Notre Dame's tight end picture coming into focus

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame may wind up playing all five of its tight ends at different times this fall.

Coach Brian Kelly doesn’t have to settle on a clear-cut starter and backup, as he has for the last few years with Kyle Rudolph, Tyler Eifert, Troy Niklas and Ben Koyack at the position. A depth chart consisting of graduate student Chase Hounshell, junior Durham Smythe, sophomores Tyler Luatua and Nic Weishar and freshman Alize Jones doesn’t have a clear-cut No. 1 guy, but Kelly said every one of those players should see playing time this fall.

“We know their strengths and what they can do,” Kelly said. “We think we’ve got some roles for each one of them.

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“Chase Hounshell has done very well for us. Chase will play in certain situations as well. He’s physically the strongest player that we have. In-line, you’re not going to see him running down the middle of the field catching a lot of footballs. He’ll have as many touches as the fullback would in an offense, in terms of catches or carries. But he can block for us. So he can provide a very good role for us as one of our tight ends.

“Your pass catchers are Durham, Alize and Nick, so we’ve got three really good pass-catchers and guys that also have the size to block. I think we’ve got some pretty good versatility there. And Tyler, Tyler’s been getting better every single day at both ends.”

Expect Notre Dame to deploy more multiple tight end sets this fall, as well as split out Smythe, Jones or Weishar in passing situations. Luatua, who played as a true freshman last year mostly in a blocking role, and Hounshell could see the field when the situation calls for short-yardage running plays.

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Smythe and Jones missed Thursday’s practice — both are expected back sometime soon — which gave Weishar and opportunity to take most of the reps with the first-team offense. Weishar impressed during one-on-one, seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 work, and Kelly said the Marist alum put on enough weight (he’s up over 240 pounds) to be a factor at tight end this fall.

“We knew he was a pass-catcher,” Kelly said. “He was prolific in high school, he caught everything. … It was in-line blocking that was going to be the question and whether he could put on the weight necessary to compete right away. Had a terrific offseason in putting on the weight and getting stronger in the weight room. He’s still got a ways to go, but he’s got to the point where that coupled with a toughness and a resolve that he’s put himself right in the mix here to play a lot for us.”

 

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