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Notre Dame football: 3 most impactful offensive players of the Brian Kelly era

By Daniel Morrison

Nov 7, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly leads his team out of the tunnel before the game against the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame defeated Clemson 47-40 in two overtimes. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly leads his team out of the tunnel before the game against the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame defeated Clemson 47-40 in two overtimes. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tyler Eifert was outstanding during his time playing for Notre Dame football. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Tyler Eifert was outstanding during his time playing for Notre Dame football. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

No. 3 Tyler Eifert

Tyler Eifert is one of the best tight ends in Notre Dame history, and for those who know, Notre Dame has one of the richest histories at the tight end position of any school in the country. Eifert, more so than someone like Kyle Rudolph, is that dominant player for Notre Dame football under Brian Kelly.

Eifert was a Charlie Weis recruit but only played one game under Weis, because he suffered an injury that limited his freshman season. He replaced Rudolph, the Minnesota Vikings’ stellar tight end when Rudolph suffered his own injury in 2010.

From there, Eifert had a solid, but not dominant season. 2011, however, he broke out as an incredibly talented tight end, when he broke Ken MacAfee‘s single-season receptions and receiving yards in a season for a tight end.

Eifert’s numbers went down as a senior, but that’s largely due to a two-quarterback system between Rees and Golson. He still had a monster season, though, and was one of the reliable weapons to move the ball on opponents within 2012. He would then skip a potential fifth year, regained from his injury as a freshman, to go into the NFL Draft.

There, Eifert was a first-round pick and has been productive when healthy. Unfortunately, he’s rarely been entirely healthy.

While at Notre Dame, Tyler Eifert had 140 catches for 1,840 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was an All-American in 2012 and won the Mackey Award for best college tight end in the same year.

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