7/24/2021 football Edit

Notre Dame Football’s Top 25 Most Important Players, No. 2: Michael Mayer

Tyler Horka • InsideNDSports

Staff Writer

Throughout July, BlueandGold.com will feature a countdown of the 25 most pivotal figures counted on to help lead Notre Dame back to the College Football Playoff in 2021.

This is not necessarily about who is the best player or the top pro prospect. It’s more along the lines of individuals that need to either emerge, remain a centerpiece or significantly elevate their production to help the Irish reach that goal.

Much is based on talent and impact, but a premium is also placed on these questions: 1) If you subtracted this individual from the roster, how much of a setback would it be? 2) If this less proven player emerges and makes an impact, how much does that raise the ceiling (or lower it, if a breakout does not happen as expected)?

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish football sophomore tight end Michael Mayer — Mayer is on the watch list for the Mackey Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top tight end. (USA Today)

The players and their rankings were determined by vote from five BlueandGold.com staff members.

Next in the countdown is sophomore tight end Michael Mayer, who collected 114 points in our poll.

Why Mayer Is Ranked No. 2

Mayer is the most reliable receiving option returning from last year’s roster. It’s that simple. The sophomore has more career receptions (42) than anyone in Notre Dame’s 2021 receiving corps, and only senior slot receiver Avery Davis has more career receiving yards (476) than the 450 Mayer had as a true freshman.

Mayer is on the Biletnikoff Award and Mackey Award watch lists, which recognize the top pass catcher and top tight end in college football, respectively. While he is more than a long shot to win the former (no tight end has ever taken it home), he’s got a solid shot to win the latter. Simply showing up on a list with the best wide receivers in the country says a lot about the national expectations for Mayer, too.

Mayer’s Status Entering The Season

It’ll be interesting to see how Mayer performs without the help of third-round NFL Draft pick Tommy Tremble. Tremble only caught 19 passes for 218 yards and zero touchdowns last season, but he was without a doubt Notre Dame’s best run blocker at the tight end position.

Many of Tremble’s run-blocking duties will naturally trickle down to Mayer. But what happens now in two tight end sets? The combination of senior George Takacs and Mayer isn’t exactly as formidable as Tremble and Mayer. Takacs has five catches for 42 yards and a touchdown in his career.

It circles back around to how much pressure Tremble took off Mayer’s shoulders. Whether it was a running play or a passing play, opposing defenses had to account for where Tremble was on the field at all times. Takacs, based on career production and reps to this point, is not that same type of game-changing player as Tremble was.

If Mayer is the future dominant NFL tight end many make him out to be — “Baby Gronk,” if you will — then he will take a step forward as a sophomore no matter who is on the field with him. Or, rather, who isn’t.

What Would Be Considered A Successful Individual Season?

Mayer doesn’t have to win the Mackey Award to validate where he stands nationally as a tight end. But with it not being out of the realm of possibilities, it sure would mean a lot if he became the second Notre Dame player ever to take it home (Tyler Eifert, 2012). Only three schools — Arkansas, Florida and Iowa — have had two winners.

Awards aside, Mayer needs to be a safety valve and game-breaker all in one. It's still up in the air what Notre Dame's passing game will look like. How comfortable will Wisconsin graduate transfer Jack Coan be in an Irish uniform? Which of the seven senior wide receivers will finally step up and show some consistency?

Those are questions yet to be answered. Mayer answered any questions about his game in 2020. If there are any questions about Mayer then here they are: can he not only match last year's production but take it to a new level? And, can he be as dominant a run blocker as Tremble was, or at least not let the drop off from losing Tremble be too severe?

If Mayer answers those questions positively, then it'll be a successful season for him. The entire offense doesn't hinge on a sophomore tight end. That would be silly to suggest with someone who won 10 games as a Power Five quarterback two seasons ago and someone who rushed for more than 1,110 yards as a sophomore on the roster.

Mayer is still one of the biggest pieces of the offense, though, and that much is more than evident with his No. 2 overall ranking on this list.

Behind The Ranking

The top 25 was determined in the same manner as the Associated Press top 25. Five BlueandGold.com staff members submitted their ballots, and each position on the ballot was given a point value. The top ranking was worth 25 points, No. 2 was worth 24, No. 3 worth 23 and so on down until No. 25, which was worth one point. The players with the 25 highest point totals made the list.

Individual Rankings

Patrick Engel: 3

Tyler Horka: 4

Mike Singer: 4

Todd Burlage: 3

Steve Downey: 2