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There were only 27 picks left in the NFL Draft on Saturday evening and a Notre Dame player had yet to have his named called. That came to an end with the 12th pick in the 7th round as Jacksonville selected tight end Ben Koyack.
Koyack, who was projected to go in the 5th round by most analysts, tumbled toward the end of the Draft and was the 16th tight end selected.
One of the top tight ends coming out of high school back in 2011, Koyack was thrown into lineup as a freshman and was never able to grab a starting role until his senior year. A solid all-around tight end who improved as a blocker through his time in South Bend he finished his career with 44 receptions and 5 touchdowns.
There were no ND selections in the 1937 or 1977 NFL drafts, though RB Al Hunter of #NotreDame was taken in the '77 supplemental draft.
— Eric Hansen (@EHansenNDI) May 2, 2015
Good pick on Ben Koyack for the Jags. Had him as a 5th round projection. Not as athletic as some TEs already taken, but a bargain.
— Dion Caputi (@nfldraftupdate) May 2, 2015
#Jaguars draft results: Notre Dame TE Ben Koyack to Jacksonville http://t.co/cgY4MkjBNN pic.twitter.com/EmkOelZW34
— Big Cat Country (@BigCatCountry) May 2, 2015
The SB Nation Jacksonville Jaguars site Big Cat Country had this to say about the Koyack pick:
The Jaguars previously addressed the tight end position by signing Julius Thomas in free agency and restructuring the contract of Marcedes Lewis. The seventh round featured not only Koyack, but Monmouth wide receiver Neal Sterling as well, who could be developed as a move tight end.
Lewis is getting up there in age and caught 18 passes last year while missing 8 games. Julius Thomas comes from Denver where he caught 108 passes over the past 2 seasons. Jacksonville also has Clay Harbor at tight end who caught 26 passes last year.
Congratulations to Ben on the draft pick!