Notre Dame football: Five potential breakout players on offense in 2020

4. Tommy Tremble

The speed and athleticism of Notre Dame tight end Tommy Tremble has never been challenged. Despite being a 3-star recruit out of high school, Tremble was regarded as a tight end recruit with a huge upside due to his excellent speed and athletic prowess.

The questions surrounding the game of Tremble were whether he could succeed as a blocker and improve his route running capabilities enough to make a difference for the Notre Dame offense. He put many of those concerns to bed last season with excellent showings in limited action for the Irish.

Tremble was pressed into duty early last season when star tight end, Cole Kmet, missed the beginning of the season due to a broken collar bone. The sophomore tight end would go on to have 16 receptions for 183 yards and four touchdowns for the Irish last season, with most of those stats being accumulated in the first four games of the season while Kmet was recovering from injury.

Throughout the season, Tremble showed adequate in-line blocking skills in the running game, something that many scouts questioned early on. In addition, his route running skills looked more than adequate, as he seemed to come up with big plays early on in the season.

Heading into the 2020 season, Tommy Tremble is expected to split time at tight end with senior Brock Wright, who is regarded as a better blocker than Tremble. However, the 6’3″ and 235-pound Tremble possesses the athleticism that will make it difficult to keep him off the field.

In high school, Tremble ran a time of 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash, exhibiting rare speed at the tight end position. While Irish fans are used to the Notre Dame football program pumping out big-bodied, prototypical tight ends like Kyle Rudolph, Tyler Eifert, and Cole Kmet, Tremble fits the mold of a smaller more athletic tight end/wide receiver hybrid like Evan Engram of the New York Giants.

While he may never be known for being an elite blocker, Tremble’s combination of speed and athleticism makes him a nightmare matchup for opposing defenses, as he poses a threat over the top in a vertical passing game or in the slant catching passes in the middle of the field.

After showing flashes of brilliance in limited playing time last season, there is a good chance that Tremble is able to utilize his athletic ability to become the next big name tight end in Notre Dame football lore. That is an enticing thought for Irish fans, as Tremble has three years of eligibility remaining.