel:
•A 25-yard completion to Tremble against South Florida on play action
•An 8-yard touchdown to Mayer against Florida State
So, Notre Dame’s tight ends are good receivers. At this point in the season, with Kevin Austin still easing back in from injury, they may be Notre Dame’s best receivers. Tremble, Mayer and Wright have 17 catches, with 15 from the first two. Tremble’s speed makes him an intriguing deep threat. Mayer has proven to be a mismatch for everyone who has covered him.
“If we had no tight ends, you’d see four of five wide receivers on the field,” Kelly said. “We didn’t recruit that way. We’re going to take advantage of our personnel.”
Notre Dame has done so and has encouraging early results – and a question to something Kelly evaluated during training camp.
“We can certainly make the case we’re better suited with two tight ends on the field than we are with a slot,” Kelly said before the season.
The snap distribution says so too. Notre Dame’s primary slot receivers, senior Avery Davis and junior Lawrence Keys III, have a combined four catches for 43 yards in 93 snaps. Tremble and Mayer have lined up in the slot a combined 63 times, per PFF, meaning traditional 12 or 13 can become de facto 11 or 12 without a substitution.
“Every one of our guys has different skill sets, and those come in motion when we have those 13 and 12 personnel,” Tremble said in September. “We all can block downhill and next thing you know, we’ll beat you over the top with speed.”
There’s comfort in multiple tight end sets. There’s effectiveness too. Perhaps that says something about the still-evolving and inconsistent state of Notre Dame’s receivers. And perhaps Notre Dame would rather have a few game-changing wide receivers than difference-maker tight ends. But one way or another, an offense’s goal is to create mismatches. So far, it seems Notre Dame has a way of doing it with the hand it was dealt.
“All those guys are really good at different things,” Book said last month. “Having Tremble out there, and Brock, and Michael Mayer and all those guys allows us to open up our playbook more. You can run different formations with them. To me, it’s great. Those are guys who can all run block and go downfield and make a play.”
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