The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a roster full of players, and we want to talk about them all. One Foot Down’s player profile series will, once again, take a look at every single one of them, and hopefully we all learn a little bit more about these guys, and Notre Dame’s chances for the upcoming 2021 season.

#85 George Takacs, TE

George Takacs signed with the Fighting Irish as part of the 2018 recruiting class, rated significantly higher in the 247sports composite rankings (4-star, #283 overall, #14 TE) than the other tight end in the ND class, Tommy Tremble (3-star, #490 overall, #21 TE). The 6’6”, 242-lb Takacs held offers from a number of big-time programs, including Georgia, Florida, Florida State, Auburn, Iowa State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Wisconsin, and a host of others.

The highly-regarded tight end from Naples, Florida ended up choosing the Irish over the others in June before his senior year, and proceeded to enroll early in January 2018 to get a jump on his collegiate development.

His freshman year in 2018 was spent getting the hang of things while practicing on the scout team, and then he made his collegiate debut against New Mexico in Game 2 of the 2019 season. Overall as a sophomore, he played in 6 games and snagged 2 catches for 12 yards, including a touchdown grab in the red zone against the Duke Blue Devils.

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Last season, Takacs saw action in 10 of 12 contests while serving as essentially TE3 behind Tommy Tremble and Michael Mayer.

He caught 3 passes for 30 yards on the season, and because of COVID, still has 3 seasons of eligibility remaining as he enters his senior year of schooling — great news for an Irish offense that always likes to have veteran, reliable guys at the position to go along with the 3-and-done studs like Mayer.

The Restaurant That Fits

George’s Neighborhood Grill

This may not be the most relatable choice, but anyone from Indianapolis has probably heard of this modest little restaurant at around 71st and Binford. It’d never be your recommendation for the best restaurant to see while visiting Indy, but it’s a reliably-good local spot with solid food.

Similarly, I think George Takacs is exactly that, but in tight end form. He’s shown a little bit here and there in terms of being reliable, but he’s not the Michael Mayer tight end you’re going to bill as “must-see” and boast about to anyone who will listen. But hey, sometimes — whether it’s grabbing a reasonably-priced and fairly tasty meal or offering a consistent additional set of hands and blocking ability on the end of the line — you just need a restaurant or tight end that/who will get the job done.

That’s George’s, and that’s George Takacs.

Don’t hold the fact that Jim Harbaugh likes George’s against it — if anything, it just shows how universally solid of a restaurant it is — even guys like him love it.

2021 Outlook

With Tremble off to the NFL (drafted in the 3rd round by the Carolina Panthers), Takacs steps forward into the #2 tight end role, with Michael Mayer very convincingly the go-to guy at the position.

Still, Takacs will get plenty of playing time and probably a decent amount of targets this season, what with the Irish’s love of using tight ends in the passing game and with plenty of question marks still in the wide receiver group. He’ll also be called upon to do plenty of good blocking, which he’s definitely not a stranger to doing.

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Look for sophomore Kevin Bauman and true freshmen Cane Berrong and Mitch Evans to push Takacs a bit for playing time (especially later in the year and into 2022), but ultimately Takacs is pretty firmly entrenched as a very significant contributor at tight end for the next 2-3 seasons.