Greatest tight end from ND? Macafee, Casper, Bavaro Fasano?
(no message)
Replies to: Greatest tight end from ND? Macafee, Casper, Bavaro Fasano?
Drafted ND Tight End since and including Dave Casper via the Perplexity AI engine.
Here is a list of Notre Dame tight ends drafted into the NFL starting with Dave Casper, who last played at Notre Dame in the 1973 season:
Dave Casper (1973 season): Casper was an All-America tight end in 1973 at Notre Dame and was selected in the second round of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He became a dominant NFL player and is a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Following Casper, Notre Dame has produced many NFL tight ends, including:
Ken MacAfee (1970s): Three-time All-American, first-round pick.
Tony Hunter (early 1980s): First-round pick.
Mark Bavaro (1984): First-team All-American, future All-Pro.
Derek Brown (late 1980s): Future first-round pick.
Irv Smith (early 1990s): Future first-round pick.
Anthony Fasano (2006): Second-round pick, long career.
John Carlson (2008): Second-round pick.
Kyle Rudolph: Second-round pick, long NFL career.
Tyler Eifert (2011): First-round pick, All-American.
Michael Mayer (2023): Second-round pick, record-breaking All-American.
Tommy Tremble (2021): Third-round pick, known for strong blocking.
Cole Kmet: Second-round pick, solid NFL production.
Mitchell Evans (2025): Fifth-round pick by Carolina Panthers.
Derek Brown and Irv Smith were beasts as college Tight Ends
Link: ND tight ends
In College MacAfee and Mayer in the Pro's Casper and Bavaro
(no message)
I like the breakdown!
Wasn’t MacAfee a three time All American? If he was, how many other three time All Americans has ND had?
That's decent logic. Casper voted the best Tight End in the 70's decade, Bavaro made a
laugh of Rodney Lott dragging him twenty yards on Monday night football. In college Mayer and Macafee were terrific and probably offensive MVPs of their teams. Love Bavaria too LOL.
Bavaria. Impossible to bring down.
(no message)
I believe Bavaria fell on November 7th, 1918...
107th anniversary tomorrow...
well done
(no message)
I sure loved watching Mayer. He was the only option for Pyne that year and could have had bigger
numbers if he had a real offense. (and by option - I mean Pyne didn't have the ability for a progression, so he just threw it to Mayer almost every time.)
I would put my hat in the ring for Mayer as TE Goat.
Mayer was great, but Pyne had plenty of options
The WR corps wasn't too bad in 2022. Pyne simply didn't look for them.
Most of the time, he'd only look the short right side of the field for Mayer, and would lock onto him, throwing into double coverage regularly.
Mayer was that good that he could beat the double coverage.
Pyne missed a lot of wide open receivers streaking over the middle or to the left, and I honestly believe that Lorenzo Styles could have had a spectacular year in 2022 if we had signed a transfer portal QB.
Pyne ended up with decent numbers for 2022, but nobody in his right mind would think that he could duplicate those numbers without Mike Mayer as a security blanket.
That was my point. Mayer was Pyne's only option, not because of skill player talent on the team but
because of his limitations.
Casper easily although we never threw much. MacAfee 2nd but clearly dominant in his day. Bavaro
3rd for pure machoism yet humble. Kyle Rudolph most athletic with speed along with John Carlson. Fasano solid in every way. How the hell old are the posters here that we would know anything ab out Hart? How the hell can I forget Mayer, he was great for us. I still believe he will catch on with the right team and become a huge factor. He is a great blocker and has excellent speed for his size and most importantly he catches almost everything within his sights.
College only: MacAfee fits any era. Clear #1 to me. Eifert/Casper best of each era
TE position didn't really exist pre-1960's in the sense of how we're talking about the position.
Casper had the best overall career by far, and would be on the Mt. Rushmore of TEs.
It's obviously Hart - but since I never saw Leon play - I've always been partial MacAfee
(no message)
Different era and before the position was really establidhedy
(no message)
You gotta have Hart.
(no message)
Young people don't know who that is. Hint: Heisman Trophy, Male Athlete of the Year. 1949.
Two way player for the Irish. One of the last to do so. Also dabbled playing in the Irish backfield. One of the greats.
I think the issue with Hart is that the position and game was unrecognizable to the modern eye
The fact that players were 2-way highlights that.
Hart was 6'5" 257 lbs. The only lineman to win three college football NCs plus 3 NFL championships.
Dude was a player who could play in any era.
Hart = Stud. No argument from me. One-platoon football was a different game
(no message)
Thanks. I forgot about Leon. Won the Maxwell and heisman
(no message)
Dreaming about BK again?
(no message)