Notre Dame Football: What Cole Kmet’s absence means for the Irish
By Ben Belden
Notre Dame football’s starting tight end, Cole Kmet, went down during practice Thursday. It was later confirmed that Kmet had broken his collarbone.
Notre Dame football is poised for another successful season and perhaps another run at the College Football Playoff. With Ian Book looking to improve on his numbers from a season ago, a more seasoned offensive line, and a defensive line that will cause opponents fits, the Irish have the pieces to ascend to the top of college football.
Unfortunately, the Irish will be without one of their best offensive weapons, at least for the early part of the season.
On Thursday, junior tight end Cole Kmet caught a touchdown pass at practice, but came down awkwardly on his shoulder. It was later confirmed that Kmet had broken his collarbone and faces a recovery period between 4 and 8 weeks.
For the Irish, losing Kmet is almost as bad as it gets.
Outside of Ian Book, Kmet may be Notre Dame’s most irreplaceable player, simply for the fact that the Irish have depth at most major positions. The drop off between Kmet and his host of backups is significant.
Notre Dame’s offense is poised to be even better than they were in 2018 and one of the reasons was an emphasis on utilizing the tight end, something the Irish have gotten away from since Tyler Eifert left for the NFL.
And while Kmet has an outside chance to return for Notre Dame’s third game of the season, a Week 4 matchup in Athens against the Georgia Bulldogs, the time he will miss is less than optimal. For Kmet to develop a chemistry with Book, missing most of fall camp isn’t optimal. Additionally, seeing your first game action of the season against Georgia doesn’t sound like a recipe for success.
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In Kmet’s absence, the Irish will turn to some combination of Brock Wright, Tommy Tremble, and George Tackacs. If there is any silver lining, it’s that Kmet’s injury occurred early in camp, when the Irish have the opportunity to get more answers at the tight end position.