Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer Makes Freshman All-American Watch List

Following Notre Dame’s 4-0 start, tight end Michael Mayer has been named to the Football Writers Association of America’s Freshman All-American Watch List.

Mayer has been a regular with junior Tommy Tremble and senior Brock Wright in Notre Dame’s multiple tight end packages.

Through four games, Tremble has 202 snaps, Wright 132 and Mayer 124, or 31 per contest, with one start. Mayer's 124 snaps are the most a Notre Dame freshman tight end has played since Alize Mack had 252 during the 10-3 campaign in 2015.

So far the Independence, Kentucky native also has seven receptions — at least one in each game — for 80 yards and a touchdown, the latter coming versus Florida State on Oct. 10. That score against the Seminoles marked the first time a Notre Dame freshman tight end crossed the goal line since Kyle Rudolph in 2008. The Covington Catholic product is on pace to record the second-most receptions ever by a Fighting Irish freshman tight end, behind only Rudolph.

Notre Dame’s most recent FWAA Freshman All-American was safety Kyle Hamilton last season. Since the start of freshman eligibility in 1972, here are the five best freshman seasons by a Notre Dame tight end, in our opinion.

When starter Durham Smythe suffered an injury in the second game of 2015 that sidelined him the remainder of the regular season, the highly heralded Mack had to step in.

He finished with 13 receptions for 190 yards, highlighted by crucial fourth-quarter 35- and 45-yard receptions in comeback wins versus USC and Temple in back-to-back weeks that enabled Notre Dame to start 10-1.

In head coach Bob Davie’s debut season, Holloway became a shining star in the freshman class. His first reception was a touchdown (at Stanford), he made two crucial first-half grabs in a 24-6 upset at No. 11 LSU, and had a 48-yard reception in a 21-14 victory the following week against No. 22 West Virginia.

In all, he had six starts, played 160:10 and caught eight passes for 144 yards (18.0 yards per catch) with a score.

The reigning national champs had to replace the graduated All-American Dave Casper. When starting tight end Robin Weber suffered a season-ending injury midway through the 1974 campaign, the 6-4, 245-pound freshman MacAfee was shifted there and excelled as a receiver and blocker.

He finished with 14 catches, 146 yards and one TD as the Irish finished No. 6 in the AP in Ara Parseghian’s final season as head coach.

This season helped him develop him into one of the greatest ever to play the position in the college game — including winning the Walter Camp Award and finishing third in the Heisman balloting for the 1977 national champs. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame even before Casper.

One of five tight ends vying for action after the graduation of three-time All-American MacAfee, the freshman became the standout and a favorite Joe Montana target in the clutch.

He made crucial grabs in fourth-quarter comeback victories against Pitt (three for 47 yards) and Houston (three for 49 yards) in the Cotton Bowl, and grabbed four passes for 82 yards in a heartbreaking 27-25 loss at USC, the co-national champ. His 16 receptions averaged a robust 17.8 yards.

The Parade magazine National Player of the Year was so talented that head coach Lou Holtz moved incumbent senior tight end and tri-captain Andy Heck to left tackle.

Heck became an All-American and first-round pick for the national champs, while Brown made an instant impact, playing 206:38 and earning honorable mention All-America notice from the Sporting News. His first two receptions resulted in touchdowns, and in the 31-30 victory over No. 1 Miami he made clutch grabs of 26 and 20 yards.

Brown finished with 14 catches for 220 yards (15.7 yards per catch) and three TDs, capped by 47- and 23-yard receptions in the Fiesta Bowl victory over West Virginia that set up two Irish scores en route to the national title.

When Mike Ragone suffered a season-ending knee injury in August and Will Yeatman was suspended from playing early in the campaign, Rudolph remarkably started all 13 games and played 343:38, a Notre Dame freshman record at any position.

His 28 catches (two TDs) for 340 yards are both Irish freshman records at tight ends, but particularly notable was his durability while also having to serve as a blocker and play almost every single snap on offense.

He concluded the year with four catches for 78 yards in a 49-21 romp over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl.

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