The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have already finished an early signing day, concluded their season with a bowl win over the LSU Tigers, and wrapped up the final signing day. Now, it’s time to begin the transition to Spring Football. To prepare for that, we’re going to take a look at each positional group heading into spring. Early enrollees will be included in this, but signees who did not enroll early will not be included. Without further ado, let’s get right into it.

Tight Ends

Notes

Notre Dame’s tight end group didn’t exactly light it up in 2017. The remnants of “Tight End U” hardly resembled its past dominance, with the Irish’s starters hardly conjuring up memories of Tyler Eifert or Kyle Rudolph.

It’s said every year, but this might be the season that the Irish offense is once again highlighted by exemplary tight end play. The potential is assuredly there. Chip Long has a talented group of athletes at his disposal, and loves to utilize tight ends as much as possible. Opportunities will definitely be there.

It’s a matter of capitalization upon those opportunities for the Irish tight ends.

Alizé Mack is the one whose performance will garner the most attention, whether it be positive or negative. The fourth-year junior has heaps of athletic ability and physical makeup to be utterly dominant. However, he has yet to put it all together for the Irish. Drops, inattentiveness, and lackadaisical play have plagued his time on the football field. His potential is sky-high, and this is the year that Notre Dame’s coaches will look to him to put everything together. If that occurs, the prospect of going against Alizé Mack should strike fear into opposing defenses.

Nic Weishar looks to be the other half of the dichotomy for the Irish. He is not the athletic freak that Mack is, nor is he expected to perform like one. Rather, his expectations are focused on remaining a steady, reliable force in the tight end group. His position as the “elder statesman” of the tight ends - and thus the presumed leader - will also be of unequivocal importance to this group.

Brock Wright and Cole Kmet will have had another year in the weight room and another year to learn the system. Their roles will likely grow, although how much will be expected of them is unclear at this time. These spring practices will act as proving grounds for the pair of sophomores.

The only early enrollee tight end, George Takacs will look to get an early start in the system and show his worth to the coaches. He will likely not be relied upon during the season unless absolutely necessary, and this spring will be used to get him the preparation he would need should such a situation arise.