In talking to Kyle Rudolph this spring, it was interesting to hear him say that he expected all the production, attention and honors that came his way after his fine freshman season.
When Rudolph arrived on campus last summer, he brought great high school credentials after rating as the top tight end in the country out of Cincinnati Elder High School. But with plenty of depth and more experience at the position in junior Will Yeatman and sophomore Mike Ragone, a redshirt season seemed more likely than an All-American one…Looks like Rudolph never got the memo. ??
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Rudolph eclipsed the previous freshman mark for playing time by a staggering 77 minutes and 39 seconds.
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“You always set lofty goals, but you’re not sure if you achieve them,” said Rudolph, who was thrust into duty after knee surgery for Ragone and a suspension for Yeatman. “Going through the year, and achieving goals that I set for myself, it was definitely a big relief, and some very good satisfaction.”?
So what does Rudolph do for an encore to the most productive season ever for a freshman tight end at Notre Dame? Safe to say he’ll set his own bar even higher.
“What you did the previous season doesn’t count for anything,” said Rudolph, who became the first tight end in Notre Dame history to start every game as a freshman. “Because if you spend too much time thinking about that, you’re not going to get any better. No matter how good a season people thought it was, there were still a lot of mistakes, and a lot more to learn to get better.”
Rudolph had six games last season where he caught at least three passes and eight games where he recorded at least 25 receiving yards. Two games especially stood out – the five-catch, 70-yard, one touchdown performance against Stanford and the four-catch, 78-yard game in the Hawaii Bowl.
But Rudolph’s production was only part of the story, durability was the other. After the suspension of Yeatman, Rudolph essentially became the only viable tight end on the team. He recorded 369 minutes and 56 seconds, which was fourth most on the Irish and only five fewer minutes than Jimmy Clausen played.
It was also the most playing time ever by any Notre Dame freshman at any position, breaking the previous standard of 292:17 set by offensive tackle Sam Young in 2006. Previous freshman records were held by Brady Quinn in 2003 (250:03) and outside linebacker Kory Minor in 1995 (239:38).
The dynamic at tight end changed dramatically this spring with Ragone recovered and sophomore Joseph Fauria one of the most pleasant surprises of the spring season, meaning the Irish should have a couple of nice options to complement Rudolph this season, and give the offense another look.
“Now you’re not just locked into putting three or four wide receivers on the field on every play,” Charlie Weis said. “It opens up a whole personnel grouping, and a number of things you can do from that personnel grouping.”??
What’s A Good Season?
Ask Rudolph and he’ll tell you it’s parlaying his freshman all-America season into a big-boy all-America season, and that may not be that far fetched. Rudolph may not match his minutes from last season – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing – but he should certainly add to his production.
With defensive backs keying on wide receivers Michael Floyd and Golden Tate downfield, Rudolph should be able to patrol the middle of the field and work against linebackers, and that’s a mismatch big time.
At 6-foot-6 and 258 pounds, Rudolph is a big target, and his 1,000-point, 600-rebound basketball career at Elder serves as a testament to his athleticism as well as his fine hands. Throw in his smarts and a year of experience, and this could become a very special season for Rudolph.
You figure Floyd and Tate will combine for about 2,500 receiving yards this season. And given Clausen should throw for close to 4,000, there’s still about 1,500 yards to go around.
Expect Rudolph to make a run at some of Ken McAfee’s single-season records for an Irish tight end, and end up with close to 50 catches and about 700 receiving yards. McAfee’s set the Notre Dame standard in 1977 when he recorded 54 catches for 797 yards.
Sophomores aren’t supposed to be in the conversation for the John Mackey Award, and it probably isn’t realistic for Rudolph to be mentioned for it. But third-string tight ends aren’t supposed to become freshman all-Americans, so we we’ll keep that Mackey memo away from Rudolph also.
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