Cole Kmet Named Hidden Gem Player for Notre Dame Football in 2019

Bleacher Report recently named their hidden gem player for each Top 10 program heading into 2019, and Cole Kmet was tabbed as the one to watch for Notre Dame football.

Well, we’ve officially entered the ‘dead zone’ of the college football season, as Pro Days, spring ball, and the NFL Draft are all over. This leaves  fans with nothing more than hype videos from summer workouts to remind us we’re still over 100 days out until Notre Dame football returns.

These dog days of summer are certainly slow, but they can lead to some interesting conversations to debate over that otherwise might be insignificant during more active times of the year.

Bleacher Report dropped their list of hidden gem players to watch for on each of the Top 10 teams for the 2019 season. This is a nice change of pace, as the media has tirelessly talked about the All-Americans, Heisman hopefuls, and elite players of the Draft since the College Football Playoff in December.

For Notre Dame, tight end Cole Kmet was bestowed the honor as the under-the-radar guy to keep your eyes on this season.

Kmet, who also pitched for the Irish baseball team, decided to end his career on the diamond this off-season to focus on football.  He is entering his junior season where he has yet to put up any eye-catching numbers on the gridiron, serving more of a backup/rotational role with Alize Mack getting most of the attention in the passing game last year.

Now with Mack gone via the NFL Draft, it’s Kmet’s time to step up to the plate and deliver.

At 6-6, 260-pounds, Kmet has the physical tools you’d want in a tight end. Combined with his athleticism and how he looked during spring this year, it’s no secret he will be utilized heavily in the passing game in 2019.

In March, when asked about using Kmet this upcoming season, head coach Brian Kelly said:

"He’s going to catch a lot of footballs. He’ll be a guy we’ll actually game plan (around) and certainly look at how he touches the football each week. We didn’t do that last year."

With offensive coordinator Chip Long game-planning around Kmet and making him a weapon in the passing game rather than a secondary receiving option, it would not surprise many, at least within the Notre Dame bubble, for him to have a Tyler Eifert-type season.

The bar isn’t high, but Kmet should absolutely blow last season’s numbers (15 receptions for 162 yards) out of the water. If he were to stay healthy and put everything together, a 50 catch, 500 yard season with a couple scores doesn’t seem that far off.

It’s safe to say the upside for Kmet is huge. He will be the undoubted go-to big man with an improved Ian Book throwing the rock.

Hard to ask for much more than that.

As far as the NFL, it’s no secret the tight end pedigree coming out of South Bend is one of the best in the country.

We’ll worry about Kmet and the NFL after next season, but if you look at the somewhat underwhelming numbers former tight ends Durham Smythe and Alize Mack put up the previous two seasons while still being drafted, a breakout season for Kmet would lead to a lot of interest from the next level.

There are obviously a few other names that come to mind for under-the-radar guys who could have potential breakout seasons: Michael Young, Shayne Simon, and Bo Bauer to name a few.

But when it comes to the opportunity Kmet has combined with the talent we’ve already seen from him on the field, it’s hard not to agree with this pick.

The Irish will be fielding an offense with a few different faces in 2019, and one that you will be seeing a lot of will be tight end Cole Kmet.