Notre Dame's Best Tight End Seasons
Over the past two weeks, college football preseason “Watch Lists” for individual year-end awards have been revealed.
Maybe one of the more surprising ones was the John Mackey Award Watch List, which is this year comprised of 55 tight ends. Notre Dame joined Louisville, Minnesota and Wisconsin as the four schools to have two tight ends on the list.
The surprise stems mainly from the lack of high pass-catching numbers from the Fighting Irish duo of fifth-year senior Durham Smythe and junior Alizé Mack. Both have caught only 13 career passes apiece as Notre Dame tight ends, whereas someone such as Louisville’s Cole Hikutini had 50 catches for 688 yards and eight touchdowns in 2016, or Wisconsin’s Troy Fumagalli grabbed 47 passes for 580 yards and two touchdowns last season.
In fact, Mack didn’t even play last year because he was academically ineligible. His status is based strictly on projection of three factors: One, he had a strong freshman campaign in 2015 with 13 catches for 190 yards to make the preseason watch list for the 2016 Mackey Award as well; two, scouts grade him as a future high-round draft pick; and three, new offensive coordinator Chip Long also coaches the tight ends and has a history of having the men at his position actively involved as receivers.
In Mack's place last season, Smythe started all 12 games last year and caught a modest nine passes for 112 yards and four touchdowns, but saw the lion's share of snaps because of his blocking acumen as well, which helped him make the Watch List.
The award is not predicated on pass catching alone, but it does play a huge factor. In the 17-year history of the award, the recipient caught at least 50 passes 11 times, and less than 41 only once — Washington’s Austin Seferian-Jenkins with 36 in 2013. Eight of those grabs were touchdowns, though, which is tied for third most by a Mackey Award winner.
Over the last six years at Notre Dame the tight end position has seen a drop in catches (including non-starters) as follows: 66, 58, 42, 31, 20 and 12 last year.
The Irish have almost annually featured a tight end on the Mackey Watch List, with Tyler Eifert winning it in 2012.
Here are the top five pass reception totals in a season accumulated by a Notre Dame tight end (bowl games included):
1. Tyler Eifert (2011) — 63, catches, 803 yards, 5 TDs
2. Ken MacAfee (1977) — 58 catches, 842 yards, 6 TDs
3. Tyler Eifert (2012) — 50 catches, 686 yards, 4 TDs
4t. John Carlson (2006) — 47 catches, 634 yards, 4 TDs
4t. Anthony Fasano (2005) — 47 catches, 576 yards, 2 TDs
Note: The only other season one Irish tight end caught at least 40 passes was the 3-9 campaign in 2007 when Carlson paced the team with 40 for 372 yards and three scores.
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