Notre Dame Football: 3 USF players to watch on offense against the Irish
By Matt Clark
Mitchell Brinkman-Tight end
Charlie Weis Jr. is known to lean heavily on his tight ends in his offensive schemes. As a result, a graduate transfer from Northern Illinois named Mitchell Brinkman is a player to watch in the USF game against Notre Dame.
The 6’4″ and 250-pound Brinkman is a former 2-star recruit out of Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Last season he was the second-leading receiver for Northern Illinois, where he caught 34 passes for 445 yards and three touchdowns.
In his career, Brinkman has 46 receptions for 587 yards and five receiving touchdowns. Last week, he caught one pass for 12 yards in a victory over The Citadel Bulldogs. He will likely be more prominently featured in the matchup against Notre Dame this week.
When passing quarterbacks Jordan McCloud or Cade Fortin are in the game for the Bulls, look for Brinkman to be heavily targeted. When rushing quarterbacks Noah Johnson and Katravis Marsh are in the game, look for the Bulls to utilize the strong blocking skills of Brinkman instead.
Regardless of how he is used, Brinkman is expected to be a large part of the South Florida offense on Saturday. Given his experience at Northern Illinois and the propensity of Weis Jr. to try to incorporate his tight ends in the offense as much as possible, I expect Brinkman to see a lot of action for the Bulls.