Pre-Spring Depth Chart: Tight End

I’m very skeptical of Ragone. Between the injuries, the off-field problems, and his penchant for dropping passes in crunch time, I don’t expect anything more than solid blocking out of him; I hope I’m wrong.

2011 is Golic’s window of opportunity. If Welch or Koyack pass him, he may never see significant minutes in his career.

Welch or Koyack could play a big role if Eifert gets injured, but I agree that Welch probably sees modest action and Koyack red-shirts if all goes to plan.

I’m very pleased with the solid depth at TE.

We have nice depth and can hopefully stay free from injuries, transfers and ResLife at TE. Ragone is probably back for blocking, but to also make sure Koyack has a redshirt year.

It probably makes sense to try and retain a year of eligibility for Koyack. Rudolph was the exception in many ways. He looked like an upperclassmen the moment he stepped on campus due to his work prior to coming to ND.

I have to agree with Whiskey, 2011 is Golic’s window. If he doesn’t show much, then he gets buried on the depth chart. Ragone will probably be used mostly as a blocking TE, much like last year. To me, its either Welch or Golic that need to develop into a solid back-up for Eifert. Golic has a similar frame, while Welch is probably closer to Ragone. I would be happy with either one playing well, so that it gives some versatility in formations and packages (imagine a power look in the red zone from which you can motion/move both TEs wide—can you say mismatch?)

I think you can definitely do some fun things with two tight ends out there in the spread offense. Especially with them being good receivers, it should be more common that the team goes out in a power formation and either tries to run the ball or kicks one of the tight ends out for a pass.

I’m still waiting for that nifty tight end pitch that they ran during last year’s Blue-Gold game. I love that play!!

All these guys are good althetes & I’d love to see as many of them make an impact as possible, but I’m kinda rooting for Ragone to make a nice impact this year. Yes, he’s currently heralded mostly for his good blocking, but if I remember right, out of HS that kid was highly regarded for his speed (pre-knee-injury) & pass-catching ability. Definitely has dropped a couple important passes though; no question that that won’t cut it.

It’d be pretty fun to see Kelly trot out a 3-4 TE formation next year, practically screaming “we’re gonna run it,” only to shift them all out wide io run routes & catch some LB’s flat-footed.

Eric, what was the TE pitch play from the B&G game? I don’t remember it. But speaking of sweet plays, I’m a sucker for the TE throw-back (especially near the Red Zone): OL & QB all slide one direction after the snap, moving the pocket. The TE stays w/ them like he’s gonna block, then slips out in the opposite direction. Seems like it ALWAYS catches the defense off guard & leaves the TE wide open for a TD grab.

Damn… is it really 7 months till football? Sigh…

baIrish,

7 months…indeed, but one more until we get spring practice to hold us over.

The play I’m thinking about, they ran a read option, faked the hand off to the running back…then the QB took a step or two and pitched to the tight end coming across the line of scrimmage behind the offensive line. I think it was Ragone and he took the ball up the middle for a nice gain.

I don’t remember the particular details but it was something like that and I loved it.

Ragone still has good speed for a TE post knee injury. If you remember, he was the one that ran down the Washington State player trying to convert the blocked PAT into 2 from behind. It would be nice to see him have one big game (like Kamara vs. Utah) in 2011. Say what you want, but it shows a lot of desire and want-to to bounce back from injuries and off-field issues and still be a productive member of the team.

Great summary Eric. Thanks for the honest evalution. ND will lose nothing in production from losing Rudolph. If he had stayed he could have become a legend, but his leaving early prevented him from acquiring that kind of status. As you said, in the grand scheme of things his production over his career wasn’t that great, or irreplaceable. I loved Kyle and wish he would have stayed. We will be fine, if not better at tight end. In the grand scheme, he will have the money, but he lost out on All-American and legendary status.

Less than 200 days until the season starts.

Sigh

@Johnnpf34:

He’s a prodigious talent and an athletic freak, but was also plagued by injury throughout his college career. That’s why his production wasn’t that great.

Having a chance to get drafted in the first round despite his injury-prone history, Rudy absolutely made the right decision in jumping early. If his senior season had been cut short by yet another injury, his stock would have dropped precipitously.

Joey Hiben, Konrad Reuland, Will Yeatman and Joseph Fauria – where are you now?

Hiben stayed for a year at ND in architecture, then transferred to Minnesota where he tried to walk on. Reuland transferred to Stanford, was honorable mention all-Pac-10 this year and is rated 40th among all TEs for the NFL Draft. Yeatman transferred to Maryland, played on their nationally ranked lacrosse team and the football team and is rated 24th among all TEs for the NFL Draft. Fauria transferred to UCLA, was a sophomore last year, and last year caught three receptions for 21 yards and 2 TDs for the season.

Rudolph is the unanimous #1 TE for the NFL draft. Ragone, if he had come out, was ranked the 20th best TE for the draft.

1. Eifert
2. Welch
3. Koyack

eventually Koyack gets to no.2, maybe eventually #1. both Welch and Koyack were top 3 TEs (koyack #1). Ragone has been a disappointment- #2 TE 4.4-4.5 speed not sure what he can bring to the table

Koyack is a super long shot to start, the odds aren’t great he’s even a backup.

Ragone is a great blocker, he’s the oldest, and he is still a decent pass catcher. He’s going to play a lot…I don’t see Kelly bringing him back if he’s going to sit on the bench.

@Whiskey

I’m not disagreeing with anything you’ve said, except that Rudy absolutely made the right decision to jump early. Financially, most likely. We’ll never know. Accomplishment wise, highly unlikely, but again, we’ll never know. The question asked was “Will the Irish be able to replace Kyle Rudolph’s production?” I was commenting on Eric’s honest and accurate evaluation that ND has already done that, and should see even more production from the position this season. You reinforced that yourself by stating Kyle’s injuries prevented him from having the production he could have had, but ultimately, never had. Unfortunately, we will never find out how good he could have been. GO IRISH!!

I expect Ragone to be a very good blocker and a factor in the passing game as well (if he stays healthy).

I also can’t get Ragone’s B-G performance out of my head from last year either. He looked like a bona fide All-American, and was playing at such a high level.