Notre Dame, Tommy Tremble Imbue Physical Culture

“There’s no greater joy in life than moving a man from point A to point B against his will."

—Joe Moore, 1988-96 Notre Dame offensive line coach

Since 2015, the Joe Moore Award has been presented to the nation’s best, toughest and most productive offensive line in college football.

Should Notre Dame earn the honor this season — as it did in 2017 — junior tight end Tommy Tremble would have to be classified as an honorary member of that group. Seldom in college football does an individual make television replays or highlights as much as Tremble for strictly his sheer desire and ability to block.

“Making a great block, moving one person from point A to point B — it’s better, if not the same, as scoring a touchdown for me,” said Tremble, echoing the Moore gospel. “I love doing that. Who wants to play some real football, smash-mouth football? I love that.”

From day one this year, that has been the identity of the No. 2-ranked and 8-0 Fighting Irish as they prepare to play at No. 19 North Carolina Friday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET), with Tremble an integral figure.

Tight ends are usually categorized two ways: the “blocking tight end” or the “catching tight end.”

When Tremble arrived as a listed 6-3, 228-pound freshman (Tremble claims he more realistically was around 210), he was perceived as the pass-catching figure, especially when issued No. 24 rather than the traditional jersey number in the 80s for tight ends.

Redshirted as a freshman to develop more physically, Tremble’s 2019 sophomore season highlighted his speed and maneuverability while complementing second-round pick Cole Kmet. Tremble’s 16 catches for 183 yards and four scores were the best by an Irish sophomore tight end since future first-round pick Tyler Eifert in 2010.

Stereotyping him as merely a pass catcher, though, was misguided. Underrated was his physicality, and his 82.8 run-blocking grade, per Pro Football Focus, was much better than Kmet’s 55.3, although in fairness Kmet had more than double the snaps.

This year PFF ranks Tremble second in run-blocking efficiency among tight ends, behind only Iowa State’s 6-7, 270-pound Dylan Soehner. Lined up mostly as an attached in-line tight end to help seal the edge, he also has been aligned as a traditional fullback or H-back as a lead, isolation blocker that has placed Notre Dame around the top 10 nationally in rushing offense, time of possession and third-down conversions. When needed, he has the agility to block in space, and now at a powerful 248 pounds can hold his own, and then some, versus linemen.

Easy to overlook is Tremble was recruited to play defense by many Power 5 schools, including Michigan and Purdue.

“Growing up I mostly played defense, so I was used to always seeking contact,” Tremble said.

Along the way, his father, Greg Tremble, a former junior-college star who led the University of Georgia in interceptions in both 1992 and 1993 with three apiece, and played briefly in the NFL, imparted an important lesson.

“He said, ‘Never be scared of contact. The more scared you are, the more hurt you are going to be,’” Tremble said. “We bring that kind of fearlessness overall to our offense. No one's shying away from contact. That’s really showing in the physicality we have as a team.”

The physicality has become contagious all-around, including sophomore running back Kyren Williams taking extra pride as a pass blocker in blitz pickup.

“Tommy Tremble should be spotlighted for the way he blocks and the ferocity in the way he does that,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. “He plays so fast. He plays so aggressive. He finishes his blocks. And I just think it’s lost in so many instances when we talk about the game of football.

“So when people see that, it really stands out and I know the aficionados of this game love watching that. I love watching it. The more Tommy Tremble — give me more. I love watching him play.”

After the first two games this season, Tremble actually led the Irish in receiving with eight catches for 104 yards. In the last six, with the emergence of freshman Michael Mayer, Tremble caught only seven passes for 54 yards, but his contributions go far beyond any stat sheet. It’s about a mentality and overall culture that is implemented.

“Not maybe — he’s the best run-blocker I’ve ever seen,” said quarterback Ian Book. “He’s just got something to him, he’s got a little nasty to him, and you see that as our running backs and quarterbacks. There’s nothing better when that guy is running and blocking for you.”

“Going into the fourth quarter we are always going to be the team that when we are tired, we are going even harder,” Tremble said. “We are never like, ‘Oh, let’s end this. Let’s get out of here.’ We are 100 percent until the whistle blows at the end of the fourth quarter. We attribute that to physicality. We are physical 100 percent the entire game.

“No matter what is happening, we are never shying away from that. That has helped not only our team, but also me individually being confident knowing that the man next to me is going to go just as hard. It’s just it's an amazing program to really be around.”

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