Notre Dame Football: Breaking Down Irish's Most Uncertain Position

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Eight days from Notre Dame football’s season opener against Texas, the Irish depth chart is sharpening in focus. There’s still one position, however, with uncertainty and flexibility: tight end.

As quick as Notre Dame is to bill itself as “Tight End U,” and rightfully so, the Irish only bring back one reception for seven yards at the position—a first-quarter grab by Durham Smythe against Arizona State. Despite the lack of past production and clarity, Irish head coach Brian Kelly is confident in his five tight ends and the different strengths they bring onto the field.

“We’ve got some really good flexibility,” Kelly said last week. “I think at the end of the day we can really do some things with those tight ends to keep teams off balance.”

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Smythe, a redshirt sophomore, stood out as the top tight end throughout the spring. However, the Belton, Texas, native tweaked his hamstring during Notre Dame’s fourth fall practice.

Until Smythe returned to full contact last week, second-year tight ends Nic Weishar and Tyler Luatua received more first-team reps in practices open to the media. Smythe said the hamstring hasn’t bothered him at all since returning to full strength.

“I think there is that sense of competition, but I think that helps all of us,” Smythe said. “And you know there are guys who come in and have strengths in certain areas of the game. And if those strengths are strong enough and you can play and help the team, sure, we’ll find a role for that.”

Smythe still figures to headline the position. Now in his third year on campus, he has bulked up to roughly 245-250 pounds, the result of a winter and spring spent focusing on weight gain and strength progression. Smythe admitted he edged toward pass-catching on the receiving-blocking spectrum of tight ends coming out of high school.

“Now that I’ve established some weight gain, some strength gain and stuff, if I really had to put one strength above everything else, I think it’s starting to become the knowledge of the offense,” Smythe said.

“I think over the past couple years, I guess I’m technically the oldest tight end with experience,” said Smythe with a laugh.

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Luatua, meanwhile, has dropped down to 255 pounds, and the quiet sophomore mostly factored into Notre Dame’s offense as a blocker in 2014.

“Coming into camp, I feel like I’ve improved in the passing game a lot more than during the spring,” Luatua said. “I lost weight. I’m gaining back more muscle.”

While Luatua has dropped extra weight, Weishar continues to pack on pounds. A 220-pound wide receiver in high school, Weishar said he’s now up to 245 pounds. The Midlothian, Illinois, native flashed in the fall as a red-zone target, shielding defenders along the goal line.

“I think as a tight end that’s one of the main things we need to focus on, is being viable threats in the red zone,” Weishar said.

Credit: 247Sports

Speaking of pass-catching threats, Kelly said freshman Alize Jones could even line up at wide receiver for Notre Dame and called him “a matchup nightmare.”

Fifth-year senior Chase Hounshell, a converted defensive lineman, rounds out the group. Hounshell admitted he thought his Irish career was over after Notre Dame’s Music City Bowl victory over LSU in December. After dropping 20 pounds, Hounshell gives the Irish depth as a blocking option.

“Every single one of the tight ends brings something different to the table,” Hounshell said. “We all have different strengths.”

Kelly said Notre Dame can deploy those strengths situationally.

“We’ve really recognized—especially this spring leading into this fall camp—that we have a lot of guys who can make plays in every facet of the game,” Smythe said. “So if there’s an opportunity to get three, three-plus tight ends on the field, I think as a group we’re really in support of that.”

Or more?

“We could go 0-5 personnel,” Smythe joked. “We could just put one of us at quarterback.”

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.