Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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64 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW TIGHT ENDS "We had an All-American receiver, so that helped too. I think it comes down to us being reliable targets, being guys who can get open and catch the ball, and I think you'll see the production rise." Now Smythe is healthy while Jones and Weishar have the benefit of extensive 2015 experience. The unit is hoping it all comes together for a more productive 2016. Matuska's best chance to see the field in 2016 required a move to tight end, a posi- tion with which he is already familiar. The Columbus, Ohio, native earned first- team recognition on the All-Metro team from The Columbus Dispatch as a senior tight end in 2012. After three years as an Irish defensive end, however, he was ready to go back. He slimmed down from 290 pounds to 275 and was expected to take on a premier blocking role before Luatua decided not to transfer from Notre Dame. "When they told me I would be making the transition, I couldn't stay 290 if I wanted to be successful in this position," Matuska said. "I worked with the nutrition staff and our training program and really tried to get myself more lean mass. "It feels right. It feels like I'm more com- fortable in this type of situation being an offensive player. It's been a really good transition for me so far, just from what I've seen during the spring." The playbook has also been an adjust- ment after he participated in the Wing-T, a run-based offense, in high school. "We didn't pass much," he said. "But I think I feel comfortable in the pass game. "It's now about learning the different de- fenses, honestly. In high school it was more block this area instead of someone. Now you have to read and see if it's cover-2, see where the linebackers are going and know what the front is." He admitted this spring that the adjustment would take some time. "I didn't really expect it to be that different because I'd played tight end before, but after spending three years on defense, it's quite a change," he said. "The fact I know the snap count at this point and I know what I'm doing, I feel more comfortable in that situation. "It obviously took a couple practices to get used to it, but I feel like I'm really hitting my stride." Meanwhile, Jones recorded 13 receptions for 190 yards and con- tributed a few big plays during the 2015 season, but there was one problem: The Irish had to take him off the field all too often. The Las Vegas native exhibited his pass-catching skills as a matchup nightmare at the position last fall, but his inexperience as a blocker prevented him from becoming an every-down player once the veteran Smythe went down with an injury. In order to fix that problem in 2016, Jones will be splitting his time as a tight end and boundary receiver. Next to senior wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr., the rangy and fluid Jones might be the most appeal- ing target to Notre Dame's quarterbacks. Similar to Mackey Award winner Tyler Eifert in 2012, Jones might be detached from the line more often. "He can't be a guy who's in a rotation as the third tight end on the field," Kelly said. "That's pretty clear." With Chris Brown, last year's starter at the W boundary position, now in the NFL and wide receiver Corey Robinson giving up football due to concussions, Notre Dame needs help at that spot. And Jones hopes to deliver. "It brings back memories," he said of his time at powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School. "I really, really, really like playing in the boundary. … Hopefully I bring that trust to the coaches and they see that I take it seriously, I'm working at my craft and re- ally like trying to understand the W position. "They're going to use me the best way possible to help us beat Texas. I'm going to leave that up to them, but I enjoy play- ing both positions and being a mismatch out there." Another year with the playbook should also make a significant difference. "I think he's starting to understand our offense," Booker said. "That's the thing here with our offense. There are a lot of things that happen in pre- and post-snap reads that we've got to make sure we do a good job of, and quite frankly we didn't do as good of a job last year on those post-snap reads, so he's picking those up well. For him too, it's a continual every day coming at it, attacking and making sure he understands the consistency of our route running is only going to help us get him the ball. When we're consistent with our route running, the quarterbacks have confidence with where we're going to be to throw us the ball." While Smythe's injury was a setback to the Irish efforts last season, the silver lining is that Jones got more of a taste of collegiate action than many would have expected one year ago. "Like any guy that was able to play as a true freshman, they're just swimming a lot of times out there," Booker said. "They're trying to find the speed of the game. They're trying to find what the call is, where to line up and they're just focused on themselves. Now Alizé has to start understanding conceptually our offense, which he is, and understanding the details of the position. "There are a lot of details in our position, whether it's attach, de- tach, toes in the backfield, motion, all that stuff. He's doing that like Nic, and Durham understands the details of the position the most, but his live reps haven't been as much as Nic or Alizé, especially last year. All those guys are improving on that." ✦ Junior Nic Weishar played the most snaps (286) among Irish tight ends in 2015 and finished the season with three receptions for 19 yards. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS BY THE NUMBERS 5 Players that registered at least 147 snaps at tight end in 2015, which includes Durham Smythe despite the then-junior participating in only three games. 5 Irish tight ends selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft since 2006, with Troy Niklas in 2014 the most recent. 20 The total number of receptions by those five tight ends in 2015, which is eight catches lower than Notre Dame's leading receiver at the position in any season since 2005. Year Player Receptions 2005 Anthony Fasano 47 2006 John Carlson 47 2007 John Carlson 40* 2008 Kyle Rudolph 29 2009 Kyle Rudolph 33 2010 Kyle Rudolph 28 Year Player Receptions 2011 Tyler Eifert 63 2012 Tyler Eifert 50* 2013 Troy Niklas 32 2014 Ben Koyack 30 2015 Alizé Jones 13 * Led all Irish players in receptions Leading Receiver Among Tight Ends