Irish Get Fifth Commitment

If you want to thrive on offense, and you bet Charlie Weis wants to thrive, you need all the weapons you can get, and for the Irish, that certainly includes the tight end.

No, not as run blockers or even pass blockers. Receiving tight ends can really disrupt an offense already concerned about so many other things, and Weis has exploited that with guys such as Anthony Fasano and John Carlson. They’ve caught plenty of passes the last two years. Both were Mackey Award finalists, which goes annually to the nation’s top tight end.

That didn't go unnoticed by tight end Kyle Rudolph of Cincinnati. He orally committed after catching 30 passes for 400 yards and seven touchdowns last season as a junior.

Recruiting expert Tom Lemming rates the 6-7, 225-pound Rudolph as one of the top-four tight ends in the country.

That’s nothing new under Weis. The Irish already have a couple of highly regarded young tight ends in freshmen Konrad Reuland and Will Yeatman. Plus, incoming freshman Mike Ragone is considered by most experts as the nation’s top high school tight end.

Rudolph is the fifth high school player to commit to the Irish. The others are Bishop Dwenger receiver John Goodman, Penn offensive lineman Braxton Cave, Connecticut offensive lineman Mike Golic Jr. and Illinois defensive lineman Sean Cwynar.

So that’s four offensive players and one defensive player. Yes, Weis will get more defensive commitments. But if you love offense, you gotta love the Irish.